Miracle man Case Keenum votes for U.S. Bank Stadium as the NFL's loudest venue

BEREA, OHIO – Baker Mayfield didn't have to look far this week for confirmation on U.S. Bank Stadium's lofty status among the loudest venues in the NFL.

Case Keenum, Mayfield's backup quarterback in Cleveland, knows a thing or two about it as co-author and triggerman of the Minneapolis Miracle back on Jan. 14, 2018.

"There are so many memories from that play," Keenum said this week as the Browns prepared for their first game at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday. "I thought it was the loudest thing I ever heard in my life when [Stefon] Diggs turned to run. And it kept getting even louder and crazier."

The Vikings, of course, were trailing the Saints 24-23 and facing third-and-10 from their 39-yard line. Ten seconds remained. Saints coach Sean Payton was mocking the crowd by doing the "Skol Chant" clap on the opposite sideline.

"Karma works in mysterious ways, Sean," laughed Browns defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo, who was a rookie on the Vikings practice squad.

Keenum swaggered into the huddle and gave the play call.

"Gun Buffalo Right Key Left Seven Heaven," Keenum said this week. "I'll never forget it."

Adam Thielen ran an out route to the left and was well covered. Tight end Kyle Rudolph, receiver Jarius Wright and Diggs all ran routes toward the right sideline. Rudolph was shallow, Wright medium and Diggs deep.

"I was telling people this week I was right there when Diggs caught the ball," said Odenigbo, reaching for his phone.

"You'll love this photo. Look, right there. I'm wearing the hat and looking like, 'What the heck is happening?!'"

Diggs caught the ball at the Saints 34-yard line.

"I had a perfect view from the other sideline," Thielen said this week. "I'm yelling, 'Get out of bounds! Get out of bounds!'"

But Diggs didn't get out of bounds. Rookie safety Marcus Williams whiffed with one of the worst missed tackles in playoff history. Diggs came down, turned and was gone — the first time in NFL playoff history a game ended on a touchdown as time expired.

"They say Kansas City is the loudest stadium in the NFL," Odenigbo said. "I beg to differ, man."

Arrowhead Stadium earned that distinction by registering a decibel level of 142.2 in a game in 2014. It wrested the record from Seattle's 12th Man, which weighed in at 137.6 a year earlier.

"Telling guys this week, I'm like, 'Dude, U.S. Bank Stadium gets really, really loud,' " Odenigbo said. "I don't know what measurement gets used, but all I know is the Minneapolis Miracle would have set the record."

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski, who spent 14 seasons as a Vikings assistant coach, was asked this week whether he thinks the larger U.S. Bank Stadium is as tough on opponents as the cramped and claustrophobia-inducing Metrodome.

"They are both really loud," Stefanski said. "We talked about it already [Wednesday] morning. U.S. Bank Stadium is a glass building, and the noise reverberates in there. It will be the loudest, likely the loudest place, that we play in this year."

Pushed on whether he thinks it's louder than the Metrodome, Stefanski said, "Yeah, I do."

That might be stretching the truth a bit just to keep Vikings fans from stretching their lungs to prove him wrong.

But …

"I wouldn't say that there's any stadium that's louder," Thielen said. "Some of the loudest would be Seattle, the Superdome, the Chiefs. But I just don't see it getting any louder than some of the big games we've had at U.S. Bank."

The Minneapolis Miracle was Keenum's last home game with the Vikings. The journeyman backup who started the season as Sam Bradford's caddie ended up going 11-3 and leading the Vikings to the NFC Championship Game, which they were mauled in at Philadelphia.

"I wanted to stay in Minnesota, no question about that," said Keenum, who went on to play in Denver and Washington before joining the Browns last year. "For whatever reason, those guys didn't want me. Never really made an offer to bring me back. It is what it is. They went with Kirk [Cousins]."

Keenum started for Washington in a 19-9 loss at U.S. Bank Stadium in 2019. Two years later, he'll once again walk into the building and look over to the spot where he and Diggs firmly stamped themselves into Vikings history.

"I probably won't be able to go into that building the rest of my life without thinking about that night," Keenum said. "And that noise."