MINNEAPOLIS — Marcus Williams sat sobbing in front of his cubicle in the silenced New Orleans locker room, his face buried in a folded white towel.
Deep inside Minnesota's stadium that erupted in victorious euphoria a few minutes earlier, Williams was having a hard time grappling with what had just happened. The rest of his Saints teammates were, too, after a 61-yard touchdown pass by Case Keenum to Stefon Diggs burned Williams on the game's final play and gave the Vikings a 29-24 victory for a place in the NFC championship game .
"You can't let it beat you down," Williams said, his eyes still reddened by the tears.