Reply #17: There were a surprising number of things that happened in that game... [View All]

[trotsky]

any one of which would have changed the outcome.

IIRC, the Vikes were up 20-7 in the last ~2 minutes of the first half, deep in their own territory. Billick stays aggressive, calling for Cunningham to drop back and pass. Falcons get a good pass rush, sack Cunningham, cause a fumble. Atlanta scores, and now it's 20-14 at the half. Much more manageable deficit & gives the Falcons the momentum.

Another was of course the missed kick. But after that kick, the Vikes were still up by 7. All they had to do was get a stop - and they had so many chances on that last drive. Weren't there like 3 dropped potential picks on the drive? Including one in the endzone?

Oh and on the drive prior to the missed FG, Robert Smith ran out of bounds and stopped the clock. If he hadn't, we would have taken another :30 off the game clock and the Falcons would have run out of time to score.

And then there was "the knee." Highest scoring team in the history of the league, at home, :30 to go, game tied, and you take a knee for OT. Bullcrap. Denny and/or Billick chickened out, and I knew we would go on to lose right there.

It was a perfect storm of events, bad coaching, and bad plays.