the Falcons scored the only points of the 3rd quarter on a 27-yard Morten Andersen field goal to make the score 20–17. The Vikings responded, converting three third downs in a 15-play, 82-yard drive, and posting their only points of the second half on a Cunningham to Matthew Hatchette touchdown pass 1:19 into the fourth quarter. The Falcons countered with another field goal set up by a 70-yard strike from Chandler to Mathis. The score was 27–20 with 11:02 remaining. From here, the teams exchanged possessions twice. The clock running dry, Minnesota managed to break through on what appeared to be a game-clinching 55-yard drive to the Atlanta 21. Stopped on 3rd down with 2:07 left, the Vikings summoned Pro Bowl kicker Gary Anderson, who had made NFL history that season by converting all 39 of his field goal attempts. However, Anderson's 38 yard boot hooked wide left which left the Falcons still alive and the Vikings and the Metrodome faithful perplexed by a foreboding change in momentum. That momentum would spark the most important drive in franchise history. The Falcons had the ball and two minutes to span the 71 yards separating them from an improbable comeback. In perhaps the finest moment of his injury-prone and inconsistent career, QB Chris Chandler directed an 8 play drive, concluding with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Terance Mathis with 49 seconds left. Nonplussed, and squeamish from the disaster at the end of the first half, Minnesota coach Dennis Green then chose to run out the clock and try his chances in overtime. The crowd, which had been collectively eviscerated by the Anderson miss and Chandler's subsequent heroics, quickly took heart as the Vikings won the overtime coin flip. The celebrated Minnesota offense would decide its own fate. The game became a struggle for field position in the early part of the period, as both teams failed to break the 50-yard line on their initial possession. The Vikings' second possession stalled at their own 39, a 52-yard Mitch Berger punt subsequently pinning Atlanta deep in its own territory. Beached at their own 9, the Falcon offense mounted a final frantic charge. Led once again by the clutch passing of Chandler, Atlanta surged 70 yards in a breakneck 10-play drive, encountering only a single 3rd down which came on the final play of the game. After centering the ball on a 2-yard Jamal Anderson