The Minnesota Vikings made up for three bad quarters of football with a dominant one on Sunday.
Kirk Cousins was 29-of-35 passing for 319 yards and three touchdowns to lead Minnesota to a come-from-behind 27-23 home win over the Denver Broncos.
It was the first win for any NFL team trailing by 20 or more points at halftime in 100 games over the last five seasons, including the playoffs.
The Vikings (8-3) trailed 20-0 at halftime and 23-7 after three quarters, but scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to rally and win for the sixth time in their past seven games.
Cousins hit Kyle Rudolph for a 32-yard touchdown pass with 6:01 remaining to give the Vikings a 27-23 lead, their first of the game.
Denver (3-7) took the ball and put together a 19-play drive to the Minnesota 4-yard line in the final seconds, but the Broncos couldn’t connect on three consecutive passing plays before time ran out.
Following a 47-yard field goal by Brandon McManus, the Broncos took a 10-0 lead with 4:39 left in the first quarter on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Allen to Troy Fumagalli, capping off a 90-yard drive in six plays.
Denver then mounted another lengthy drive, going 69 yards in 10 plays and taking a 17-0 lead with 12:21 remaining in the second quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run by Andy Janovich.
McManus added a 29-yard field goal with 1:06 left in the second quarter.
The Vikings responded to start the second half, driving down the field on the opening possession of the third quarter and cutting Denver’s lead to 20-7 on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Cousins to Irv Smith Jr. with 11:29 left in the third.
Denver went ahead 23-7 with 4:23 left in the third quarter on a 41-yard field goal by McManus, but Minnesota cut its deficit to 23-13 with 13:25 left in the game on a 3-yard touchdown run by Dalvin Cook. The 2-point conversion attempt failed.
Minnesota then closed within 23-20 with 10:21 remaining on a 54-yard touchdown pass from Cousins to Stefon Diggs, who caught five passes for 121 yards.
Courtland Sutton caught five passes for 113 yards in defeat for Denver.
—Field Level Media
