Their minds still racing with childlike exuberance over the stunning last-snap victory that sent them to the NFC championship game
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Cornerback Xavier Rhodes replayed the video clip of the winning touchdown ”about a thousand times” at home, searing the image of Stefon Diggs leaping to catch the pass from Case Keenum and sprinting for the end zone into his memory forever so the details of the sequence that beat New Orleans were no longer foggy.
Ten seconds left.
Trailing by one point.
Sixty-one yards to go.
The outcome that produced the 29-24 victory was so improbable that the Vikings were predictably continuing to process their status as the first team in NFL history to score a winning touchdown on the final play of regulation in a postseason game.
”The Minneapolis Miracle”, as it was dubbed in trending on social media, was as unfathomable as the name sounds.
”We still can’t believe it in the locker room,” wide receiver Adam Thielen said. ”I woke up this morning and made sure it wasn’t a dream.”
The Vikings were about a field-goal favorite on the early betting lines to beat the Eagles on Sunday and become the first team to play a Super Bowl on home turf.
”I believe anything is possible at any moment, as you can see what happened yesterday,” Rhodes said.
Such an emotional ending carries the potential to distract from preparation for and focus on the next game at Philadelphia, when the winner’s high will be worn off and the Vikings will be in an unfriendly stadium without the advantages and comforts of their own place.
They wouldn’t have advanced this far without an unassuming attitude, though, so they were quick on Monday to dismiss the danger of savoring the moment too long.
”I think it took a little bit longer yesterday to probably get over it, but, no, today I think guys are ready
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For those anxiously and impatiently long-waiting fans of one of the NFL’s most agonized franchises, the victory on Sunday was evidence that whatever curse existed in their minds might no longer be relevant.
Sure, most of these players endured the missed 27-yard field-goal try by Blair Walsh in the closing seconds of the wild-card round defeat two years ago against Seattle.
Defensive end Brian Robison, at least, was on the 2009 team that lost in overtime at New Orleans in the NFC championship game.
Except for Thielen and the handful of Minnesota natives on the roster, though, those crushing losses of the past that helped shape Vikings lore have not been a part of this team’s experience, let alone the lives of most of the players.
”We’re not playing to make up for anything,” Thielen said. ”We’re just playing to win football games.”
To beat the Eagles, the Vikings have some more work to do. They won’t have the crowd noise or the fast surface, for one.
They’ll have to face a defense just as strong if not stronger than the Saints. That’s why coach Mike Zimmer, who let his guard down during an uncharacteristically playful postgame news conference
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”We can’t make these mistakes in playoff games or we’ll be going home,” Zimmer said. ”There’s always good and always bad in some of the games, but we made some critical errors in that game that could have gotten us beat.”
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Lance McCullers pitched seven strong innings, Jake Marisnick homered and the Houston Astros beat the Tampa Bay Rays 1-0 on Thursday night to tie a franchise record with their 11th straight road win.
McCullers (9-3) gave up three hits while striking out seven. The Astros have won his last six starts and have won 18 of 21 overall. Their 11th straight road win matched the club record set last May 14-June 5 on the way to winning the franchise’s first World Series title.
The Rays, who had won five straight overall and eight straight at home, had runners on first and third with none out in the eighth against reliever Chris Devenski, but Matt Duffy lined into a double play and Jake Bauers grounded out.
Hector Rondon pitched the ninth for his fifth save in seven opportunities.
Marisnick’s homer in the fifth came off Ryan Yarbrough (7-4) and was his seventh of the season. It ended the Rays’ streak of 26 scoreless innings, the second-longest in franchise history.
RED SOX 4, ANGELS 2
BOSTON (AP) – Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a two-run homer and Rafael Devers had a solo shot to help Boston beat Los Angeles.
Boston completed a season sweep of the Angels for the first time since they joined the American League as an expansion club in 1961.
The Red Sox have won four straight and six of seven as they head to New York to open three-game series between the rivals on Friday night with first place in the AL East on the line.
Hector Velazquez (6-0) pitched two scoreless innings of relief. Craig Kimbrel earned his 24th save with a scoreless ninth inning.
Andrelton Simmons hit a solo homer and Albert Pujols had an RBI single for the Angels, who have lost six straight. Los Angeles was up 1-0 until Devers led off the fifth with his 13th homer, to center off of Jamie Barria (5-4).
DODGERS 11, CUBS 5
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Anthony Rizzo’s three-run double and Addison Russell’s two-run homer highlighted a seven-run seventh inning as Chicago broke loose after Los Angeles starter Clayton Kershaw exited.
The Cubs pounded out 15 hits, including four by Rizzo. Russell drove in four runs in the final regular-season meeting between the teams that played each other in the NL Championship Series the last two years.
They met seven times in 10 days
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The Dodgers staked Kershaw to a 3-1 lead before he departed after five innings because of a pitch limit.
The Cubs jumped on reliever Walker Buehler (4-2), who arrived earlier in the morning from Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he had been set for a rehab assignment. Albert Almora Jr. homered on Buehler’s second pitch and Russell’s sacrifice fly tied it at 3 in the sixth.
Steve Cishek (2-0) got the win with 1 2/3 innings of relief.
ROCKIES 9, GIANTS 8
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – DJ LeMahieu hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning and set a career best with five RBIs, rallying Colorado past San Francisco.
Nolan Arenado hit his 19th home run, tying him for the NL lead with Washington’s Bryce Harper. Trevor Story added three hits for Colorado, which had lost four straight at San Francisco.
The Rockies blew leads of 5-2 and 7-5 and were down 8-7 before scoring twice off closer Sam Dyson (2-2) to avoid a series sweep.
Adam Ottavino (4-1) gave up two runs but retired three batters to win. Wade Davis pitched the ninth for his 22nd save.
DIAMONDBACKS 4, MARLINS 0
MIAMI (AP) – Zack Greinke pitched seven innings and was an offensive dynamo, too, helping Arizona beat Miami.
Greinke singled twice, drove in a run, stole a base and scored. He leads Arizona pitchers this year with four RBIs and four runs, raised his season average to .300
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As for pitching, Greinke (8-5) won for the fifth time in his past six starts.
Paul Goldschmidt continued his recent tear with three hits, and Nick Ahmed added two hits. Each scored and drove in a run.
Trevor Richards (2-5) allowed three runs in four innings. Miami rookie Brian Anderson went 0 for 4 to end his 24-game on-base streak, which had been the longest active string in the National League.
PHILLIES 4, NATIONALS 3
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Aaron Nola pitched into the eighth inning to win his 10th game of the season, Rhys Hoskins homered again and Philadelphia started a pivotal division series by beating Washington.
Hoskins hit a two-run shot in the seventh inning for his 13th home run of the year and a 4-1 lead that propelled the Phillies within two games of idle Atlanta for first place the NL East. Both the Phillies and Nationals entered this four-game set within striking distance of the Braves.
Nola (10-2) struck out eight and walked only two over 114 pitches and 7 2/3 innings. He has won seven straight decisions at home dating to last season.
Tommy Hunter allowed two runs in the ninth before Seranthony Dominguez got the final two outs for his sixth save.
Tanner Roark (3-9) struck out five over seven innings for the Nationals, who fell to 4-12 since June 9.
BREWERS 6, REDS 4
CINCINNATI (AP) – Eric Thames hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning and Milwaukee slowed Cincinnati’s best surge of the season.
The game included a benches-clearing incident in the third inning as Cincinnati’s Joey Votto exchanged words with Brewers catcher Erik Kratz.
Thames gave the Brewers a 5-4 lead when he homered in the seventh inning off reliever Amir Garrett (0-1).
Eric Sogard added a sacrifice fly in the ninth.
Junior Guerra (4-5) gave up Jose Peraza’s second career leadoff homer and Jesse Winker’s two-run shot while .