The Cincinnati Bengals’ offense has been unable to sustain any kind of threat against the blitz-heavy, send-em-all defense of the Minnesota Vikings. But they trailed just 7-3 at halftime in a game with crucial playoff implications thanks to some exceptional efforts from coordinator Lou Anarumo’s defense.
Nothing put that on display more than defensive tackle BJ Hill, turning a would-be sack into a drive-killing interception from his own butt. Behold, the confluence and stupid and glorious that is Vikings quarterback Nick Mullens trying to avoid a sack and making things so, so much worse on himself:
Mullens attempted to launch the ball from Hill’s grasp, setting himself up for what would have been, at best, an intentional grounding call with the same exact outcome as taking a sack. But it turns out throwing the ball while getting dumped onto your back is difficult, so he spiked his pass right into Hill’s facemask. A couple bobbles later, and it was Bengals’ ball.
Needless to say, fans and analysts were stunned and amazed by a play equal parts wondrous and mind-numbingly stupid.