Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie safety Antione Winfield Jr. had a big hand in their win over the New Orleans Saints. On Monday he held nothing back on social media.

Former Minnesota Golden Gopher Antoine Winfield Jr. is the son of Antione Winfield, who was a member of the Minnesota Vikings secondary when they suffered a gut-wrenching loss to the Saints in the 2009 NFC Championship Game.

For Vikings fans, that 2009 loss was one of the hardest to handle in the history of a team that has plenty of difficult losses to choose from.  This is the game that featured a key Brett Favre interception after a standout game. It also featured the "Bountygate" scandal, where Saints defensive players were reportedly given bonuses to knock key Vikings players out of the game.

Ultimately, Favre took a beating and the Vikings lost in overtime a game they just as easily could have won.  Also, to rub salt into the Viking's fans wounds, the outcome of this game would be a catalyst to change the NFL overtime rules.

When this game took place, the NFL had a "sudden death" rule for overtime.  That meant whoever scored first in overtime would win the game, regardless of whether it was a touchdown or a field goal.  The Saints won the coin toss and then won the game by kicking a field goal on their first overtime possession.  The Vikings never got the ball.

Had this game taken place the following season, the new overtime rule would've been in place and after the Saints kicked their field goal in overtime, the Vikings would've had the chance to possess the ball at least once to try and match that field goal, which would then move the overtime into a 'sudden death' scenario.  Or, they would've won the game with a touchdown drive.

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Vikings fans will never forget that game and neither will Antione Winfield Jr., who's dad was on the field.  Winfield Jr. caused a key turnover for the Bucs and they then went on to win the game.

Following the game, he posted on Instagram something that made every Vikings fan smile: "Made some grown men cry last night and I don't feel bad about it! That was for my pops back in '09."

Antoine Winfield Jr. will next head to Lambeau Field Sunday as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers face the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game.

 

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