Case Keenum may have only spent one season with the Minnesota Vikings, but he'll forever live on in franchise lore after tossing the infamous 'Minneapolis Miracle' touchdown to Stefon Diggs in the 2017 NFC Divisional Round against the New Orleans Saints.
With just 10 seconds left in the game and the Vikings needing a field goal, Keenum found Stefon Diggs near the sidelines, needing him to step out of bounds. But blown coverage by rookie safety Marcus Williams allowed Diggs to jog to the end zone as time expired, giving birth to one of the most historic plays in NFL history.
Keenum signed a two-year contract with the Denver Broncos in the offseason, and will almost certainly be the starter for Week 1. The journeyman signal-caller was at an event Wednesday to talk to Broncos season ticket holders, and he broke down every little piece of the Minneapolis Miracle play.
"Buffalo is our formation. It’s three-by-one but it’s a ‘B’ word — buffalo — so that’s a bunch, and there’s an ‘f’ in it so that means the f is at the point," he explained. "Key left is the protection, which means it’s a six-man protection, they’re going to block six."
Keenum then explained how key the pass protection was, then broke down the receivers routes. Keenum wanted to go to Adam Thielen, but he was covered. That left tight end Kyle Rudolph, wide receiver Jarius Wright and Stefon Diggs.
"There’s no timeouts left, we’re at our 39, and I remember calling the play and saying, ‘Guys, I’m going to give one of you a chance," Keenum said, while admitting that the entire offense was exhausted up until this point of the game.
Keenum then broke down the final portions of the play, and how he was panicking as Diggs avoided stepping out of bounds:
"I just threw it to the sideline. I remember I lost vision of him a little bit behind my right guard and I couldn’t really see. I knew the ball came out of my hand really, really well...
And all of a sudden I see Stefon’s hands, his white gloves, just coming out of nowhere, and I’m like, ‘He’s gonna catch this ball.’ And he catches it...
And I tell you, I’ve been in some loud stadiums, but . . . they went crazy. I mean it was nuts. It was the loudest I’ve ever heard. I’ve been in Seattle, I’ve been in Kansas City, where they set the world record for loudest outdoor stadium, but it was loud. It was so loud...You talk about the best moment? It was an unbelievable moment. I still don’t believe it sometimes, that it happened. It was so crazy."
Unfortunately for the Vikings, they were throttled by the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game, 38-7. Philly would go on to win the Super Bowl, but the Vikings look poised to be one of the top teams in the NFC in 2018.
They signed standout quarterback Kirk Cousins to a three-year contract worth $84 million, and landed Pro Bowl defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson on a one-year deal. Coming back with the NFL's No. 1 ranked defense, the Vikings will undoubtedly be a force this season.
The Vikings pulled off the Minneapolis Miracle in 2018. Now, they're aiming for their first Super Bowl next year.