Sam Darnold and the Minnesota Vikings took a while to get going Sunday afternoon, but their quest to keep pace with the Detroit Lions in the NFC North is alive and well.
Darnold led the Vikings’ second-half rally to beat the Arizona Cardinals 23-22 on Sunday at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. He mounted a late game-winning drive, converted on fourth-and-long and found Aaron Jones for a 5-yard touchdown with about 70 seconds left on the clock. That put Minnesota up by one point, marking its first lead of the entire game and eventually pushing it to victory.
That brought the Vikings to 10-2 on the season, putting them just one game back of the Lions in the standings. While it can take a slip from Detroit — which hasn’t been the league’s best team consistently all season — and look like a win in their regular-season finale against the Lions in January, the Vikings still have a shot to claim the top seed in the NFC and earn a first-round bye to the postseason. to do
Although the finish was great, the competition was incredibly slow early on. Both teams combined for six straight field goals to start the game, and Darnold managed just 79 yards on nine completions for most of the third quarter.
Ultimately, after taking a 12-6 lead with a pair of field goals either side of halftime, the Cardinals took the lead late in the third. Kyler Murray hit Marvin Harrison Jr. in the corner of the end zone for a perfect 15-yard touchdown pass, putting them up 19-6. It came after a deep pass interference call on Fabian Moreau took the Cardinals into the red zone.
That drive, for whatever reason, sparked the first sign of life in Darnold. He responded by leading the Vikings on a six-play, 70-yard drive that ended when he hit Johnny Mundt for a 4-yard touchdown pass less than four minutes later. That kept the Vikings within a single score entering the final period.
Four plays later, just seconds after the Vikings sacked Murray deep in the pocket, Byron Murphy came up with an easy interception to give them the ball back. That set up a 31-yard field goal, bringing the Vikings within three points.
Murray led the Cardinals into the red zone almost immediately, ending their drive when he was called for an intentional grounding. They instead settled for a short field goal, which led to the Vikings’ game-winning drive.
The Vikings are 7-1 in one-score games this season.
Murray went 31-of-45 for 260 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions for Arizona, which marked his second straight and dropped to 6-6 on the season. On the ground James Conner had 68 yards on 17 carries and Trey McBride had 96 yards on 12 catches.
Darnold went 21-of-31 for 235 yards and threw two touchdowns in the win. He had 22 yards on the ground, matching both Cam Akers and Jones for the team lead in rushing yards. Justin Jefferson had 99 yards on seven receptions. Jefferson surpassed 1,000 receiving yards on the season in the game. He is the fourth player in NFL history to have at least 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first five seasons in the league.
The Vikings host the Atlanta Falcons next weekend, looking for their sixth straight win before a divisional matchup against the Chicago Bears on Dec. 16. While that may have seemed ridiculous a few months ago, after both the Vikings lost their rookie quarterback to a knee injury and the way the Lions have started, Minnesota is on track for a game in what would be its second NFC North title in the last three seasons.
