Minneapolis, Minnesota - The Minnesota Vikings and the Pittsburgh Steelers, two teams still in the hunt for a wild card spot this January, clashed in a late-game thriller on Thursday night to open Week 14 of the 2021 NFL season.

The Vikings held on to the very last second to defeat the Steelers 36-28, avoiding a three-game skid in the process.

After a slow but tolerable start to the first quarter, leaving the Vikings up by six, Minnesota took control of things to dominate the second quarter, leading Pittsburgh 23-0 at halftime.

The Vikings then led by as much as 29 before the Steelers finally got on the board with a touchdown late in the third quarter.

Pittsburgh busted the fourth quarter wide open, scoring two more unanswered touchdowns to pull within nine with just over 10 minutes to play.

Minnesota finally responded with a score to go back up by 16, but the Steelers weren’t done when they got back into the end zone with over four minutes remaining.

Pittsburgh had the ball for the final drive of the game and nearly had a chance to tie, but a 12-yard pass in the end zone was broken up and the Vikings escaped with a much-needed win.

Minnesota’s fifth-year running back, Dalvin Cook (26), pulled off one of the Vikings’ best performances by a rusher on Thursday night.

Cook didn’t seem to care about Pittsburgh’s reputation, despite the Steelers' defense being known as one of the toughest over all their years in the league.

His running game couldn’t be contained in the first half, piling up 153 yards before halftime, a Vikings franchise record.

Cook finished the game with 27 carries for 205 yards and two touchdowns, along with one pass for 17 yards.

While the Steelers aren’t completely out of the running for a playoff spot, their odds are even slimmer now that they came up short to the Vikings.

Pittsburgh’s in that terribly complicated position where they can’t lose any more games and also need other teams to "help" them out by either losing or winning, depending on those teams’ respective circumstances.

Since the weekend’s just beginning, they have a few extra days to hope for the best of luck going forward – because they’re definitely going to need it.

Next Monday night, the Vikings (6-7) will hit the road to battle the Bears (4-8), while next Sunday, the Steelers (6-6-1) will be back at home to face the Titans (8-4).