Taylor Heinicke didn’t get on the field until the waning moments of the Vikings’ exhibition Sunday night at U.S. Bank Stadium. When the final gun sounded, he was the hero.

Heinicke’s dive into the end zone for a two-point conversion on the final play to give Minnesota a dramatic, 32-31 victory over San Francisco at U.S. Bank Stadium. In a stadium mostly emptied of fans in a game that didn’t count, Heinicke was mobbed by teammates as if he had just won the Super Bowl.

“Everyone on the field was there, and the next thing you know the whole sideline was pinning me up against the wall,” Heinicke said. “It was fun. It was a fun 30 seconds over there.”

Heinicke hadn’t played a down until he was inserted with 2:44 remaining and the Vikings trailing 31-24. He led them on a 14-play, 63-yard drive for a one-yard touchdown run by Terrell Newby that began with one second on the clock.

The Vikings immediately lined up for the decisive two-point conversion.

“For Taylor to come in the way he did, to not play all game and to be put into a two-minute drill and come out there and score, and to get the two-point conversion the way he did, that was pretty cool to see,” starting quarterback Sam Bradford said.

Heinicke completed 8 of 12 passes for 73 yards. On fourth-and-2 at the 49ers’ 43-yard line with 1:41 left, he completed an eight-yard pass to Cayleb Jones.

“We took what was there, and if something broke down, we just tried to make plays,” Heinicke said.

On the two-point conversion, Heinicke initially looked to pass before taking off.

“Just try to make something happen,” Heinicke said. “And fortunately, the guys on the right weren’t paying attention, really, I guess. I tried to outflank the defensive end and go for the pylon.” Related Articles Vikings rookie Jeff Gladney knows he’s being picked on: ‘I’ve got to hold my own’

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There’s no way Heinicke will overtake Case Keenum, who completed 10 of 14 passes for 139 yards with two touchdowns, for the backup job. He now has to hope the Vikings keep three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster.

So did Sunday’s comeback help him?

“The only thing I try and do is do my job the best I can do and everything will take care of itself,” Heinicke said. “Just try to keep all that stuff out of my head and just have a clear mind and play football.”