Pereira: Marlon Brown puts the topper on an unbelievable ending
That may have been the greatest 2:05 of a football game that I have ever seen.
And that's saying something, folks, because I've seen a lot of football.
The game: Minnesota at Baltimore.
The situation: Minnesota led 12-7 with just over two minutes to play when Baltimore's Dennis Pitta caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to begin the madness. Baltimore leads 15-12 after a two-point conversion.
What followed was nothing short of amazing.
-- 1:27 left: Minnesota's Toby Gerhart took a handoff and ran straight up the middle for a 41-yard touchdown. Minnesota leads 19-15.
-- 1:16 left: The Vikings kicked off and Baltimore's Jacoby Jones returned it 77 yards for a touchdown. Baltimore leads 22-19.
-- 0:45 left: Minnesota's Cordarrelle Patterson caught a 79-yard touchdown pass from Matt Cassel. Minnesota leads 26-22.
And somehow, this crazy game got even better with this incredible ending.
Here was the situation: Baltimore had the ball, first-and-goal at the Minnesota 9-yard line with 10 seconds left. Flacco hit Marlon Brown in the back of the end zone for the game winner with 4 seconds left in the game.
Final: Baltimore 29, Minnesota 26.
Talk about the skill level and tough conditions. It was a perfectly thrown pass by Flacco and Brown got possession with one foot down, dragged the other foot and then both heels were on the ground while maintaining control while hitting the hard turf.
There aren't enough words to accurately describe this one, but here's one: awesome.
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