One of the NFL’s largest voices in sports entertainment was awfully quiet during the Minnesota Vikings‘ historic comeback over his team.
Former Indianapolis Colts punter and viral podcaster Pat McAfee was calling play-by-play for the Las Vegas Bowl between Oregon State and Florida and kept his phone out of sight so he could focus on the game at hand.
The booth in Vegas largely assumed McAfee’s Colts had runaway with a victory, nursing a 33-point lead at halftime. However, upon discovering the Vikings completed the largest comeback in NFL history, settled by a score of 39-36 in overtime, McAfee was stunned.
“Largest comeback in NFL history while we’re calling the Vegas Bowl? I just found out,” McAfee said in a video he posted on Twitter with the caption: “WHAT THE HELLL HAPPENED.”
WHAT THE HELLL HAPPENED
NF Talking Heads Chime in After Vikings’ Victory Over Colts
McAfee wasn’t the only national sports figures who were stunned by the upset.
Barstool Sports’ Big Cat confessed on Twitter after the game: “Hand up, I was wrong about the Vikings (in this game). This just makes it sweeter though, the more they survive the regular season the better it is.”
Hand up, I was wrong about the Vikings (in this game). This just makes it sweeter though, the more they survive the regular season the better it is
While Minnesota won over Big Cat, for at least another week, Skip Bayless was not nearly as convinced.
“I don’t care that the Vikings pulled off the biggest NFL comeback ever today,” he tweeted. “They’re still no NFC threat because Kirk Cousins will always disappoint you in the biggest moments. The Cowboys beat the Colts 33-0 in the 4th quarter.”
I don’t care that the Vikings pulled off the biggest NFL comeback ever today. They’re still no NFC threat because Kirk Cousins will always disappoint you in biggest moments. The Cowboys beat the Colts 33-0 in the 4th quarter.
Bayless’ counterpoint, putting his Dallas Cowboys on a pedestal, backfired after Dallas fell to the Jacksonville Jaguars 40-34 in overtime on Sunday. The league’s worst team in the Houston Texans also took Super Bowl contender Kansas City Chiefs to overtime, although former Vikings running back Jerrick McKinnon clinched a 30-24 victory with a touchdown run to end the game.
If Week 15 proved anything, it’s that the NFL is filled with competitors at every team and nobody should be counted out any given week despite their record.
Kirk Cousins Needs to Succeed in the Postseason to Change His Reputation
For fans who only watch a handful of Vikings games a year, it would come as a surprise that Cousins leads the league with 10 game-winning drives this season.
It’s as though years of being a “garbage time merchant” or empty calorie stat-padder finally paid off now that his teams aren’t throwing away the game before the fourth quarter.
No quarterback has brought their team from behind more in the fourth quarter, and Cousins now owns the greatest comeback in NFL history to his name.
However, that feat is just consolation when it comes to the postseason.
Cousins will not convince his naysayers of his ability until he shows he can make a run in the postseason.
But by wrapping up the Vikings’ first NFC North division title since 2017, that opportunity is ahead for the 34-year-old quarterback who is coming off a career-high 460 passing yards and four touchdowns on Saturday against the Colts.
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Pat McAfee Sounds off After Vikings’ Historic Comeback Over His Colts