What happens after a miracle?
The Minneapolis Miracle may have ended the Saints’ season, but the Vikings still have work to do
The Vikings witnessed a miracle on Sunday.
We all did, really.
It was 3rd-and-10 on the Minnesota 39, but it may as well have been a mile away. Out of timeouts, just ten seconds left, the Vikings would need a quick 25-yard gain from someone who got out of bounds just to send a shaky kicker on for a long game-winning attempt with all the history of bad kicker mojo riding on his Viking shoulders. They were down to their last chance. They’d need a miracle.
But sometimes God provides even above and beyond even our wildest imaginations.
You know the rest, by now. The Vikings ran “Seven Heaven” with stacked out routes toward the sidelines, and Case Keenum sent a deep spiral toward Stefon Diggs. Diggs leapt to make the catch, Saints rookie Marcus Williams lost his mind and missed everything, and Diggs kept his balance and raced into the end zone with 0:00 on the clock. Joe Buck (and Paul Allen) went nuts, a sea of Vikings fans went berserk, and the state of Minnesota rejoiced.
It was a win unlike any in franchise history — if you don’t count all the times being on the other end of finishes just like this — and it feels like decades of baggage has been lifted off the shoulders of Vikings faithful everywhere. But what happens next for the Vikings? If they bask in the glow of their miracle all week and get crushed in Philadelphia, this will become a playoff footnote, a mostly irrelevant play on some other team’s Super Bowl highlight reel.
There will be plenty of good football analysis this week between two NFC Championship teams no one expected, but forget all that stuff on paper. What about emotion? What about miracle momentum? What happens to an NFL team after the miracle finish? You remember The Catch and Tebow and the Immaculate Reception, but do you also remember what came next?
Let’s look back at ten of the biggest miracle finishes in NFL playoff history outside of the Super Bowl, miracle wins where winning teams had to hit the field again and keep their dream season alive…
1972 — The Immaculate Reception
What happened:
Franco Harris is in the right place at the right time in a play that needs no further introduction.
What happened next:
Pittsburgh hosted undefeated Miami (wait, what?) and obviously lost when a late comeback attempt fell short, 21–17.
1974 — The Sea of Hands
What happened:
Ken Stabler heaves a desperation 4th down pass into a sea of Dolphins hands and Clarence Davis somehow comes away with the ball in the end zone.
What happened next:
Oakland hosted Pittsburgh the following week but couldn’t keep the magic going, dropping 24–13 to the eventual champions.
1975 — The original ‘Hail Mary’
What happened:
Roger Staubach says a Hail Mary prayer and the officiating gods answer, as Drew Pearson gets away with a clear push-off for the winning touchdown.
What happened next:
Dallas traveled to Los Angeles and throttled the Rams 27–7 but a late Super Bowl comeback fell short as they lost to the Steelers 21–17.
1981 — The Catch
What happened:
Joe Montana rolls right, pumps twice, and finds a towering Dwight Clark in the back of the end zone as a 49ers dynasty is born.
What happened next:
The 49ers dominated the Bengals early then hung on late to win their first franchise Super Bowl, the first of four 49ers Super Bowls that decade.
1998 — The Catch II
What happened:
Owens! Owens! Owens! Owens! Owens! He caught it! He caught it! He caught it! He caught it!
What happened next:
Steve Young and the Niners’ comeback attempt comes up short in Atlanta six days later and San Francisco falls 20–18.
1999 — The Music City Miracle
What happened:
Frank Wycheck laterals across the field to Kevin Dyson in a play we’d still be reviewing today if instant replay existed twenty years ago.
What happened next:
The Titans won at Indianapolis, then dominated in Jacksonville, before Dyson came up a yard short in the Super Bowl on the game’s final play.
2003 — We Want the Ball and We’re Gonna Score
What happened:
Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck promises victory at the overtime coin toss, then throws a season-ending pick-six to Al Harris.
What happened next:
The Packers gave up a miracle of their own on 4th-and-26 to Freddie Mitchell and the hometown Eagles sent the game to overtime and won it, 20–17.
2003 — Steve Smith X-Clown
What happened:
Steve Smith splits three defenders up the seam on the first play of the second overtime period to end the Rams season.
What happened next:
Carolina’s defense dominated 14–3 at Philadelphia, and then the Panthers came from behind four times against the Patriots in the Super Bowl before falling on a last-second Adam Vinatieri field goal, 32–29.
2011 — Tebowing
What happened:
Tim Tebow throws an 80-yard strike to Demaryius Thomas on the first place of overtime to stun the Steelers.
What happened next:
The overmatched Broncos get blown out 45–10 in New England, thanks to six Tom Brady touchdowns.
2012 — Flacco’s Fling
What happened:
Joe Flacco’s desperation heave falls through the hapless arms of Broncos safety Rahim Moore (take heart, Marcus Williams) and Jacoby Jones takes it to the house before the Ravens win in double overtime.
What happened next:
The Road Ravens continue with a dominant 28–13 win in New England, then go lights out to survive a San Francisco comeback and win the Super Bowl.
So what have we learned?
Okay, so we reviewed ten playoff miracles over the past four or so decades. But what can we learn about what happened next?
- Seven of the 10 playoff miracles happened at home. Maybe all those screaming fans are just enough to push the home team to victory.
- Seven of the 10 miracle teams either won the Super Bowl or lost to the eventual champs.
- The above teams combined to play 15 more games after their miracle, and 10 of them came down to the game’s final plays with a one-score margin. Hope Vikings fans didn’t think the drama was over.
- In the game immediately after the miracle finish, miracle teams went 5–5. They were the underdog in all but two of those follow-up games, though, so the miracle momentum seemed to carry over some.
- Seven teams hit the road after their miracle win. They went 4–3 with four dominant wins, two heartbreakers, and a Teblowout.
- Only two teams won twice more after their miracle escape.
- Only two of the ten miracle teams went on to win the Super Bowl.
- Of the eight that eventually lost, six of the losses were heartbreakers — including losses by 2, 3, 3, 4, and 4, plus a Super-Bowl-losing tackle at the goal line.
So what’s it all mean for Minnesota?
History tells us the confidence and momentum could help the Vikings keep the good times rolling, even on the road in Philadelphia. Minnesota might well be headed to the Super Bowl for the first time in 41 years.
But fans shouldn’t exactly get comfortable. Miracle teams almost always come up short in the end, usually by just a few points, with a second miracle finish just out of reach.
Sorry, Minnesota fans — there may yet be more heartbreak to come.
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