Kai Forbath broke the Vikings’ sad history of playoff kicks and it proved crucial in a magical finish

Minnesota Vikings fans had to be thinking I know how this movie ends when Kai Forbath lined up for a 53-yard field goal with the team’s playoff hopes on the line. Instead, the script was turned on its head.

Trailing 21-20 with less than two minutes to go, a miss would’ve likely been a nail in the coffin for the Vikings and a ticket to the NFC Championship for the New Orleans Saints.

But with little drama, and no timeouts used to ice the kicker, Forbath calmly walked out and drilled a kick that looked like it could’ve been good from about 70.

It may not seem like a tremendous highlight — especially given the wild finish — but for the Vikings it’s a revelation considering the team’s painful history of field goals in the playoffs. It ultimately wasn’t a game-winner with the Saints’ Wil Lutz rising to the occasion with a 43-yard field goal of his own to take back the lead.

But Forbath’s make kept the Vikings alive long enough for magic to happen when Case Keenum hurled a desperation throw to Stefon Diggs that turned into a touchdown.

Minnesota’s painful playoff history has often been doomed by missed kicks.

Just two years ago, Blair Walsh needed to make a 27-yard chip shot for the Vikings to beat the Seattle Seahawks in the playoffs, and he couldn’t hit it. The miss is something Minnesota still thinks about.

“I think there’s a lot of us in this locker room that have a sour taste from a couple years ago,” Vikings receiver Adam Thielen told PFT Live, “When we thought we had the chance to win in the first round in the playoffs and move onto the next round and who knows what happens after that. There’s a lot of guys who were on that team and I think are going to bring that intensity to come out into that next round.”

Nineteen years ago, the Vikings had a chance to break a 27-27 tie with a 39-yard field goal attempt for Gary Anderson, who hadn’t missed in two years. But his kick — like Walsh’s — sailed wide left and it sent the Atlanta Falcons to the Super Bowl in 1999 instead.

Forbath had a much harder kick than both of his Vikings predecessors, but had no problem nailing it. And while it wasn’t a game-winner, it was enough to shake the Vikings’ postseason woes and get the team into the NFC Championship.