It's been three days now since the "Minneapolis Miracle" and the state of Minnesota is certainly still riding the high. Going from doom and gloom to the elation of a walk-off victory only seconds later will do that to you.
I'd be surprised if that feeling wears off before this coming Sunday for fans of the team but for the players inside the Vikings locker room they have a unique and seemingly difficult task. With the NFC Championship game right around the corner, it's time to forget the "Minneapolis Miracle" (at least temporarily) and focus all of their attention in on a Philadelphia Eagles team, that oh by the way is still the top seed in the NFC playoffs.
"It’s been fun," Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs said Wednesday. "But I want to get a win this week, it’s real important to me."
For Diggs, being the centerpiece in the miracle play that pushed the Vikings on into the Championship Round of the NFL playoffs, the win has an extra special meaning.
"It’s like a storybook ending," Stefon explained. Nine times out of ten it never happens that way. The clock runs out, the defense plays good ball and no mistakes happen. For us we never gave up. You think it will never happen that way. But it’s like coach Zimmer said, ‘the good guys won’."
But now, that chapter of the storybook has to come to a close. And the plot line for the next chapter is only beginning to take shape.
"We came back in here Monday morning and Zim addressed the team," tight end Kyle Rudolph shared on Wednesday. "His message was 'congratulations' and 'we’re moving on'...but why were we in that situation to begin with?”
Amidst correcting their own mistakes, the ones that left the door open for Drew Brees and the Saints to fight their way into a late fourth quarter lead, the Vikings will be preparing to face an unfamiliar foe in hostile territory.
The Eagles are a tough nosed bunch; stout against the pass with an above average secondary and tough running the ball with a dual backfield on offense, the Eagles pose a unique threat to this Vikings team one that they haven't seen a whole lot this season.
So the preparation begins. As Everson Griffen says it's time for "laser focus" on this week's opponent. Time to prepare, time to practice and get ready to execute this weekend on the road.
It's the NFC Championship gang, time to put up or shut up!