Vikings Overcome Missed Opportunities to Claim Resilient Overtime Victory

The Minnesota Vikings tallied another victory in a hard-fought affair, 30-24 over the New York Jets. With time winding down in the fourth quarter, it appeared that missed opportunities could have done in the Vikings. A little resilience and a little luck turned the tables in their favor and rewarded them with a second overtime victory in 2014.

New York was the first team to relinquish advantages. The Jets settled for five field goals on the day, accepting only three points on the end of multiple lengthy offensive drives.

But the Vikings wouldn’t have it. They did their best to hand the advantage back to New York, scuffling away multiple chances to hammer home the game. Throughout the second half, it looked like a classic Vikings meltdown, finding ways to clutch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Andrew Krammer of 1500 ESPN shares a few of the glaring misses:

"

#Vikings would be in better spot if got 1 of 3: missed 39-yd FG, dropped INT from Griffen or muffed recovery from Exum.

— Andrew Krammer (@Andrew_Krammer) December 7, 2014"

Rookie cornerback Antone Exum had the most costly miss of all. After New York muffed a punt and Marcus Sherels wrapped up the returner, he had a free shot at hopping on a fumble. Instead, he tried to scoop it and missed. That gave the Jets a chance at a game-winning drive, which they turned into three points and a trip to overtime.

The dropped interception from Everson Griffen also proved costly. On a timely third-down stop in the red zone, a deflected pass fell right into the lap of the pass-rusher, only to slip through his wickets. Had Griffen made the catch, he might still be running.

Adam Bettcher/Getty Images

Missed field goals even entered the equation, something the Vikings rarely deal with. As steady as Blair Walsh normally is, he missed a 39-yard chip shot and a 56-yard attempt to win the game.

Minnesota’s offense left points on the table too. The Vikings had 1st-and-goal at the New York 7-yard line in the fourth quarter and a chance to take a touchdown lead. After an anemic run play, a Teddy Bridgewater draw and a busted crossing route, Minnesota could only net three points.

New York is a struggling team, and the Vikings played down to their competition. The defense gave up 410 yards to one of the league’s worst offenses.

The team’s resilience late in the game and ability to find a way to win is a positive sign though. Minnesota made just enough plays to scratch out a victory.

Mike Zimmer felt the same way about his team's misdeeds, per A.J. Mansour of KFAN1003:

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ZIMMER: "We should have won that game handily...Good teams don't do these things. Just because u win doesn't cover up your mistakes."

— Aj Mansour (@AjKFAN) December 7, 2014"

The frequent mistakes and missed opportunities will leave Zimmer and his staff wanting more. He did relent just a little bit though, crediting his team’s perseverance, per KFAN1003:

"

Zimmer:  We overcame a lot of our adversity today.  We showed that we have some character but we should never have been in that situation.

— KFAN1003 (@KFAN1003) December 7, 2014"

After getting marched on all day long, Zimmer’s defense found a way to hold up in the red zone and stay in the game five times. Then in overtime, the Jets moved the ball 37 yards before finding their downfall, having to punt before they could put points on the board.

That opened a big enough crease for Jarius Wright and the Vikings offense to exploit, scampering 87 yards for the game-winning touchdown.

Minnesota and its coaching staff will go back to the drawing board to improve themselves moving forward because they failed to outclass a poor team in numerous aspects. They can take solace in the way the team reacted to its misfortune late in the game. The 2013 Vikings went down in soul-crushing fashion in similar circumstances. This year's team has shown the ability to find a way.

The Vikings won on Sunday without playing particularly well. That has not happened often in the last few years.

Statistics via ESPN.com unless noted otherwise.