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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – It was a routine flight from Minneapolis to Buffalo on Saturday, except that most of the passengers were clad in purple.
They were chatty. A few had questions about the Twins. I obliged.
As the plane touched down in Buffalo, a "Skol" chant broke out. That was followed by two rounds of the Vikings fight song.
The passengers were optimistic and ready for an adventure as their Vikings faced the Bills on Sunday.
And they got one. The Vikings, down 17 points in the third quarter to a team considered one of the best in the AFC, scrambled back for a 33-30 overtime win.
Thousands of Vikings fans in the stands at Highmark Stadium probably did not believe what they saw.
They witnessed a helter-skelter, topsy-turvy game between two quality teams.
They saw two teams that made mistakes, made play calls they would like to have back, watched teammates head to the locker room with injuries and were embarrassed at times by opponents with tremendous physical gifts.
The Vikings just made one more play than the Bills.
The Vikings, trailing by four, were stopped on fourth-and-goal at the 1 in the final minute, but Eric Kendricks fell on a muffed snap on the next play for a touchdown and a three-point lead. Buffalo, left with 41 seconds on the clock, rumbled down the field for a game-tying field goal, setting up overtime.
Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins drove his team down the field in overtime, including a third-and-10 pass he had no business attempting that found Justin Jefferson between two defenders at the 2. The Vikings were held to a field goal, but Patrick Peterson iced the game with his second interception of the day when Bills quarterback Josh Allen forced a pass into the end zone.
It's acceptable to come away from this game wondering if the Vikings shower in pixie dust. It would be nice if the Vikings would put it all together and win comfortably. While they failed miserably at sustaining four quarters of excellence Sunday, they would not be denied either.
Rallying from 17 points down on the road is significant. This wasn't the Bears, Lions or Commanders. The Bills have Super Bowl aspirations. They now must wonder if they will have to go through the Vikings to realize them.
On this day, the Vikings belonged with the best teams in the league. With some room for improvement.
Cousins is called Big Kirko when he's dancing on flights home while wearing teammates' jewelry. To me, he's Fourth Quarter Kirk for the times he has stepped up late in games. He would not let this team lose on Sunday.
There were times this game was a flashback to the worst of Vikings football. The Vikings faced third-and-1 at the two-minute warning of the second quarter after a big fumble recovery and return by Camryn Bynum. They knew they would go for it on fourth down, which makes a running play an option. Instead, they attempted a pass that was incomplete, then called for another pass on fourth-and-1 that also missed.
Buffalo made them pay by driving for a touchdown before halftime that made the score 24-10.
Kicking miscues continue to haunt this franchise. Greg Joseph got it done in overtime, but he missed an extra point in the fourth quarter — his fourth missed extra point of the season — that left the Vikings trailing 27-23.
Cousins threw a terrible pass during the first drive of the third quarter, and Buffalo picked it off and eventually led 27-10.
Dalvin Cook run brought the team back from the dead with a brilliant 81-yard touchdown run that required exquisite blocking and Cook juking the one defender he needed to beat, Christian Benford, to the ground.
Fourth Quarter Kirk then heated up when it was needed.
When I returned to the airport for a late Sunday flight home, many of the fans I flew in with the day before were doing "Skol" chants in the concourses.
One subject sure to be brought up: How much jewelry will Cousins wear on the Vikings charter following this Criss Angel-level escape?
