The Vikings are now 11-0 in one-score games this season, the latest coming in Christmas miracle fashion as Greg Joseph hit a 61-yard field goal as time expired to lift Minnesota over the New York Giants 27-24.
The 61-yarder is a franchise record and gives the Vikings a 12-3 record with two weeks left in the regular season. The Giants fall to 8-7-1, still hoping to clinch a playoff spot in the back of the NFC race.
Joseph’s record field goal wouldn’t have happened without Justin Jefferson’s record-setting catch that put Minnesota at the Giants’ 42-yard line with seconds left on the clock.
On 3rd-and-11, Jefferson caught a screen and raced 17 yards for a first down. It was his 12th catch of the day and 123rd of the season, breaking Cris Carter’s franchise record of 122 receptions in a single season. He also broke Randy Moss’s franchise record for receiving yards in a season.
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Jefferson’s tenth catch of the day went for a touchdown to give the Vikings a 24-16 lead with just over three minutes left in the game.
The Giants answered with a 75-yard drive capped off on a 4th-and-2 handoff that Saquan Barkley took for a 27-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion pass from Daniel Jones was caught by tight end Daniel Bellinger, tying the game 24-24 with 2:01 to play.
On 3rd-and-9 on the ensuing drive, Cousins hit Jefferson for a first down. And then on 3rd-and-11 after Cousins took a sack, Jefferson made the big play to set Joseph up for the 61-yarder.
Tight end T.J. Hockenson had 13 catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns for Minnesota. Jefferson finished with 12 catches for 133 yards and a touchdown. He’s now up to 123 catches for 1,756 yards and eight touchdowns.
