LONDON (AP) — Justin Jefferson bounced back from two quiet games and Greg Joseph made amends for a missed extra point.
The Vikings star receiver scored a touchdown and beat Marshon Lattimore on a 39-yard reception to set up Joseph’s 47-yard field goal with 24 seconds left and Minnesota hung on for a 28-25 win over New Orleans on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Many of the Vikings (3-1), though, thought they were headed to overtime when Saints kicker Wil Lutz lined up for his 61-yard tying attempt. And why not? Lutz had hit a 60-yarder on their previous possession.
This one had the distance but hit the left upright and then the crossbar before bouncing out as time expired.
“When it left his foot I thought it was going in,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said. “It felt like that thing had a real good chance to go through and obviously a couple of bounces later we’re able to walk off as the winning team.”
Joseph’s go-ahead kick came after he had missed an extra point earlier in the quarter after Jefferson ran it in from 3 yards with 4:15 left in the fourth quarter.
The missed kick left the Vikings with a 25-22 lead.
The Saints then had an eight-play drive and Lutz made a 60-yard field goal with 1:51 left to tie the game for the Saints (1-3), who have lost three straight games.
“I thought they were both in,” Lutz said. “I hit them both on the screws. The second one just moved a little more left. So kind of shocked it didn’t bounce in.”
