Last-Second Field Goal Gives Minnesota a Playoff Spot

December 28, 2008

MINNEAPOLIS — Throughout the Vikings’ 20-19 victory over the Giants on Sunday, the Metrodome scoreboards provided plenty of information except for one critical fact.

At the request of Minnesota Coach Brad Childress, the fans and, more importantly, his players, were not informed about the progress of the game between the Chicago Bears and the Houston Texans.

Either a Vikings victory here or a Chicago loss in Houston would have clinched first place in the National Football Conference North and a postseason playoff berth for Minnesota. Childress did not want his players distracted.

The Vikings won on a last-second 50-yard field goal by Ryan Longwell, a play that culminated a few minutes of confusion by the Vikings, who seemed uncertain of their strategy prior to the final play.

The Bears went on to lose in Houston, 31-24, eliminating them from wild-card contention, too.

An historic highlight for the Giants was the running of Derrick Ward, who carried 15 times for 77 yards to finish the season with 1,025 yards and join his teammate Brandon Jacobs as only the fifth tandem in N.F.L. history to reach 1,000 yards in the same season.

Jacobs, not in uniform because of a lingering injury to his left knee, has 1,089 yards and was on the sideline in warm-up clothes. He hugged Ward when Ward came to the sideline early in the third quarter after crossing the 1,000-yard mark.

The Giants, who have two weeks off before they defend their Super Bowl title in the playoffs, sustained two more injuries to their secondary as safety Michael Johnson and cornerback Sam Madison were hurt.

The Giants rested many healthy first-stringers in the second half because the game was relatively inconsequential for them.

The Giants took their first lead with 9 minutes 29 seconds left in the third quarter when the backup quarterback David Carr connected with wide receiver Domenik Hixon for a 23-yard scoring play to put the Giants up, 16-10.

On third down and 4 from the Vikings’ 23, Hixon split wide to the right against Antoine Winfield, got behind Winfield on single coverage and caught Carr’s arching pass in stride about 5 yards deep in the end zone.

The Vikings threatened to score late in the quarter, but that drive ended when Giants safety James Butler intercepted a pass to the end zone by quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, who was penalized for roughing Butler out of bounds after a long runback.

The Giants increased their lead to 19-10 with 11:22 left in the fourth quarter when John Carney kicked his fourth field goal of the afternoon, this one from 20 yards. But Minnesota cut the lead to 19-17 with 9:26 left in the fourth quarter on a 54-yard touchdown passing play from Jackson to Bernard Berrian.

Berrian got behind the rookie cornerback, Terrell Thomas, when Thomas fell down , and Berrian streaked by him along the left sideline.

Carney later missed a 48-yard attempt, his first miss this season other than two attempts that were blocked.

The other teammates to reach the 1,000-yard mark in the same season were Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris of the 1972 Miami Dolphins; Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier of the 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers; Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack of the 1985 Cleveland Browns; and Warrick Dunn and Michael Vick of the 2006 Atlanta Falcons. All were running backs except Vick, who was a quarterback.

The Giants entered the game with the league’s best rushing offense, averaging 158.9 yards a game. The Vikings had the league’s best defense against the run, allowing an average of only 73 yards a game.

But the Vikings played without nose tackle Pat Williams, who is out with an injured shoulder and is important in their run defense. In Sunday’s game, the Giants finished with 135 rushing yards.

Carr replaced the first-string quarterback Eli Manning at the beginning of the second half. The Giants had already clinched the N.F.C. East and a first-round playoff bye along with home-field advantage for the N.F.C. playoffs. They will be among the four idle contenders next week while eight other teams play in the wild-card round.

Another Giants not in uniform was defensive tackle Barry Cofield, who had a knee injury. Also out, both with concussions, were tight end Kevin Boss and cornerback Aaron Ross.

The injuries continued when the game began. Michael Johnson, the free safety who had an early sack on Jackson, left the game in the first quarter with what was announced as a contusion.

His replacement was Kenny Phillips, a rookie. Also injured early was Michael Matthews, a tight end who was the replacement for Boss. Matthews injured his ankle, but returned.

Minnesota took a 3-0 lead in the first minute of the second quarter on a 48-yard field goal by Longwell. They made it 10-0 with 11:22 left in the first half on a 67-yard run by Adrian Peterson, the league’s leading rusher.

Earlier, Peterson had fumbled, but his team recovered it. On Peterson’s touchdown, after the Giants jumped off side, Peterson took a handoff and broke through the left side of the defensive line, jumping into the front of the grandstand after passing through the end zone.

The Giants cut the lead to 10-3 with 9:30 left in the half when Carney kicked a 51-yard field goal, his longest of the season. Carney’s second field goal, from 30 yards, cut the Vikings’ lead to 10-6 with 1:03 left in the second quarter. Carney’s third field goal, a 42-yarder, cut the Vikings’ lead to 10-9 as the first half ended.

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