By Darin Intro to the Miracle at the Met
On a freezing Sunday, December 14, 1980—Week 15 of the NFL season—the Minnesota Vikings hosted the Cleveland Browns, better known that year as the “Kardiac Kids.” Both teams were locked in a desperate battle for playoff positioning, and the game at Metropolitan Stadium (the Met) lived up to the hype, delivering one of the most unforgettable finishes in Vikings history. Trailing by 14 points in the fourth quarter, the Vikings, led by quarterback Tommy Kramer, staged a ferocious comeback. This legendary game, which ended with one of the most improbable plays in the history of the sport, is forever known as the Miracle at the Met. It was a heart-stopping finale that left the Met crowd in absolute disbelief and simultaneously defined the season for two major rivals.
Article from Dec 15, 1980 Post-Bulletin (Rochester, Minnesota)
The Improbable Comeback and the Final Snap
The Cleveland Browns, famed for winning close contests all year, seemed poised to defeat the Vikings, holding a commanding 23-9 lead deep into the final quarter. However, Tommy Kramer engineered a rapid-fire rally, scoring a touchdown and then successfully recovering an onside kick. With seconds ticking away and the score at 23-21 in favor of Cleveland, the Vikings found themselves 46 yards from the end zone with time for just one final, desperate attempt.
Kramer took the snap and unleashed a high, wobbly Hail Mary pass into the cold Minnesota air toward a cluster of Vikings and Browns players in the end zone. As the ball descended through the fading light, star wide receiver Ahmad Rashad leaped up, wrestling the ball away from two defenders for the game-winning touchdown. The clock officially read 0:00. The 28-23 victory completed a comeback of epic proportions, securing the win and keeping the Vikings’ playoff hopes alive in dramatic fashion.
Conclusion
The 1980 Miracle at the Met remains a seminal moment in both Vikings and Browns franchise history. For Minnesota, it was a season-saving triumph built on late-game resilience and the enduring connection between Kramer and Rashad. For the Cleveland “Kardiac Kids,” who had specialized in these very tight finishes, it was a crushing and ironic defeat that ultimately damaged their postseason path. Decades later, the image of Rashad leaping for that final, impossible catch still stands as the definitive moment of one of the NFL’s greatest Hail Mary games.
