The NFC Wild Card Playoff game on December 27, 1997
featured the New York Giants, who had gone from last to first in the NFC East,
against the visiting Minnesota Vikings, a team that had been to the postseason
in four of the previous five years but had failed to win at that level in any
of them.
Four of the five teams in the NFC Central had qualified
for the playoffs in ’97, with the fourth-place Vikings having grabbed the final
Wild Card slot. Under sixth-year Head Coach Dennis Green (pictured at right), the team had gotten
off to an 8-2 start before losing five straight contests and just making it
into the playoffs at 9-7. Oft-injured RB Robert Smith finally realized his
potential with a rushing output of 1266 yards and wide receivers Cris Carter
and Jake Reed were highly capable. QB Brad Johnson had played very well before
suffering a season-ending neck injury, but veteran QB Randall Cunningham, back
in the NFL after a year of retirement, filled in ably in his absence. The
defense had a star in DT John Randle but was lacking elsewhere, in particular
the backfield. Moreover, there was uncertainty regarding the possible sale of
the team and Minnesota had yet to win a playoff game under Coach Green, who was
not on the best terms with the current owners who were angered by comments made
in his autobiography that was published during the season.
New York had a first-year head coach in Jim Fassel and
had gone from 6-10 to 10-5-1. Second-year QB Danny Kanell took over the
starting job from the disappointing Dave Brown with favorable, if far from spectacular,
results. Versatile FB Charles Way was the team’s top rusher while rookie RB
Tiki Barber was splitting time with Tyrone Wheatley. Chris Calloway was the
most productive of the wide receivers. The defense had All-Pros in DE Michael
Strahan, with his 14 sacks, and LB Jessie Armstead.
There were 77,497 fired-up fans in attendance on a snowy
day at Giants Stadium – not a good situation for a team like that Vikings that
played its home games in a domed stadium. The weather made it very difficult on
both offenses throughout the contest. The teams traded punts until Randall
Cunningham fumbled and DT Bernard Holsey recovered for the Giants at the
Minnesota 23. New York lost ground from there but Brad Daluiso (pictured below) kicked a 43-yard
field goal for the early lead.
No sooner did the Vikings get the ball back when
Cunningham fumbled it away again, this time with Michael Strahan recovering at
the Minnesota 46. The Giants had more success on offense this time, driving to
the four yard line with the big play a completion by Danny Kanell to Charles
Way for 27 yards. Still, they settled for another Daluiso field goal of 22
yards but took a 6-0 lead into the second quarter.
The Giants had possession as the game moved into the
second quarter and this time drove 56 yards in seven plays to a touchdown.
Kanell threw to Tiki Barber for 11 yards in a third-and-four situation at
midfield and then passed to WR David Patten for a 37-yard gain to the Minnesota
two. A running play lost a yard but Kanell connected with TE Aaron Pierce for
the two-yard TD. Daluiso’s extra point made it 13-0 in favor of the home team.
After the teams again traded punts another turnover by
the Vikings led to more New York points. Cunningham’s long pass was intercepted
by CB Jason Sehorn, who returned it 36 yards to the Minnesota 47. The ensuing
six-play, 23-yard series ended with a third Daluiso field goal, this time from 41
yards, that made the score 16-0.
The Vikings finally got a break on a turnover when,
following a punt on a three-and-out possession, WR Amani Toomer fumbled and
Minnesota got the ball at the New York 26. Cunningham threw to Cris Carter for
19 yards to the seven yard line, but the Vikings were unable to move the ball
any further. 41-year-old Eddie Murray kicked a 26-yard field goal to get the
visitors on the board.
With less than two minutes remaining in the half as the
Giants got the ball again, the scoring was not yet over. New York, starting at
the 40 thanks to Minnesota’s kickoff going out of bounds, put together a
10-play drive that gained 26 yards and led to Daluiso kicking a 51-yard field
goal to make the halftime score 19-3. While the Giants hadn’t been overly
impressive offensively in the first half, Minnesota had gained just 21 rushing
yards and Cunningham (pictured at right) completed only 5 of 16 passes. In addition, Cunningham’s
two fumbles and an interception all led to points for New York.
The Vikings had the first possession of the third quarter
and had to punt, but a fumble by Barber gave them the ball again at the New
York four. From there, RB Leroy Hoard ran for a touchdown that, with the point
after, narrowed the margin for the Giants to 19-10.
Following a short possession by the Giants, Minnesota
drove into New York territory on a series highlighted by a Cunningham pass to
Jake Reed for 33 yards. However, Murray’s field goal attempt from 48 yards was
unsuccessful. The Vikings got the ball back at their 40 after another short
series for the Giants capped by a short punt by Brad Maynard. Minnesota
advanced the ball 52 yards in 11 plays culminating in a Murray field goal from
26 yards early in the fourth quarter.
The Giants finally came back alive on offense as Kanell completed
six passes, with one to Patten for 18 yards in a third-and-9 situation and the
longest to Calloway for 21 yards. The 13-play, 74-yard drive reached the
Minnesota five and Daluiso booted his fifth field goal of the day from 22
yards. It was a nine-point contest at 22-13 with just over seven minutes to go
and things looked very favorable for the Giants.
After the teams traded punts, the Vikings, getting the
ball back with the clock now down to 2:06, struck quickly following another
short kick by Maynard. Cunningham connected with Reed for a 30-yard touchdown
and Murray added the PAT to narrow the margin to two points. Minnesota
successfully executed an onside kick that New York’s Calloway muffed and WR
Chris Walsh recovered at his own 39.
Following a false start that moved the Vikings five yards
farther back, Cunningham threw an incomplete pass but then hit TE Andrew Glover
for 11 yards and Carter for 21 on a third down play. A pass interference
penalty on the Giants advanced the ball to the New York 16 and Robert Smith
gained 16 yards to set up a 24-yard field goal by Murray. In stunning fashion,
the Vikings won by a score of 23-22.
It was the biggest comeback by a NFL road team in the
postseason since 1972 and the first playoff win for the Vikings in nine years.
Minnesota led in total yards (293 to 266) and first downs (16 to 13). Indeed,
the Giants rushed for only 76 yards in 36 attempts, a factor in their inability
to control the ball longer. The Vikings turned the ball over three times, all
in the first half, to two for New York.
Randall Cunningham, who had such great difficulty in the
first half, completed 15 of 36 passes for 203 yards with a touchdown and an
interception and also rushed for 38 yards on 7 carries. Cris Carter had 6
catches for 83 yards and Jake Reed (pictured below) gained 89 yards and scored a TD on his 5
receptions. Robert Smith rushed for 40 yards on 16 attempts.
For the Giants, Danny Kanell was successful on 16 of 32
throws for 199 yards with a TD and none intercepted. Chris Calloway caught 6
passes for 53 yards while David Patten gained 86 yards on his 5 receptions.
Brad Daluiso was a key performer with his five field goals in as many attempts.
“It was amazing how things unfolded for us at the end,”
said Minnesota’s John Randle. “I’ve never been in a game where we’ve come back
like this.”
The first win for the Vikings under Dennis Green didn’t
lead immediately to a second – they were badly beaten by the 49ers the
following week in the Divisional round. With Green still coaching the team, they
surged to 15-1 in 1998 and made it to the NFC Championship game. New York fell
back to 8-8 in ’98 and didn’t return to the postseason until 2000. By that
time, Danny Kanell and Chris Calloway were long gone but Tiki Barber and Amani
Toomer had become prominent contributors.
