Details tell messy tale about game's tail end

Most people on the Vikings sideline knew Chicago trailed Houston by two touchdowns when Ryan Longwell lined up to attempt a 50-yard field goal with five seconds remaining Sunday.

The Vikings trailed the Giants by two, but even if Longwell missed, Chicago was going to lose and the Vikings would be NFC North champions.

Coach Brad Childress decided not to have the Houston-Chicago score flashed among out-of-town scores, but cell phone technology made it easy to get updates.

"Before the kick, everyone was saying Chicago is down by 14 with two minutes to go," safety Darren Sharper said. "I was like, well, don't tell Ryan Longwell that. It's good practice to have that pressure on him. But he's clutch all the time."

Sharper was right. Longwell nailed the kick, giving the Vikings a 20-19 victory. It was Longwell's third game-winner this season and his sixth since joining the Vikings in 2006.

Longwell did not seem amused that he was not told what was happening in Houston. "It's one of those things that probably would have been good information to have," he said. "But, at the same time, I approached this game like every kick was all or nothing, and lo-and-behold [his 48- and 50-yarders] were the difference."

The sequence that led to Longwell's winner bordered on the bizarre. The Vikings had a first down at the Giants 30-yard line when Adrian Peterson carried for a 2-yard loss. But, after that, 20 seconds ran off the clock, taking it down to nine seconds. "I would've liked to have run a play," Childress said. "I wish they wouldn't have wasted that 20 seconds. It will be a good learning experience to kind of stand at the ready."

The Vikings then used a timeout and were ready to kick a field goal. But the Giants called a timeout, and Childress sent his offense back out. Tarvaris Jackson threw an incomplete pass that took the clock down to five. The Giants used another timeout before Longwell got to kick the winner.

Longwell admitted it was strange to have his own team "ice" or disrupt him by sending the offense back out for one more play. "When your own team tries to ice you, that's a new one," Longwell said. "But it was fun. You love to be in that situation. You love to have that opportunity."