Rapid Reaction: Vikings get crushed

This is a file-at-the-final-gun blog. My real column, and all of our team coverage, will be available later at startribune.com and in the morning paper.

Philadelphia -

Maybe Marcus Williams should have made that tackle.

When the Saints safety somehow missed Stefon Diggs at the end of the divisional playoff, Diggs' miraculous 61-yard touchdown erased a Vikings collapse and vaulted the team into the NFC chanpionship game.

From the late in the third period of that game through the beginning of the fourth period on Sunday, the Vikings were outscored 62-19.

They weren't good enough to win without help against the Saints. They weren't good enough to compete against the Eagles, giving up 38 unanswered points after scoring a touchdown on their first drive.

The Vikings have lost their last six NFC title games. In their last two NFC title games on the East Coast, they were outscored 79-7.

There is a reason the Vikings never publicly committed to Keenum. They aren't sure he's their best quarterback. But their other current options, Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater, have problematic knees.

The last two weeks, Mike Zimmer's defense stopped stopping offenses. In a way, each of the last two seasons have ended with versions of collapses.

The 2016 Vikings won their first five games, then went 3-8.