Vikings complete largest comeback in NFL history in wild win over Colts

Greg Joseph’s 40-yard field goal as time expired in overtime secured the largest comeback in NFL history. The Vikings trailed the Colts 33-0 at halftime and won the game 39-36 on Saturday afternoon. Minnesota clinched the NFC North in the process.

The Vikings surpassed the Bills who came back from a 35-3 deficit — which ironically was led by then QB Frank Reich who the Colts fired earlier this season — against the Houston Oilers in the 1992 playoffs. Dalvin Cook’s 64-yard touchdown reception with 2:28 remaining in the fourth quarter set up the successful two-point attempt to tie the game at 36 and ultimately send it to overtime.

Kirk Cousins turned an ugly performance into a remarkable one in the blink of an eye. The 34-year-old threw for 460 yards and four touchdowns completing 34 of 54 passes. Three different Minnesota players compiled more than 120 total yards, Cook, Justin Jefferson (123 yards) and the leading receiver K.J. Osborn who racked up 157 yards and a touchdown.

[ Giants’ pass rush ‘all wanna eat’ against Commanders ]

On the other side of this comeback is Jeff Saturday’s Colts. They are coming off of a performance where they were embarrassed by the Dallas Cowboys being outscored 33-0 in the fourth quarter alone amounting to a 54-19 loss. Indianapolis owned the second-biggest halftime lead of the NFL season only to watch it whimper away. They have now been outscored 72-9 after halftime in their two previous games.

So what do the largest comeback in NFL history and the largest Super Bowl comeback have in common? Matt Ryan. The Colts’ QB came out on the wrong side of history yet again on Saturday as he is fairly familiar with these circumstances. Ryan was the Atlanta Falcons QB for the infamous 28-3 comeback by Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Ryan threw for 182 yards and a touchdown and was etched into the history books yet again for all the wrong reasons.

[ Jets’ QB Zach Wilson is prepared for his second chance: ‘I’m ready to go’ vs. Lions ]

The Vikings move to 11-3 on the season and have ensured that they will host a home playoff game. The loss for the Colts brings them to 4-9-1 and 1-4 in the Saturday era.