The U.S. Bank Stadium crowd, which arrived on Dec. 17 anticipating a division title, had let out much of its frustration at the end of a first half after the Vikings fell behind the Colts 33-0. A staleness hung in the air as Adam Thielen paced the sideline before the start of the second half, approaching his teammates with a fist bump and a simple message.
"Hey, I don't care what the score is — I love playing with y'all," said Thielen, who was wearing a live microphone for the game. "I love you guys. Let's go."
There was no motivational master strategy driving the 32-year-old receiver, just an affection he felt compelled to verbalize.
"You know, it is truly a brotherhood," Thielen said when asked about it later. "The amount of time we spend together and the ups and downs that you kind of go through together, you kind of develop that true brotherhood love. And then you kind of just express it. I think the older you get, you just start to appreciate what's going on. I just really like to relay that to the guys: How much that they mean to me, how much I appreciate them and how much I love just going to work with this group."
The Vikings, of course, completed the greatest comeback in NFL history, scoring the five second-half touchdowns cornerback Patrick Peterson said they'd need to send the game to overtime and winning 39-36 on Greg Joseph's field goal.
Afterward, edge rusher Danielle Hunter said, "I feel like in some games, because of the bond we have, sometimes it magically makes us win the game. Because we can execute like normal."
Those words are as good a thesis as any for a Vikings team that won an NFL-record 11 games by one score, became the first 13-win team in history that was outscored for the season and believes it has an unquantifiable, unbreakable connectedness that will carry it through the postseason.
The idea will be put to the test, beginning in the wild-card round on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium against a Giants team the Vikings beat on Joseph's 61-yard field goal as time expired on Dec. 24. To make a run through the NFC playoffs, the Vikings will have to overcome the loss of right tackle Brian O'Neill against a series of formidable pass rushing groups, hope their defense holds up against a field that includes three of the NFL's six best offenses and avoid the special teams mistakes that have sunk Vikings teams of the past.
As they see it, though, their 11 close victories are proof they can withstand the heightened tension of the postseason and a primer for what they'll face.
"I don't think that anyone in sport would tell you that being more connected is going to hurt your team," defensive tackle Harrison Phillips said on Monday. "So definitely some of those games when you look back — down 10 against this team, or down 33, whatever. I think some of those [strong] relationships are just like, 'I know this player. I've seen him in the weight room. I've seen him watch his film in practice. I trust he's dialed in, he's going to do his job.' So probably some of that would have carried with us and I'm sure we'll lean on that again, through hopefully this next four-game stretch."
Thielen, in his 10th season with the Vikings, will play in just his sixth playoff game this weekend. Cornerback Patrick Peterson, in his 12th NFL season, will play in his fourth.
They have been perhaps the two veterans who've spoken most about the preciousness of the opportunity before the 2022 Vikings and the uniqueness of the group trying to seize it.
"I mean, this is what you play for, these types of moments — putting yourself in position to solidify your name forever," Peterson said. "For me, you have to be able to relish these moments, because quite frankly, I haven't had many opportunities. When I came into the league, that was one of my goals: to be a Super Bowl champion. Obviously, that's a team goal, and a lot of hands have to go into the pot to achieve that. But we have the guys in this locker room that are able to achieve that goal."
No Vikings team has reached a Super Bowl in 46 years. If this one were to win three playoff games to get there, it'd add the final flourish to a ride the team's most experienced players don't want to see end.
"You just don't have a locker room like this, have a coaching staff [like this]," Thielen said. "Kind of really this whole building right now; that culture just doesn't always happen. So when you have it, you appreciate it and you tend to be a little more grateful for everything that's going on."