One-second thoughts: Vikings glum after loss to Buffalo

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Brian Robison stared at the hideous, worn carpet, motionless except for his hands slowly peeling the black athletic tape off his knuckles.

Everson Griffen sat on a stool next to him, his darting eyes wide in disbelief.

Across the aisle and a few stalls down, Xavier Rhodes, his head covered with a white shower towel, let out a noise that registered somewhere between a groan and a grunt.

The only other noises on the defensive side of the locker room were the showers warming up in the background and the occasional mumble directed at no one in particular.

Twenty minutes earlier, the Vikings seemingly had a victory in the bag. Their defense was playing its best ball of the brief Mike Zimmer era. The unit had forced four turnovers and harassed veteran Buffalo Bills quarterback Kyle Orton all afternoon, perhaps making him reconsider retirement. They were going on 30 minutes and counting without allowing a point.

And when the Bills got the ball back with 3 minutes, 7 seconds left and the Vikings leading by six points, the chasm between the Buffalo 20-yard line and the Minnesota end zone seemed as wide as the thundering falls that were just a short drive up the road in Niagara.

But 15 plays, 80 yards and one inexplicable fourth-and-20 conversion later, the Bills stunned the Vikings 17-16, scoring the game-winning touchdown and extra point with 1 second left and sending the visitors back to their locker room to wonder what the heck had just happened.

The Vikings had their chances on that final drive as Orton, continually taking two steps forward then one step back, steered the Bills down the field.

When the Bills approached midfield, the Vikings sacked Orton twice, setting up fourth-and-20. But as the Vikings scrambled to line up after the Bills rushed back to the line, Greenway was gesturing to a teammate when the ball was snapped. That split second gave Bills tight end Scott Chandler enough time to get inside positioning on Greenway for a 24-yard, chain-moving reception.

"It was a good throw and catch, and they converted," Greenway said. "That's the game."

It wasn't quite the game yet, though. With 51 seconds left, the Vikings had the Bills where they wanted them again, at third-and-12. But Orton hit slanting wideout Sammy Watkins for another long conversion.

Two plays later, Orton chucked up a back-shoulder throw to wide receiver Chris Hogan, who made a leaping grab over Rhodes at the 2. Orton's spike stopped the clock with 5 seconds left.

"It doesn't even matter [that it was good coverage] because I didn't make the play," Rhodes said.

In those 3 minutes and 6 seconds, the Bills had erased a dominant performance by the Vikings defense. The Bills had just 293 yards before the final drive. Greenway, Griffen and safety Harrison Smith all forced fumbles, two of which were recovered by rookie outside linebacker Anthony Barr. Griffen tied a career high with three sacks. And safety Robert Blanton had his first career interception.

"I felt for 58, 59 minutes we outplayed them," Robison said. "But the last two minutes, they just made more plays than we did. We've got to find a way to get it done, and we didn't do that today."

Zimmer, back with the team after missing Friday's practice because of kidney stones, was surprisingly subdued after the stomach-punch loss. He said he thought his aggressive play-calling might have caught up to the Vikings on the final drive, but he was proud of his team's effort, especially on defense.

"By no means were we perfect today, but I do feel like this football team improved today," the coach said.

They could not, and despite getting the better of the Bills for 58 minutes, the Vikings defenders who coughed up the lead were not interested in moral victories or silver linings.

"You can play the game great for three quarters, but in the fourth, you've got to play your best," cornerback Captain Munnerlyn said. "And we didn't. You've got to stand up. The game was in our hands."

And just like that it slipped through their grasp, leaving the Vikings to search for answers in old carpeting in a somber locker room.

"That hurt. Everything hurt," Griffen said. "The touchdown. The fourth-and-20. Everything hurt."