MINNEAPOLIS -- We're continuing our look at the 10 plays that defined the Minnesota Vikings' 2014 season. Today, we'll return to Captain Munnerlyn's pivotal -- and contested -- unnecessary roughness penalty on Drew Brees.

WHEN: Sept. 21, 2014

WHERE: A 20-9 loss to the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Drew Brees called this tackle by Captain Munnerlyn "straight Hulk Hogan." Crystal LoGiudice/USA TODAY Sports

THE PLAY: Captain Munnerlyn's unnecessary roughness penalty on Drew Brees with 13 seconds left in the third quarter.

WIN PROBABILITY ADDED: minus-7.8 percent (Vikings went from a 29.2 percent chance of winning to 21.4 percent).

WHAT THEY SAID: Munnerlyn: "I'm grabbing, and I got my arms around him, and it seemed like he was fighting, he was trying to get away from me. I didn't hear a whistle. I didn't hear nothing, so I just started to lean back with him, to take him to the ground. I didn't try to dump him on his head; I looked at the replay several times and I didn't see him land on his head. He landed on his back. I talked to him after that and told him he went after the wrong guy. I told him I did it. He was like, 'Man, I know you're a heck of a football player. I know you're not a dirty player.' I wasn't trying to throw him on his head. I'm not that type of guy."

HOW IT HAPPENED: The Saints were clinging to a 13-9 lead at the end of the third quarter, facing a third-and-13 from their own 32. The Vikings lined up in their double-A gap blitz look, with safety Robert Blanton walking up to the left side of the Saints' formation next to Munnerlyn, who was positioned over Marques Colston in the slot. The Vikings dropped linebackers Chad Greenway and Gerald Hodges into coverage, sending both Munnerlyn and Blanton around tight end Jimmy Graham as Saints left tackle Terron Armstead and guard Ben Grubbs tied up Everson Griffen. Both Munnerlyn and Blanton got by Graham and running back Pierre Thomas, with Munnerlyn grabbing Brees and taking him to the ground in a suplex-style hit that Brees later joked was "straight Hulk Hogan." Brees, who landed on Blanton and thought the safety had administered the hit, got up and started pushing Blanton, who threw up his hands to signal he hadn't done it. Hodges and defensive end Brian Robison were shoved by Saints linemen Zach Strief and Jahri Evans as both tried to keep Brees from going after Blanton.

IMPACT OF THE PLAY: Instead of punting from their own 24, the Saints got a 15-yard penalty and a first down at the Vikings' 47. The play also seemed to wake up Brees, who hit three of his next five throws for 47 yards and a touchdown that put the Saints up 11. Had the Vikings forced a punt, Teddy Bridgewater might have been able to drive the team's battered offense -- which was missing Adrian Peterson, Kyle Rudolph and Brandon Fusco -- down the field for a touchdown. Instead, the Vikings got just one more possession when their ensuing drive sputtered at their own 41 and the Saints covered 70 yards in 14 plays to chew up the remaining 6:58. The Vikings lost four games by a field goal or less, but of their four double-digit losses, this one sticks out as the most winnable, largely because of what changed on a dubious penalty call. Replays showed Brees did not land on his head, and it's tough to determine what else the 5-foot-9 Munnerlyn could have done to pull Brees down from that angle, especially when the play wasn't whistled dead with Brees in Munnerlyn's grasp.