Yes, the Vikings are still battling to salvage the 2014 season for first-year Head Coach Mike Zimmer. His team made franchise history Sunday with a rare win over the New York Jets.
Only once previously in the franchise’s history had the Vikings beaten the New York Jets. You had to go back to 1975, when Bud Grant’s Vikings beat the Jets 29-21.
New York is now 2-8 all-time against the Vikings after Teddy Bridgewater hit Jarius Wright with an electrifying 87-yard game-winning touchdown pass. It was the second-longest overtime winning
Photo by Steve Floyd
touchdown pass in NFL history.
The Vikings improved to 6-7 and barely remain alive for a Wild Card playoff spot — and a shot at a winning season. This week the Vikings travel to Detroit to play the 9-4 Lions.
Bridgewater, on a third and five, called an audible and caught the Jets in an all-out blitz. Wright with his great speed jumped and grabbed the ball and ran up the sideline in front of the Vikings bench for the game winner.
Wright had four catches for 123 yards, and Charles Johnson, who has been coming on as a star receiver, had four catches for 103 yards. Former Viking Percy Harvin had six catches for 124 yards; the Jets also had Marcus Williams from Hopkins High School and former Gopher Eric Decker.
The Vikings have suddenly won two in a row and are scoring a lot of points. This was the second week in a row scoring over 30 points in a game after scoring 31-13 last week in the win over Carolina.
Believe it or not, the Vikings are 4-0 in 2014 when they score 30 or more points and 5-0 when they score 29 or more points. Bridgewater now holds the franchise record for most wins by a Vikings rookie quarterback — Sunday’s win was his fifth. He has also started in nine games this year, and next week he will tie Hall-of-Famer Fran Tarkenton for most starts (10) by a rookie quarterback, the oldest record in franchise history set back in 1961.
Bridgewater also has qualified to win the NAACP Quarterback Award. He has wins over Washington’s Robert Griffin III, Carolina’s Cam Newton, and New York’s Gino Smith, all veterans.
Vikings defensive star Everson Griffen recorded another sack Sunday — he has a team-leading 12. He scored a touchdown last week and may be headed to his first Pro Bowl, leading the team in sacks. Bridgewater recorded his second career 300-yard passing game and has thrown at least two touchdown passes in back-to-back games.
The Vikings have yet to win a division game in 2014, having lost all four previously, and hope to get Zimmer his first career NFC North win by beating the playoff-bound Lions.
Larry Fitzgerald can be heard weekday mornings on KMOJ Radio 89.9 FM at 8:25 am, on WDGY-AM 740 Monday-Friday at 12:17 pm and 4:17 pm, and at www.Gamedaygold.com. He also commentates on sports 7-8 pm on Almanac (TPT channel 2). Follow him on Twitter at FitzBeatSr. Larry welcomes reader responses to info@larry-fitzgerald.com, or visit www.Larry-Fitzgerald.com.
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