Case Keenum: Vikings’ NFC title game loss ‘left a fire in my belly’ to win Super Bowl with Broncos

Looking back, Case Keenum doesn’t see much reason for the Minnesota Vikings to feel any sort of shame over their 38-7 loss against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game.

As far as Keenum is concerned, the outcome had more to do with the Eagles’ strength than with the Vikings’ ineptitude. It also continues to serve as motivation for the quarterback to take the next step with his new team, the Denver Broncos.

‘I don’t think it was as lopsided as the score has shown, but, man, they were a good football team’

“(The Eagles are) a great football team,” Keenum told Bruce Murray and Kirk Morrison on the SiriusXM Blitz from the American Century Celebrity Golf Tournament in Lake Tahoe. “I think it was their year. I don’t think it was as lopsided as the score has shown, but, man, they were a good football team, they were a great defense. They could rush with their front four and when you can do that and sit back in coverage, it’s tough. And that place was rowdy.

“It was a lot of things, but it left a taste in my mouth to know how to get there and what it takes to get to the next one, the big one. And, man, it left a fire in my belly. I want to get there.”

‘They’re tough times, but, man, it’s made me who I am and it’s prepared me for this moment’

During the offseason, Keenum has found himself in a place unlike any he has been through his previous six seasons in the NFL. After bouncing from team to team with uncertainty over his future, he now finds himself as a solid starter.

“It feels a lot different,” Keenum said. “It’s a great situation. I wouldn’t trade any of the past situations I’ve been in because, because they’ve made me who I am. There’s been a lot of tough times, a lot of times of people maybe looking in on the outside thinking they’re bad times, they’re tough times, but, man, it’s made me who I am and it’s prepared me for this moment. I’m excited to be the Denver Broncos’ quarterback.”