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| Vikings wide receiver Anthony Carter caught five passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns in the Vikings' epic comeback win over the Eagles. |
If they had kept with the game, they would have seen a 4th quarter for the ages.
The Minnesota Vikings entered the game with a 5-7 record and on a three-game losing streak.
The Vikings were coached by Bud Grant, who had come out of retirement to replace Les Steckel who had been fired after leading Minnesota to a 3-13 record the year before.
After a 3-1 start, the Vikings began to fall apart as they lost six of their next eight games to fall out of contention for a playoff spot.
With starting quarterback Tommy Kramer out with an injured knee, backup Wade Wilson got the call to start the game in Philadelphia against the Eagles.
If the Vikings were going to pull off the win, Wilson was going to need help from their biggest offensive weapon, wide receiver Anthony Carter, who had joined the team in 1985 after spending three years in the United States Football League or the USFL, the professional football league that launched in the spring of 1983, where Carter caught 160 passes for 3,042 yards and 27 touchdowns during his three-year tenure in the league.
While the Vikings were falling, the Eagles were rising having won five of their last seven games to enter their game with Minnesota with a 6-6 record.
Led by third-year head coach Marion Campbell and veteran quarterback Ron Jaworski, the Eagles were hoping for another win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
The Eagles scored first as Paul McFadden kicked a 29-yard field goal to end a 12-play, 60-yard drive which saw running back Earnest Jackson carry the ball six times for 25 yards and Jaworski hit all four of his passes for 37 yards to set up the field goal which gave Philadelphia a 3-0 lead with 8:13 left in the first quarter.
The Eagles got into the end zone on their next drive as Jackson picked up 22 more yards on five carries and a 25-yard catch-and-run from Jaworski to Mike Quick help set up a 28-yard touchdown pass from Jaworksi to tight end John Spagnola to increase the Philadelphia lead to 10-0 with 1:54 left in the first quarter.
The Vikings' offense got moving early in the second quarter as they drove 72 yards to the Eagles' one-yard-line as Minnesota and appeared to be on the doorstep of cutting the lead to 10-7,
However, running backs Ted Brown and Alfred Anderson were stopped for no gain on back-to-back plays, forcing the Vikings to settle for what seemed an automatic three point as future Hall-of-Fame kicker Jan Stenerud came on to attempt to a 18-yard field goal.
But Stenerud missed the kick, keeping the score 10-0 in favor of the Eagles.
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| Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski would complete 13 of 18 passes for 204 yards and threw two touchdowns in a dominant first half for Philadelphia. |
That lead would be extended later in the quarter when Jaworski connected with Kenny Jackson for 28 yards and Quick for 22 more on back-to-back completions to set up another field goal by McFadden, this one from 33 yards out to push the lead to 13-0 with 4:08 left in the first half.
Then after forcing the Vikings to punt, the Eagles would drive 76 yards in nine plays, culminating with a pair of passes from Jaworksi to Quick, first for 26 yards on a 3rd & 10 situation, then again for a nine-yard touchdown to make it a 20-0 lead with 57 seconds left before halftime.
Minnesota would not mount a scoring threat as the first half came to an end with the Eagles on top 20-0.
With the offense stagnant and Wilson only completing six of his 14 passes for 44 yards, Grant inserted rookie Steve Bono at quarterback in hopes of sparking his offense.
The move didn't work as Bono was even worse than Wilson as the rookie only completed one pass for five yards in 10 attempts.
Meanwhile, the Eagles extended their lead to 23-0 as Jaworski completed three passes in a row for 50 yards to set up another McFadden field goal, this one from 25 yards out midway through the third quarter.
After that score, the Eagles offense was unable to move the ball as they gained only 16 yards and one 1st down on their next four possessions.
The Eagles should have had a 1st down early in the 4th quarter when running back Herman Hunter dropped a pass on 3rd down, forcing the Eagles to punt the ball.
Little did anyone know that Hunter's drop would be the beginning of an epic collapse or unbelievable comeback depending on your point of view.
When the Vikings got the ball at their 42-yard-line with 11:43 left in the 4th quarter, Wilson was reinserted into the game replacing an inffective Bono.
After gaining only 84 yards of total offense to this point, the Vikings drove 58 yards in seven plays, with Wilson connecting with Carter on two passes for 41 yards, setting up a seven-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to running back Allen Rice to give Minnesota its first points of the game and make it 23-7 with 8:23 left in the fourth quarter.
The Vikings' touchdown seemed to awaken the Eagles offense as they drove to the Minnesota 31-yard-line when Jaworksi decided to call a quarterback bootleg around the left side.
As Jaworski turned the corner, he was met by Vikings defensive tackle Keith Millard, knocking the ball loose and causing a fumble that was picked up by Vikings cornerback Willie Teal, who ran it back all the way for a 65-yard touchdown to cut the deficit into single digits at 23-14 with 6:01 to go in the game.
Now facing some pressure, the Eagles needed to put together a drive to squash the Vikings' hopes of a comeback and allow Philadelphia to escape with the win.
On 3rd & 6 from the 27-yard-line Jaworski threw to Spagnola, who made the catch at the 35-yard-line and then turned upfield only to be met by Vikings linebacker David Howard and safety Joey Browner.
While trying to escape the clutches of the two Viking defenders, Spagnola fumbled the football
which was recovered by Vikings safety Joey Browner, giving Minnesota the ball at the Eagles' 36-yard-line.
After two plays netted zero yards, Wilson went deep and found a wide open Carter for a 36-yard touchdown to bring the Vikings to within one score at 23-21 with 3:58 remaining.
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Needing a long drive more than ever, the Eagles could not get a 1st down and were forced to punt the ball back to the suddenly hot Vikings offense.
Carter returned the punt 22 yards to the Minnesota 40-yard-line giving Wilson 2:17 to get the Vikings the winning score.
After an incomplete pass, Wilson hit Ted Brown 13 yards on a screen pass to give the Vikings a 1st down at the Eagles' 47-yard-line.
Wilson connected with Brown for five more yards on another screen pass, but then Brown dropped what would have been a 1st down on 3rd down when Wilson threw a pass to the running back at the Eagles' 35-yard-line, setting up a 4th-and-5 from the Eagles' 42-yard-line with 1:17 to go.
Wilson took the snap and again looked for Brown on another screen pass, only to have Brown covered.
Wilson then saw Carter, wide open again along the right sideline, and lofted a pass just a split-second before he got drilled by Eagles defensive end Thomas Struthers.
The ball eluded the outstretched hands of Eagles Brenard Wilson and fell into the hands of Carter, who made the catch inside the five-yard-line and then strolled for the go-ahead touchdown to give the Vikings a 28-23 lead, their first lead of the game with 1:11 to play.
Trying to save themselves from humiliation, the Eagles drove from their 36-yard-line to the Vikings' 17-yard-line where they had a 1st down with 20 seconds to go.
Needing a touchdown to win, Jaworski fired a pass intended for Gregg Garrity, who was in the right corner of the end zone, waiting for the ball to arrive.
But Vikings safety Keith Nord was able to swipe the ball away just as it hit Garrity's hands to force an incompletion.
Then on 2nd down, Jaworski threw a pass for Quick only to have Teal knock the ball down before it could reach Quick.
Jaworski threw one last pass intended for Jackson, but the pass was short, ending the game and giving the Vikings a shocking 28-23 win.
The Eagles' 4th quarter collapse ended their chances of capturing a playoff spot as they would go on to lose their next two games which led to the front office firing Campbell before the last game of the regular season, which ironically was a 37-35 win over the Vikings.
The Eagles would hire Bears defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan as their next head coach and with Randall Cunningham taking over the starting quarterback job and the arrival of Reggie White from the USFL, the Eagles would put together five straight winning seasons from 1988-92.
As for the Vikings, they would finish the season 7-9 as Grant retired for good in the offseason, being replaced by offensive coordinator Jerry Burns.
Along with Wilson and Carter, Burns would lead the Vikings to three straight playoff appearances from 1987-89 including a trip to the NFC Championship Game in 1987.
Wilson would be released by Minnesota following the 1991 season and bounced around the league for eight more years, playing for four different teams, including the Dallas Cowboys where he picked up a Super Bowl ring in 1995, before ultimately retiring after the 1999 season following two years with the Oakland Raiders.
Carter would remain with Minnesota though the 1993 season until his release from the team leading him to return to Michigan where he played with the Detroit Lions for two more years before he retired from the league, finishing with 486 receptions for 7,733 yards and 55 touchdowns.
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