For a minute there, it sure looked like the Minnesota Vikings were going to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory -- just as they had done so many times before. 

After one of the NFL's best defenses gave up 24 points (more than it had given up in an entire home game all year long) in less than 17 minutes, blowing a 17-0 halftime lead along the way, Case Keenum got the ball back with 25 seconds left and his team trailing 24-23. The Vikings' hopes, it appeared, were dead in the water. 

And then the journeyman who began the season as a backup quarterback pulled off what can only be described as a football miracle. For years, NFL fans will remember where they were when Keenum found Stefon Diggs down the right sideline at U.S. Bank Stadium, and Diggs rumbled his way to the end zone for a 61-yard game-winning score. 

One of the most unlikely quarterbacks of one of the most unlikely contenders engineered one of the most unlikely game-winning drives anyone will ever see, and now the Vikings are one win away from accomplishing something that no team in NFL history has ever accomplished: playing in the Super Bowl at home. 

The Vikings looked like they were going to cake-walk their way to the NFC title game for a while. They jumped out very quickly to a double-digit lead, as a field goal with 4:45 left in the first quarter put them ahead 10-0. They led by 10 points or more until just less than two minutes had run off the clock in the fourth quarter. In other words, they were in control pretty much all day. 

The swarming Minnesota defense was absolutely everywhere, forcing Drew Brees into mistakes. He was intercepted not once, but twice in the first half. Andrew Sendejo made an incredible leaping grab on an under-thrown deep ball, and Everson Griffen made an incredible play to tip a pass into the hands of Anthony Barr. 

Those turnovers, plus accurate passing from Keenum, strong running from Latavius Murray and Jerick McKinnon, and timely catches from Diggs and Adam Thielen, helped stake the Vikings to that aforementioned 17-0 lead, which they held at halftime. 

The stats painted the picture of a close game at that point: the Vikings had gained 169 yards to the Saints' 149, and they'd averaged 5.0 yards per play to the Saints' 4.7 per play. But Brees had thrown those two picks and the Saints had taken six penalties for 92 yards. 

It took the Saints until there was just over a minute left in the third quarter to even get points on the board against Mike Zimmer's defense. Michael Thomas, who was locked in a battle with Xavier Rhodes all afternoon, began to make his presence felt. He scored twice in a 3:09 span, with the scores sandwiched around a brutal interception from Keenum. All of a sudden, we had ourselves a game. 

And then all hell broke loose. 

Over the first 46 minutes and 51 seconds of the game, the Saints and Vikings combined to score five times, totaling 31 points. Over the final 13 minutes and nine seconds of the game, they combined to score five more times, totaling 21 points. There was a blocked punt and a blown wide receiver pass and a successful fourth-and-10 conversion. There were incredible catches and excruciatingly bad defensive plays. The lead changed hands four times in the last three minutes and three times in the last minute and a half. Kai Forbath and Wil Lutz both seemingly made game-winning field goals, only to see the other team storm right back to take the lead. 

In the end, it was the Vikings that were left standing. Maybe we should have seen that coming, even when Keenum was standing there with his back to the wall and only 25 seconds on the clock. After all, the Vikings have been pretty much unbeatable with double-digit leads. 

Here are a few more things to know about the Vikings' incredible 29-24 win...

Vikes stop a streak

The last two playoff teams to trail by 17 points or more at halftime came back to win. You may recognize these games. 

That's a heck of a stat right there, and it obviously would've been even more incredible if the Saints had made it three in a row. 

Receivers come up huge

Before the start of the season, Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs likely would not have appeared on anybody's list of the best wide receiver duos in the league. Throughout this season, though, they showed that they were exactly that. Thielen has come out of nowhere to become one of the very best receivers in football, catching 91 passes for 1,276 yards and four touchdowns this season. Diggs missed two games due to injury and was limited in several others, but he was excellent when he was fully healthy, grabbing 64 passes for 849 yards and eight scores. 

They were both at their best on Sunday against an excellent New Orleans pass defense. It took Thielen a while to get going while Diggs disappeared for a stretch in the middle of the game, but when you looked up at the end of the day, they had combined for 12 catches for 211 yards and a touchdown. 

Thielen drew shadow coverage from star Saints rookie Marshon Lattimore for much of the game, and early on, the Vikings utilized rub routes and pick plays to get Diggs the ball on the move coming across the field. He also worked the scramble drill with Keenum, turning nothing into something. 

Thielen eventually shook himself free as well, and he wound up making a couple incredible catches. 

He ended with six catches for 74 yards, while Diggs had six for 137 and that incredible, all-time classic touchdown. Jarius Wright contributed as well, coming up big with two long catches down the sideline, both of which set up Vikings scores. 

Michael Thomas shines in loss

In the Saints' Week 1 loss to the Vikings, Michael Thomas did not exactly dominate. Despite not really drawing shadow coverage from the Vikings' top corner (Rhodes), Thomas finished the game with only five catches for 45 yards and he did not score. 

Sunday was different. Thomas was a monster, coming up with important catches in big situations and scoring the Saints' first two touchdowns. On the first of his two scores, he beat Rhodes off the line of scrimmage and across his face, taking the crossing route to the opposite corner of the end zone, where he caught a perfectly-placed ball from Brees. 

Just over three minutes of game-time later, Thomas found the end zone again. This time he got a little help from his friends, as a gorgeously executed play-action fake from Brees to Kamara drew the defense away from Thomas, who snapped off a slant route against Terence Newman for the score. 

Thomas finished the game with six catches for 80 yards and those two scores, which brought the Saints back from the dead and put them in position to stage the epic, if ultimately futile, comeback. 

Vikings slow down Ingram and Kamara -- for a while

Back in Week 1, the Vikings did an excellent job of controlling the Saints' ground game. Mark Ingram ran six times for 17 yards. Alvin Kamara ran seven times for 18 yards. Adrian Peterson ran six times for 18 yards. Combined, that trio averaged just 2.8 yards per carry. 

You wouldn't have known it then, but the Saints would go on to have arguably the best running game in all of football. Ingram and Kamara each totaled more than 1,500 yards on the year. (It was the first time in NFL history two running backs in the same team hit that number in the same season.) Kamara led the whole league in yards per carry. The Saints finished fifth in the NFL in rushing yards, first in yards per carry, and first in rush offense DVOA, per Football Outsiders. 

For most of Sunday, it looked like the Saints were stuck in a Week 1 flashback. Ingram and Kamara fared slightly better than they did 125 days ago, but they did not resemble the explosive duo we saw throughout much of the season. The duo totaled only 69 yards on 20 carries, but Kamara made his presence felt in the passing game. He caught four passes for 62 yards and a touchdown that put the Saints in the lead for the first time all day. 

That was a really big play at the time, even if it ultimately wasn't enough. The job the Vikings defense did on what was the heart of the New Orleans offense throughout most of the Saints' run to the divisional round was incredible and played a huge role in their wild victory. 

Williams' mistake costs Saints

Much of the attention for the game-winning touchdown will deservingly go to Stefon Diggs, but we have to note here the role played by Saints safety Marcus Williams. Williams tried to undercut Diggs' legs to take him out while he was in the air, but whiffed on the hit and let Diggs keep his balance and waltz down the sideline for the score. Take a look again. 

It's incredibly unfortunate for Williams, who really had a terrific rookie season. A second-round safety out of Utah, he was a starter for most of the season and finished with 71 tackles, four interceptions, and seven passes defensed. He had four more tackles on Sunday and wasn't targeted in the passing game at all until the game's final play. In the end, he could barely keep his composure. 

That's not how you want anybody's season to come to a close. Williams should still be a big part of the Saints' future, and here's hoping he comes back from this and has himself a great career. 

Sendejo injury could linger

Vikings safety Andrew Sendejo had himself an impactful game, but it ended too early. Late in the third quarter, Sendejo was laid out by Saints receiver Michael Thomas on a pick play. 

It did not appear that Thomas blindsided Sendejo on purpose -- that's why the refs picked up the flag -- but the hit clearly caught him off guard and he didn't move for several seconds after hitting the ground. He was eventually walked to the locker room by trainers. His teammates that remained on the field were incensed -- especially Rhodes. 

Minnesota quickly ruled Sendejo out for the rest of the game with a concussion. 

His availability for next week's NFC title game is obviously unknown. I would imagine we'll hear more about his status throughout the week. 

What's next for Saints, Vikings?

The Vikings will travel to Philadelphia to square off with the No. 1-seeded Eagles in the NFC title game. They'll attempt to become the first team ever to play in a Super Bowl held in their home stadium. They'll also be trying to buck a bit of their own history against next week's opponent. As Chase Stuart pointed out, the Eagles are 3-0 all-time against the Vikings in the playoffs. (The Vikings will nevertheless open as road favorites in most sports books.) 

The Saints will have the No. 26 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Their primary needs are likely in the defensive front seven. Cameron Jordan is a superstar and they have several other average or better contributors up front, but they can use some help with their interior pass rush and especially, their run defense, which ranked 23rd in the NFL in Football Outsiders' DVOA this season.  

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