Vikings Complete the Largest Comeback in NFL History

Vikings Comeback

VIKINGS COMEBACK – The Minnesota Vikings (11-3) erased a 33 point deficit to beat the Indianapolis Colts (4-8-1) in a historic game on Saturday, December 17th. The 33 point point comeback win is now the largest in NFL history, surpassing Frank Reich’s Buffalo Bills who mounted a 32-point comeback against the Houston Oilers in 1992.

With the win, the Vikings have clinched the NFC North. For Indianapolis, they are still searching for their second win under Jeff Saturday and will have to face some tough questions after a spectacular meltdown.

Colts quarterback, Matt Ryan, will now be a part of two of the most famous blown leads in NFL history. His first foray into losing games came in Super Bowl LI, when the Atlanta Falcons blew a 28-3 lead against the New England Patriots.

Game Summary

The Colts started strong in the game. They weathered a major blow when Jonathan Taylor left early with an ankle injury. But a blocked punt that ended in a touchdown and a precise performance courtesy of Matt Ryan led to a 33-0 halftime lead for the Colts.

The Vikings struggled to move the ball at all in the first half, but found their offense in the third quarter, outscoring the Colts 14-3. In the fourth quarter, the Vikings’ defense started to create pressure on Matt Ryan and came up with some big third down stops. Minnesota blanked the Colts 22-0 in the fourth quarter. They tied the game on a 64-yard screen pass to Dalvin Cook and a 2-point conversion on a Cousins pass to T.J Hockenson.

The Vikings won the toss in overtime, but failed to score on their first drive. They elected to punt instead of try for a long field goal, but the Colts failed to score as well. The Vikings got the ball back with little time to spare and only one timeout. They marched down the field quickly and, after a delay of game penalty against Indianapolis, Greg Joseph knocked a 40-yard field goal through the uprights with one second on the clock.

Twitter is abuzz with activity after this historic game and we still have two more to go!

Twitterverse

The Vikings 33 Point Comeback against the Colts in 100 seconds pic.twitter.com/TxGn8jmzeE

— Frankie G (@FrankieG1998) December 17, 2022

Matt Ryan’s legacy continues.

Telling my kids about Matt Ryan’s legacy as a choke artist pic.twitter.com/gjCW8iIhZE

— Julian “Ju-Ju” Martinez (@JuJuTalksSports) December 17, 2022

That win probability though.

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee pic.twitter.com/HkRj5Abqnb

— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) December 17, 2022

The Frank Reich Factor

The largest comeback in NFL history is 32 points by the Bills against the Oilers in the 1992 Wild Card round. That is the only 30-point comeback in NFL history, per @ESPNStatsInfo.

That comeback was orchestrated by Frank Reich, fired by the Colts earlier this season.

Amazing

— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) December 17, 2022