Vikings embrace the second, defeat the Packers 27-25 to arrange Week 18 showdown with the Lions

Sam Darnold threw three landing passes, positioning the Vikings to clinch the NFC’s prime seed subsequent week in opposition to the Lions.

Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold hundreds as much as throw a landing move to Jalen Nailor within the second quarter Sunday at U.S. Financial institution Stadium. (Carlos Gonzalez/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Vikings gamers bought again to the locker room a number of minutes forward of Sam Darnold on Sunday night, ready for the quarterback’s return earlier than they might begin their celebration of a 27-25 win over the Packers. Darnold, who had thrown for a career-high 377 yards and completed his second three-touchdown sport of the 12 months in opposition to Inexperienced Bay, needed to full a postgame interview with Fox announcer Tom Brady, who had final visited U.S. Financial institution Stadium because the New England Patriots quarterback in Tremendous Bowl LII.

“We felt like we waited for a very long time, and I definitely wasn’t going to interrupt that dialog,” coach Kevin O’Connell mentioned.

It offered time for outdoor linebacker Jonathan Greenard to concoct a plan: When Darnold arrived, teammates welcomed him into the middle of a huddle and adopted Greenard’s route to douse the quarterback with water bottles. Defensive deal with Harrison Phillips hoisted Darnold up in the course of the huddle because the bathe splashed the swimsuit coats of staff co-owners Zygi and Mark Wilf.

“I didn’t know what to do with my fingers in that state of affairs, Ricky Bobby-style,” Darnold mentioned, referencing Will Ferrell’s character within the film “Talladega Nights. “A enjoyable second, man, to be embraced by your teammates like that.”

Decide any element you want concerning the scene: the congratulations from Brady, the six touchdowns in two video games in opposition to the Packers, the celebration engineered by an edge rusher who had joined the Vikings the identical week Darnold did in March. Would any of them have appeared believable in March, July and even September? Uncertainty about Darnold was behind a lot of the lukewarm projections for the Vikings, whom oddsmakers gave an over-under of 6½ wins; O’Connell used the tepid public response as a foil, exhorting gamers to focus solely on what they may management and turning the soccer cliché about “going 1-0 this week” right into a rallying cry.

The staff that signed 14 unrestricted free brokers this previous spring celebrated for the 14th time this season Sunday night time, closing out the regular-season house schedule with its first sweep of the Packers (11-5) since 2017 and its seventh win at U.S. Financial institution Stadium. The cumulative impact, of all these 1-0 weeks, is that this: If the Vikings (14-2) win yet one more time in Detroit subsequent Sunday, they may win 15 video games in a season and clinch the No. 1 seed and home-field benefit within the playoffs for the primary time since 1998.

Nonetheless unbelievable it might need appeared to most exterior the Vikings group, the staff’s accomplishments are irrefutable now. The Vikings diminished the battle for the NFC’s prime seed to a one-game showdown, probably slated for NBC’s nationwide broadcast on Sunday night time, as they attempt to reclaim the division title from the Lions staff that took it from them at U.S. Financial institution Stadium final 12 months.

After two Packers landing drives made it 27-25 with 2:18 left, the Vikings wanted a drive to kill the clock. O’Connell saved throwing, relying on Darnold to hit brief throws to his working backs if nothing was open downfield and instructing him to go down if want be.

“We weren’t going to cease the clock on our personal accord,” O’Connell mentioned.

Darnold hit fullback C.J. Ham for 13 yards on first down and located Justin Jefferson for 9 yards on a second-and-11 after the Packers stopped Cam Akers for a 1-yard loss. With the Vikings needing two yards to complete the sport and the Packers gearing up for a run, O’Connell had Darnold roll out, believing he would discover house on the sting of the road.

He floated his throw to Akers over Kingsley Enagbare’s outstretched arms; Akers stumbled as he reached again to seize it. “That ball felt prefer it was within the air for completely ever,” O’Connell mentioned.

However Akers cradled it as he went down, securing it in opposition to his chest as he somersaulted backward. The Vikings kneeled down thrice to finish the sport.

“Sam threw a whole lot of balls tonight, and that one most likely harassed me out probably the most out of his 43 makes an attempt,” O’Connell mentioned. “However what a play by Cam Akers. I hope followers perceive simply how vital what he’s been via has been and the way he needed to be a Minnesota Viking. He made that play once we completely wanted it.”

The Vikings traded for Akers final 12 months, and he tore his Achilles for the second time in his profession earlier than signing with the Houston Texans within the offseason. The Vikings traded for Akers once more this 12 months and turned to him Sunday with Aaron Jones nursing a quad contusion that led the Vikings to be cautious with him on the finish of the sport.

Akers scored on a 9-yard display screen move from Darnold to present the Vikings their last rating of the day, breaking two tackles as he crossed the airplane to make it 27-10.

“He’s all the time an excellent constructive man,” offensive deal with Brian O’Neill mentioned of Akers. “He’s all the time [saying], ‘Good play, unhealthy play, subsequent play.’ ‘Ain’t nothing to it however to do it.’ He’s bought his sayings, form of maintaining everyone within the current second. So [I’m] actually glad for him. I [tore] one Achilles; he did two. It’s fairly freaking cool to see him come again and have a big-time position.”

The Akers landing got here after Packers cornerback Carrington Valentine intercepted Darnold, establishing a brief landing drive that lower the Vikings’ result in 10. However the Vikings’ response, coupled with the work their protection had completed to carry Love beneath 100 passing yards nicely into the fourth quarter, made it appear as if a second Packers comeback try wouldn’t occur.

Love drove Inexperienced Bay 67 yards for a landing, although, hitting Romeo Doubs for a two-point conversion that made it 27-18 after Emanuel Wilson’s 5-yard TD run. Then, after Will Reichard’s second missed field-goal strive of the day, Love hit Malik Heath for the rating that necessitated the Vikings working out the clock.

The Vikings held Like to 64 passing yards within the first three quarters, taking part in man protection behind a collection of pressures that flustered the quarterback and left him little time to work downfield. Darnold went 17-for-22 for 184 yards within the first half, working over the center to Jefferson and Jordan Addison and hitting Jalen Nailor for a 31-yard landing when Jefferson’s in-breaking route influenced security Xavier McKinney and opened up house for Nailor downfield.

The Vikings led 13-3 at halftime and pulled forward 20-3 within the third quarter when Darnold hit Addison for an 18-yard rating on a stop-and-go route that beat security Javon Bullard.

“It’s unbelievable,” Darnold mentioned. “He simply continues to shock me with the best way he can get out and in of cuts and his suddenness, his fast twitch. It’s very spectacular.”

Other than his interception whereas beneath strain, so was Darnold once more. And nevertheless unbelievable it might need appeared, the quarterback and the Vikings will probably be taking part in Sunday to make sure the highway to the Tremendous Bowl comes via their raucous house surroundings.