Redskins QB Case Keenum ready for whatever his role becomes

The moment

By the time the noise from one end of the U.S. Bank Stadium reached the other side of the bowl, it had already intermingled with other sound waves, of infinite magnitude and infinite direction. All coalescing into a thick, invisible soup at the center of the field. It was the kind of crescendo that only rose in the dawn before unforgettable moments. The penultimate pulse. Deafening and debilitating.

But it didn’t bother Case Keenum.

Play clock down to three. The steely veteran gave a quick hard count and then cut off the cadence. The center let the ball fly, and Keenum snatched it, taking a five-step drop as the receivers exploded off the line. He had a clean pocket, but still, he had the clock ticking inside his head, as the tackles exited his peripherals. Three… two…

Then he found his man. Running down the right sideline, Stefon Diggs had separation. But not for long. Keenum had to fire it two seconds ago, but that was no longer an option, so he settled for the next best thing. He put everything he had on the ball, letting it rip and weave through the air.

Down at the thirty-yard line, Diggs contorted himself to make the catch, and for a moment, it looked like he would stumble out of bounds. But the safety missed his assignment, and Diggs instead kept himself inside the lines, finding nothing but open field ahead. He sprinted for it, and as the clock fell to zero, Diggs found the end zone. And the Vikings broken hearts were healed, at least for now.

The Minnesota Miracle. It was that one moment that captivated an entire nation. But behind the scenes, Case Keenum had played a large part in leading the Vikings to that stage, after quarterback uncertainty mired the start of their 2017 campaign. With Keenum’s help, the Vikings and their elite defense had steamrolled the NFC North that year. The Vikings postponed their eternal sorrow, and Keenum put together a solid year as a starter, amassing 3,547 yards, 22 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.

It was redemption not only for the Vikings, but also for Keenum himself; the quarterback who was subliminally told by the NFL, back in 2012, that he was too short. That his arm wasn’t strong enough. That, for all his records with the Houston Cougars, he was just another college legend. Not fit to make his mark on the NFL.

Keenum proved them wrong. But the nature of a moment demands it is temporally finite.