Jaw-dropping finish gets Vikings one step closer to Super Bowl goal

Exactly four years ago Monday, the Vikings announced the hiring of Mike Zimmer as the ninth head coach in franchise history.

Two days later, in a news conference at Winter Park, Zimmer said, "I can't wait to stand on the podium with [owners] Zygi, and Mark and Jonathan [Wilf], and we're standing on the podium and we're looking up and the confetti is falling on top of us, and Commissioner [Roger] Goodell comes over and he hands the Super Bowl trophy to Mr. Wilf and tells him we're world champions."

After what has to be the most unbelievable victory in franchise history, the Vikings are now two wins away from realizing Zimmer's vision.

With 10 seconds left in the game and the Vikings trailing the Saints 24-23, quarterback Case Keenum dropped back to throw a desperation pass from the Vikings 39-yard-line. He angled it toward the sideline, where Stefon Diggs leapt up to make a grab. Zimmer, along with many in U.S. Bank Stadium, initially thought Diggs would go out of bounds, but instead he raced down the sideline to score as time expired.

Vikings 29, Saints 24.

Zimmer said the play, which is called "Buffalo right, Seven Heaven," is something the team routinely practiced.

"We've practiced it every week," he said. "It's one of the last things we do Saturday. We practice it every week. It was a great throw and a great catch."

When asked about his confidence in the play, Zimmer said the team got better and better at it as the season went along.

"You execute it better," he said. "Obviously we made a great play and a great catch, but it was big. It was a big win. We practice a lot of those situations. So you know we got lucky, but we'll take it."

Did he have confidence in Keenum, who completed 25 of 40 passes for 318 yards with one touchdown and one interception, making that throw?

"He made some great plays [Sunday]," Zimmer said. "There was a couple of plays we should have had come back, but I just think maybe this team might be destined."

Zimmer said when they run the play in practice, the pass goes to Diggs. He said all the elements that make Diggs a great receiver showed up on that miracle score.

"He has great hands, catches the ball well," Zimmer said. "He works very hard. He runs good routes. He's a very good stop and start guy. I see it in practice all the time. He'll go up and get the football like he did [Sunday]."

Zimmer said the first half, when the Vikings took a 17-0 lead, was great team football.

But he said he knew with the Saints, with a strong quarterback in Drew Brees and a team that finished second in the NFL in total offense this season, there were challenges to come.

That proved true. In the first half, the Vikings held the Saints to zero points and 149 total yards. But in the second half, they gained 209 yards and scored 23 points while the Vikings scored only six before the miracle touchdown.

Brees' two halves couldn't have been different, either. He completed eight of 18 passes for 117 yards with two interceptions and a 26.6 passer rating in the first half. In the second half, he completed 17 of 22 passes for 177 yards for three touchdowns and a 139.6 passer rating.

While the Vikings coach was clearly elated with the victory, he noted there were a number of errors — including a blocked punt, a missed field goal and a bad interception — that the team can work on for next Sunday's NFC Championship Game at Philadelphia.

"We took a sack on third down when we were in field-goal range, so that cost us," Zimmer said. "We got a first down and we got a block in the back on a wide receiver screen. We messed up some things and we're going to have to correct it if we're going to move forward."

One of the plays that appeared to be a real crucial mistake was Keenum's lone interception. It came after the Saints had scored to make it 17-7 in the third quarter, and Keenum threw a deep pass while being sacked. It was intercepted by Saints safety Marcus Williams, who was also covering Diggs on the game-winner.

"He should have thrown it out of bounds is what he should have done," Zimmer said. "The cornerback jumped the route and he was playing off coverage and [Keenum] thought he was going to get [Diggs] down the field, but the safety [Williams] came over the top. He should have thrown the ball away and lived for another day."

Still, the good news for Keenum and Zimmer is that despite those mistakes, the Vikings are moving on. They will head to Philadelphia for the NFC Championship Game as three-point favorites to advance to the Super Bowl.

The Vikings haven't been in the big game since 1977 and have never won it. If they make it this year, they will play it at home at U.S. Bank Stadium, something unprecedented in NFL history.

When Zimmer was asked about weather reports that show good conditions in Philadelphia next week with temperatures in the 50s, he said he did not care about the weather or the opponent or where the game was held.

"Right now we would go play anybody anywhere," he said. "We don't care what the weather is, we're just glad to be playing. There are four teams left in this tournament and we're one of them. That is all we care about."

The Vikings played the Eagles in Philadelphia last season, taking their first loss of the year in Week 7. Zimmer was asked what he recalled from that game.

"They got after us back in Philadelphia," he said about the 21-10 loss. "Their crowd will be very loud. We're going to have to play very good. But I like this team. This team will fight you now. They have a heck of a defensive line, heck of a defense. They have Alshon Jeffrey, who is an outstanding wide receiver. We've always battled with him. This will be a good test."

Zimmer said he has gone up against Eagles quarterback Nick Foles before, who will start in place of an injured Carson Wentz.

That was back in 2012, when Zimmer was the defensive coordinator of the Bengals. They beat the Eagles 34-13 at home.

"I have played against him in the past," Zimmer said. "I played against him when he was in Philly before. Big, strong kid. Throws the ball well. It'll be fun."

Yes, it will be fun, and perhaps the only thing more fun than the Vikings' win over New Orleans would be a victory next week, and a punched ticket to the Super Bowl.

Sunday's game will be an amazing meeting between Foles and Keenum.

Back in 2015, Foles was the starting quarterback in St. Louis, and three-quarters of the way through the season, he was replaced by Keenum. Now they meet on one of the biggest stages in football.