Vikings

Inside the Vikings' End Zone Celebration

Photo Credit: Kyle Hansen

Cayleb Jones was familiar with pandemonium.

The Minnesota Vikings practice squad receiver was involved in a walk-off Hail Mary in a college game between his Arizona Wildcats and the California Golden Bears.

So when Stefon Diggs broke free for a game-winning 61-yard touchdown in Sunday’s divisional playoff game, Jones knew the drill, racing down the sideline after Diggs to meet him in the end zone.

“Case let the ball go, and I saw Diggs come down with the ball, and I was like, ‘He’s in bounds, he’s in bounds.’ And I just took off down the sideline,” said Jones. “I was so excited for him.”

The Vikings won 29-24 on the play, setting off a raucous celebration.

Diggs dropped the ball in the end zone, but it was retrieved by Jarius Wright, who knew it would be a valuable keepsake.

Jones, on the other hand, wasn’t as considerate of Wright’s possessions. He had been holding Wright’s hat for him on the sideline and dropped it during his beeline for the end zone. It was never recovered.

“J-Wright’s still upset about it,” he said.

The 24-year-old Jones pulled Diggs behind the end zone and into the tunnel. Jerick McKinnon jumped into the fray. Then Xavier Rhodes. Then Jayron Kearse.

It was a suffocating celebration. Literally.

“They all laid on me, and I almost passed out,” said Diggs. “There were some heavy guys, and I don’t weigh that much.”

Players have been hurt in dogpiles before. For instance, Michigan State’s Jalen Watts-Jackson dislocated his hip in an end zone celebration following Michigan’s epic botched punt that Watts-Jackson returned for a touchdown.

Jones, even though he instigated the bedlam, tried to be the responsible one in the skirmish.

“It’s kind of scary underneath the pile,” said Jones, thinking back to that Arizona Hail Mary. “Nobody can hear you, and you can’t breathe, so after like five seconds, ‘OK, we’ve got to get off him. We’ve got to get off him.'”

Because the Saints left the field before the required extra point, the celebration continued in unorthodox fashion as the Vikings waited for New Orleans to resurface. Reporters, camerapeople and team officials flooded the field before the game was officially over.

Diggs, the hero, having caught his breath, stood on benches, posing for the media.

His heroic catch and run that set off a wild end-zone melee had set the stadium — and state — on proverbial fire.

“It was crazy,” said Jones. “It was a surreal experience for sure.”


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