Vikings special teams experience high, then low

MIAMI – The Vikings special teams taketh but then gaveth away in a four-minute span that saw them go from the key reason the Vikings were going to win to the final blunder that gave the Dolphins their game-winning safety in Sunday's 37-35 win at Sun Life Stadium.

First, the blunder. A blunder that began when long snapper Cullen Loeffler one-hopped a punt snap for the first time in his 11 seasons with the Vikings. Punter Jeff Locke controlled the ball and punted it from the end zone, but Dolphins defensive end Terrence Fede reached over blocker Joe Banyard and swatted the ball out of the end zone for a safety with 41 seconds left.

"Threw a bad snap, a low snap," said a visibly distraught Loeffler, "and it cost us the game. Guys can only hold protection for so long. I threw off our rhythm. Punt got blocked. Game over."

Dolphins special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi had called for a return to set up a possible game-winning field goal. But Fede chose Plan B when he saw the snap hit the ground.

"I was like, 'Forget the hold-up,' " Fede said. "If any player sees the ball on the floor, their first instinct is to go after the ball."

Locke said he never saw Fede, but knew he had to hurry because he assumed the rush would be strong.

"I did try to speed it up," he said. "But I wasn't quick enough."

"That's not an excuse," Loeffler said. "Yeah, I've been sick. But that's my job. I wasn't sick enough for it to cause me to do something like that."

Four minutes earlier, the special teams were in line to receive game balls.

The Vikings had just tied the score 28-28 on a touchdown and a two-point conversion that followed two Miami penalties. A personal foul penalty on Miami's Olivier Vernon on the two-point conversion moved the kickoff to the 50-yard line.

"Most kickers in that situation would tell you they just want to kick it through the end zone," kicker Blair Walsh said. "But [special teams coordinator Mike Priefer] made a great call there. Chances of them getting past the 20 are slim there."

Priefer instructed Walsh to pop the ball up inside the 5-yard line. Walsh dropped it just outside the goal line, forcing Jarvis Landry to return the ball.

"Blair did a great job, dropped the ball right in that little pocket we were aiming for," said safety Antone Exum. "As I got closer to [Landry], he just dropped it. From there, it was just a fight for the ball. And I wasn't going to lose that fight."

Exum's recovery set up a 5-yard TD run by Matt Asiata one snap later.

Unfortunately for the Vikings, the euphoria would disappear when Fede sent Locke's punt soaring.

"I was looking for it in the sky," Fede said. "I didn't know where it went. Eventually, I saw it land in front of me in the stands. I knew that was the game right there."