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EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. - Poor Blair Walsh. Now he knows how Gary Anderson felt back in 1998. No, Walsh's missed field goal didn't cost a 16-1 Vikings team a trip to the Super Bowl. But Anderson didn't miss a chip shot from 27 yards with 22 seconds left either.
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Walsh, who had made all three of his field goals up to that point, needed to make the last one to upset the two-time defending NFC champion Seattle Seahawks at home in the third-coldest game in NFL history (minus-6). But he hooked the kick badly wide left, sucker-punching the Vikings and their fans with a 10-9 loss while setting off a wild celebration by the equally-stunned visitors.
"I'll take the blame because I deserve every second of it," Walsh said after the game. "I didn't come through for us in that moment and that hurts."
Coach Mike Zimmer said he thought the snap was a little high. Holder Jeff Locke said he didn't spin the laces to their proper spot, fearing that the ball would be too slippery from the cold.
Walsh stood and answered every question at his locker. He kept his composure until teammates started coming by to console him. He broke down in tears as teammates vowed to support the kicker who had back-to-back walk-off wins this year at Chicago and in overtime against St. Louis.
"He's stepped up big for us and won games for us in the past," safety Harrison Smith said. "Not going to abandon him now."
Locke tried to take the blame by saying he didn't turn the laces out. Walsh would have none of it.
"It's my fault," he said. "I don't care if you give me a watermelon hold, I should be able to put that through. I'm the only one who didn't do my job."
--Game-time temperature for Sunday's NFC wild-card game at TCF Bank Stadium was even colder than forecast. At minus-6, it tied for the third-coldest game in NFL history and the coldest game in Vikings history. It also had the lowest wind chill (minus-25) in Vikings history.
"It wasn't really a factor at all," said Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, whose team lost 10-9. "We were warm, for the most part. Especially on the sideline with the heated benches and everything. Then you go out there on the field and it's all a mental thing. It didn't affect us at all."
As for the winning team, receiver Doug Baldwin said he underestimated just how cold it would feel.
"Mentally, I thought I would be able to push through it, but it was a lot tougher than I thought it would be," he said. "Fortunately, we have a great training staff and a great equipment staff that prepared us all week and had the right technology on the sidelines that allowed us to be successful. It wasn't too bad, but we had to focus in."
--Running back Adrian Peterson started all 17 games, ended the season healthy and said he doesn't need any clean-up surgeries. It's the first time he played in every game since 2012. Injuries shortened his season in 2013 and he missed 15 games because of child-abuse charges in 2014.
--Linebacker Jason Trusnik, a journeyman signed during the regular season for depth and special teams purposes, played in the first playoff game of his nine-year, 117-game career on Sunday.
--Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater threw for only 146 yards, but he did set the team playoff record for highest completion percentage (70.8). Bridgewater completed 17 of 24 passes to nine different receivers.
--Cornerback Trae Waynes recorded his first career interception when he stepped in for veteran Terence Newman, who battled an ankle injury during the game. Waynes, the team's first-round draft pick, returned the pick 24 yards, the ninth longest interception return in team history.
--Middle linebacker Eric Kendricks had a team-high eight tackles on Sunday. He's the first rookie to lead the team in tackles during the regular season and the postseason. Rookie Rip Hawkins led the team in tackles during the 1961 expansion season, but that team didn't make the playoffs.
