In the instant after Morton Andersen’s overtime field goal defeated his Minnesota Vikings in the NFC championship game, the normally stoic Randall Cunningham fell to his knees. His shoulders sagged as, like a religious supplicant, he dipped his head to the Metrodome turf.
“I’m tired,” Cunningham said in a disappointed hush later on that Sunday, Jan. 17, 1999. “I’m drained. I gave it all I had.”
The Falcons’ improbable 30-27 victory over the Vikings, one of the most dominant regular-season teams in league history, had devastated the reborn 35-year-old quarterback and ended what he realized was likely his last shot at a Super Bowl.