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Marcus Williams missed the crucial tackle that led to the Vikings victory

THE city of New Orleans and their NFL fans went into a downward spiral after a missed tackle eliminated them from the playoffs.

James McKernJames McKern
@jLmcKern
2 min read
January 16, 2018 - 5:27PM
The missed tackle that led to the miracle in Minneapolis.
The missed tackle that led to the miracle in Minneapolis.

IT was the one of the greatest moments in the history of the NFL playoffs.

Unless you are a New Orleans Saints fan, then it was like watching a car crash in slow motion.

The Saints had done the miraculous after overcoming a 17-0 score deficit at halftime. Their first points on the board did not come until there was 1:18 left on the clock in the third quarter.

If they had have held on, the comeback would have been only the second time in the NFL a team has overcome a deficit that large. The only other occasion was during last years Super Bowl when the Patriots eclipsed a 28-3 margin.

But the fairytale finish didn’t pan out in the Saints favour and they were left to wallow in the misery of a playoff elimination.

Fans and New Orleans locals sat stunned as the miracle final play unfolded before the realisation their season was over began to sink in.

Behind a resurgent Drew Brees, the Saints came marching all the way back and after a few lead changes in the fourth quarter, took the lead 24-23 with only 25 seconds remaining in the game.

With limited time remaining, the Minnesota Vikings needed to cover 80-yards if they were to keep their dreams of making the Super Bowl alive.

That’s when this happened.

The play simultaneously broke Saints’ fans hearts while sending the Vikings fans into a state of delirium.

It did not take long for the videos of Saints fans destroying objects around their households to begin flooding the pages of social media channels.

Making the play all the more incredible is the fact that it is the first ever “walk-off” touchdown in the history of the NFL postseason.

While Stefon Diggs was lauded as the hero, Marcus Williams was slammed for his part in the game winning play after completely missing the tackle attempt on Diggs.

Williams had enjoyed a remarkable rookie season as the Saints safety and at only 21, he has a bright future ahead of him.

For now however, the moment hangs overhead like a dark cloud.

And of course social media was quick to slam the young player for his missed tackle that allowed Diggs to stroll into the end zone.

Not everyone jumped at the opportunity to pin the excruciating loss on the youngster with his teammate Manti Te’o coming to his defence.

“He didn’t lose that game. I could’ve made more tackles, I could’ve done a lot of stuff. It wasn’t Marcus,” Te’o said.

Drew Brees also passed along some words of wisdom for Williams.

“Experience is a tough teacher,” Brees said.

Williams broke down postgame and had tears in his eyes as he addressed a group of reporters.

The city of New Orleans will feel the pain of this loss for a long time, with none feeling it more than Williams.

But the young defensive stopper isn’t going to let one play define his career.

Originally published as Marcus Williams missed the crucial tackle that led to the Vikings victory

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Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/american-sports/nfl/marcus-williams-missed-the-crucial-tackle-that-led-to-the-vikings-victory/news-story/ce9037bdf72dfb8b25ab1a3f07d0570e