Moments before his most impactful play in three months, Cordarrelle Patterson received an odd request. Minnesota Vikings special-teams coordinator Mike Priefer, and the rest of the team's kickoff return team, asked him to join their huddle on the sideline.

Typically, Patterson jogs onto the field separately from his blockers. But the Vikings had just fallen behind the Detroit Lions with three minutes, 43 seconds remaining, and if there was ever a time for Patterson to emerge from a disappointing season, it was now.

According to Patterson, teammates encouraged him to trust their blocks and use his open-field running to set up a potential game-winning drive. The Lions' kickoff traveled only two yards deep into the end zone, giving Patterson his opportunity.

He took off up the middle before noticing a hole just to the left of Joe Banyard. The ensuing 51-yard return, a season-long for Patterson, set up the Vikings at their 49-yard line. An injury to receiver Jarius Wright on the first play of the possession forced Patterson onto the field again, and he responded with catches on the next two plays. Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater also targeted him on a fourth-down pass that fell incomplete.

"Maybe I need to start coming into the huddle more often," Patterson said afterward.

Among the Vikings' top priorities for their final two games should be resurrecting Patterson's production enough to send him into the offseason on a positive note. Coach Mike Zimmer seemed to agree on Sunday, indicating the Vikings would look for more ways to get Patterson involved in the offense starting Sunday at the Miami Dolphins.