CARSON, Calif. - It looked like the Minnesota Vikings were headed into halftime having wasted an opportunity to extend their lead over the Los Angeles Chargers after Kirk Cousins threw an interception on a screen pass with under a minute to play.
Defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo had other plans in mind.
.@IfeadiOdenigbo
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) December 15, 2019
TO
THE
HOUSE#Skol pic.twitter.com/z2nshWRPBx
Six plays after the Chargers got the ball back, Los Angeles crept towards the Vikings red zone with the chance to jump out ahead of Minnesota. On second-and-2 with 23 seconds left in the second quarter, Philip Rivers dropped back and attempted to move out of the way of right tackle Sam Tevi, who was bulldozed onto his back near the quarterback by Vikings defensive end Danielle Hunter.
Instead of getting out of the way and resetting his feet to make a throw, Rivers lost the ball when Hunter punched it out from under his right arm. Odenigbo spotted the loose ball and attempted to grab it but couldn't. Meanwhile, Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks stopped Austin Ekeler from recovering his team's fumble, then allowing Odenigbo a second chance to scoop up the ball and run 56 yards for a touchdown. Hunter took out Chargers tackle Russell Okung with a nasty down field block to give his teammate a clear lane to the end zone.