via Fox/NFL
Did Kyle Rudolph push off on his game-winning touchdown catch?
- The Minnesota Vikings beat the New Orleans Saints, 26-20, in overtime in the NFC Wild Card.
- On the game-winning touchdown pass, Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph appeared to commit offensive pass interference by shoving the defender away, but the play was not reviewed.
- Many noted the irony of not reviewing the play, which the NFL made reviewable after referees didn't call pass interference late in the Saints-Los Angeles Rams' NFC Championship game.
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The Minnesota Vikings shocked the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Wild Card on Sunday, winning 26-20 in overtime to advance in the NFL playoffs.
The Saints forced overtime with a late field goal in the fourth quarter, but the Vikings got possession to start overtime and drove the field. The drive was helped by a gorgeous, 43-yard completion from Kirk Cousins to Adam Thielen to set up first-and-goal.
Three plays later, Cousins found tight end Kyle Rudolph in the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.
However, Saints players and the Fox broadcast booth of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman thought the play would be reviewed for offensive pass interference, as Rudolph seemed to push off of the defender.
The NFL instituted a rule this offseason to review pass interference plays, sparked by a late no-call in the Saints-Los Angeles Rams NFC Championship game last year.
Instead, the refs did not review the play, and the Vikings won. According to Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post, fans were throwing trash on the field at the referees.
Rudolph's push-off was minor; had it been reviewed, it's unclear if OPI would have been called. Former NFL referee and NBC rules expert Terry McAulay thought it was OPI.
But to some, the fact that it wasn't reviewed at all made the institution of the rule only look worse.
The Vikings advance to play the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday after perhaps the biggest upset of Wild Card weekend.
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