NFL Old School Game of the Week: Cards End Vikings' Season With Last-Second TD

Nathan Poole makes the game-winning TD catch that ended the Vikings' season and sent Green Bay to the playoffs.

The history of the Minnesota Vikings can be best-described as star-crossed.

Since their beginnings in 1961, the Vikings have made the playoffs 27 times, won 18 division titles, and made it to the Super Bowl four times.

However, the Vikings are 0-4 all-time in the Super Bowl and have to endure numerous heartbreaking defeats in the playoffs like the 1998 NFC Championship Game as a double-digit favorite to the Atlanta Falcons and victims of the first “Hail Mary” back in the 1975 playoffs against the Dallas Cowboys.

Another chapter to their history of heartbreak did not occur in the Super Bowl or the playoffs, but on the last day of the 2003 NFL season that completed one of the biggest collapses in NFL history.

The Vikings started the 2003 season on a roll as they won their first six games thanks to their high-powered offense that featured quarterback Daunte Culpepper and all-world wide receiver Randy Moss.

But a 29-17 loss to the New York Giants started a four-game losing streak, dropping them to 6-4 and putting their a once-certain trip to the that put the postseason in jeopardy.

Minnesota would alternate wins and losses for the next five games and after a 45-20 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, the Vikings sat in a tie for first place in the NFC North Division with the Green Bay Packers as both teams had 9-6 records.

However, the Vikings held the tiebreaker over the Packers because of a better conference record(Minnesota was 7-4 in the NFC while Green Bay was 7-5)meaning all they had to do was go to Arizona and beat the lowly Cardinals who were 3-12 and were currently on a seven-game losing streak.

The Vikings were also facing backup quarterback Josh McCown, who was making only his third career start and was certain to be head coach Dave McGinnis’ final game.

So it seemed like a lock that the Vikings were going to win this game and go to the playoffs.

But the Vikings learned early on, there are no sure things in the NFL.

The Cardinals got the ball to start the game but went three-and-out, punting the ball to the Vikings who took over at their own 27-yard-line.

The Vikings quickly drove down the field as Culpepper hit three straight passes for a total of 22 yards, which was followed by a 21-yard run by Michael Bennett, then a 28-yard pass to Moss that gave Minnesota a 1st-and-goal at the Cardinals’ two-yard-line.

But the Cardinals defense stiffened and allowed only one yard on the next three plays forcing a 4th-and-goal from the one-yard-line.

Tice decided to go for the touchdown but he and the Vikings did not get it when Culpepper’s pass intended for tight end Hunter Goodwin fell incomplete in the end zone, giving the ball to Arizona at their own one-yard-line.

From there, the Cardinals were able to put together an impressive 14-play, 94-yard drive that featured McCown connecting with Emmitt Smith(yes, the Emmitt Smith who is the NFL' all-time rushing leader) on a 36-yard screen pass and then hitting tight end Freddie Jones for 25 yards.

The drive ended with a 22-yard field goal by Rackers to give the Cardinals a 3-0 lead with 1:34 left in the opening quarter.

The Vikings responded with to the field goal by driving 54 yards in 13 plays to set up a 44-yard field goal by Aaron Elling.

However, Elling missed the kick, keeping Arizona in front 3-0.

Daunte Culpepper threw for 197 yards on 18-of-28 passing and ran for 40 yards on seven carries.

The score was still 3-0 with 55 seconds to go in the half when the Vikings committed the first turnover of the game.

On a 3rd-and-8 from his own 10-yard-line, Culpepper fired a deep pass intended for Kelly Campbell, that was intercepted by Arizona free safety Dexter Jackson, whose 30-yard return gave the Cardinals the ball at the Minnesota 13-yard-line with 42 seconds left and two timeouts in the Cardinals’ pocket.

However, the Cardinals could only gain five yards and had to settle for a 26-yard field goal by Rackers to increase their lead to 6-0 as the first half came to a close.

After both teams punted on their opening possessions of the second half, the Vikings took over at their 33-yard-line as Culpepper caught fire by going 4-of-4 for 48 yards on the 8-play, 67-yard drive that culminated with a one-yard touchdown run by Moe Williams to give Minnesota its first lead of the game, 7-6 midway through the third quarter.

The score remained 7-6 going into the fourth quarter as the Culpepper used his arms and legs to account for 43 yards on a 11-play, 57-yard touchdown drive that ended with Culpepper firing a seven-yard touchdown pass to Moss to increase the Minnesota lead to 14-6 with 8:54 remaining in the game.

The Cardinals tried to mount a response on their next possession but McCown was intercepted on the first snap from scrimmage when defensive tackle Kevin Williams deflected a pass that fell right into his hands for an interception, giving the Vikings the ball at the Arizona 29-yard-line.

The Arizona defense stiffened and did not permit a 1st down, forcing Tice to call on Effing to attempt a 46-yard field goal.

Effing’s kick bounced off the left upright but through the uprights and good, making it a two-score game at 17-6 with 6:52 to play.

Effing’s field goal seemed to be the backbreaker as the Cardinals offense had to be held to -17 yards of total offense in the second half.

Needing a spark, the Cardinals seemed to get it on the ensuing kickoff as Josh Scobey’s 27-yard return gave them the ball at their own 40-yard-line with 6:42 left and two timeouts in their pocket.

However, it seemed the Cardinals were soon faced with a 4th-and-6 when McGinnis decided to go for it.

McCown connected with Boldin for the six yards to give the Cardinals a 1st down and meaning that the Vikings still had to work to do to seal the win and the division title.

After an incomplete pass intended for Boldin, McCown found Bryant Johnson for 15 yards, giving Arizona a 1st down at the Vikings’ 35-yard-line.

Despite being sacked eight times in the game, Josh McCown led the Cardinals to two touchdowns in the final two minutes to pull off the incredible 18-17 victory.

But on the very next play, Kevin Williams struck again as he sacked McCown for a 11-yard-loss, which was followed by another apparent sack, this time by Lance Johnstone and Billy Lyon, only to have Lyon be called for defensive holding, giving the Cardinals a 1st down at the Minnesota 45-yard-line.

McCown connected with Smith for seven yards on 1st down, only to be sacked again on 2nd down, this time by Chris Hovan and Fred Robbins, forcing a 3rd-and-13.

That is when McCown found Nate Poole, a receiver that had been cut four times by the Cardinals, for 37 yards and a 1st down at the Vikings’ 11-yard-line.

Two straight completions for nine yards set up a 3rd-and-1 when McCown handed the ball off to Smith, only to have Vikings linebacker EJ Henderson stop him for no gain, forcing a 4th-and-1 at the two-yard-line as Arizona let the clock run down to two minutes and the two-minute warning.

On the 4th down, McCown scrambled and found tight end Steve Bush who made a sliding catch for the touchdown that cut the Vikings’ lead to 17-12 with 1:54.

The Cardinals went for the two-point conversion in hopes of trimming the deficit to three points and needing only a field goal to tie the game and force overtime.

McCown’s pass to Smith was complete, but he was tackled shy of the goal line keeping the score at 17-12.

With only one time out left, the Cardinals had to go for the onside kick to keep their faint hopes of victory.

All Minnesota had to do was recover the kick and they could probably run out the clock, to to clinch their spot in the playoffs.

Rackers kicked to the right side of the field but it seemed that the Vikings were going to recover as tight end Jim Kleinsasser got his hands on the football.

However, Kleinsasser could not hang on to it and the ball fell into the hands of Cardinals reserve running back Damien Anderson, who held on it to the football, giving Arizona the ball at their own 39-yard-line with a chance to win the game.

On the first play after the onside kick, McCown decided to go deep and fired a pass intended for Johnson who was interfered with by Vikings cornerback Denard Walker, drawing a 30-yard pass interference penalty that gave Arizona a 1st down at the Vikings 31-yard-line.

Following the penalty, McCown found Smith for five yards on a screen pass, and then connected with Poole again for a 13-yard gain and a 1st down at the Minnesota 13-yard-line.

That is when the Cardinals tried to surprise the Vikings by going back to the ground as McCown handed it off to Smith, who picked up four yards, setting up 2nd-and-6.

That is when Kevin Williams struck again as he recorded his 3rd sack of the game, dropping McCown for a eight-yard loss and forcing the Cardinals to use their final timeout with 31 seconds to go.

On 3rd-and-14 from the 17-yard-line, McCown was sacked again, this time by Lance Johnstone, and lost the football, only to have offensive guard Reggie Wells fall on it for the Cardinals at the 29-yard-line.

But with no timeouts and facing a 4th-and-25, it seemed all hope was lost for the Cardinals while the Vikings could taste the playoffs.

McCown and the Cardinal offense scrambled to get one last play off and they did with four seconds left.

McCown rolled to his right and fired a pass toward the right corner of the end zone for Poole, who made the catch and got his right foot down before he was pushed out of bounds by Denard Walker and Brian Russell.

However, the officials ruled it a touchdown, citing the “forceout rule” and believing that Poole would have made the catch with both feet in bounds if Walker and Russell had not pushed him, giving the Cardinals a shocking 18-17 victory.

As the Cardinals ran into field in celebration, several Viking players fell on the ground in shock and disbelief, knowing that they would not be going to the playoffs.

The miraculous 28-yard touchdown also set off a roar in Green Bay as Packers fans learned of the game-winning touchdown during the 2-minute warning of their 31-3 win against the Denver Broncos, which gave the Packers the NFC North title and a third straight trip to the playoffs.

Despite the amazing victory, McGinnis was fired the next day and replaced ironically by Dennis Green.

The win also cost the Cardinals the #1 pick in the 2004 NFL Draft as they fell to the #3 spot.

It still worked out for the Cardinals as they used that pick to select wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.

As for the Vikings, they became only the 2nd team in NFL history to start a season 6-0 and not make the playoffs.

And as for the “forceout rule” it would be eliminated following the 2007 season, meaning that could be an incomplete pass if a defensive player pushed a receiver out of bounds before getting both feet inbounds.