The Minnesota Vikings went for the win late in regulation, and they paid for it.
In a wild game between two teams out of the playoffs and playing for pride — and jobs — the Vikings got the ball back against the Miami Dolphins on their own 13-yard line with 1:05 remaining in a 35-35 game. The Vikings had all three timeouts, had moved the ball well all game (20 first downs) and wanted to give rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater a shot to win it.
That decision came back to haunt the Vikings.
Bridgewater scrambled for two yards on first down, and the Vikings stopped the clock with 45 seconds left. After an incomplete pass on second down, Bridgewater threw an incomplete pass on second down. On third down, the Dolphins' Cam Wake sacked Bridgewater and the Dolphins called timeout to force a Vikings punt.
It didn't go well.
Vikings long snapper Cullen Loeffler skipped his snap back to punter Jeff Locke, and Dolphins rookie reserve defensive end Terrance Fede broke through and blocked Locke's attempt. The ball skipped out of the end zone for a safety for what would be the game-winning score.
You can't blame the Vikings for wanting to go for it and see if Bridgewater could deliver, but it was a low-percentage situation, and playing for overtime that deep in their own zone felt like the right call there.
The Dolphins have some recent history with game-winning safeties. They beat the Cincinnati Bengals last season on a walk-off safety in overtime on Halloween night.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm
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