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The Vikings distinguish themselves as legitimate contenders with an impressive win over the Packers

Posted on by Taylor Reeves
The Vikings distinguish themselves as legitimate contenders with an impressive win over the Packers

MINNEAPOLIS — Most of the reporters had left. The locker room was mostly empty. And yet here they were, two veterans of the game, looking at each other and smiling.

Harrison Smith stood at his locker. Stephon Gilmore sat next to him, still wearing his purple jersey. They entered the league together in 2012 and respected each other from afar. Now they were together, laughing about how much their legs hurt from all the running they had just done. But they also take in a moment at the end of a season they both described as special.

Their Minnesota Vikings had just defeated an exceptional Green Bay Packers team 27-25 and improved to 14-2 on the season. The fourteen wins were important, but Sunday’s win was even bigger. Minnesota has one more regular season road game against the Detroit Lions. If the Vikings win, they will secure the NFC North and the No. 1 seed.

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That would be massive for several reasons. The Vikings are 7-1 at home this season and their roster is one of the oldest in the NFL. Get a bye and not only would you have a week of rest and preparation for your next opponent, but also the opportunity to play in this 66,000-seat boombox.

Here at US Bank Stadium, the Vikings made it clear on Sunday that they are a force to be reckoned with.

For weeks, if not months, outsiders have refused to take this team seriously. It’s not that NFL analysts and pundits weren’t impressed with head coach Kevin O’Connell’s performance or quarterback Sam Darnold’s wonderful season. On the contrary. It’s more the case that Minnesota, which began the season with a projected Vegas win total of 6 1/2 games, was largely classified as an exceptional story, a healthy team made up of likeable players capable of being elite -Celebrations to celebrate.

Some pointed to the Vikings’ record in one-score games (9-1), even though about 77 percent of NFL games are decided by one score or less. Others compared this Vikings season to the 2022 season, in which the Vikings were eliminated in the wild card round, even though that Vikings team didn’t have a rising superstar in Jordan Addison or Brian Flores doing wonders as a defensive coordinator.

But these Vikings are still fun. The story remains phenomenal. While Minnesota certainly has weaknesses, Sunday has brought a sense of indisputability to this team.

“We’re putting everything we absolutely have on the line every week,” O’Connell said after the game, “and the best part is that all we need is who we are.”

So many of O’Connell’s messages to the team from the spring are hidden in those words. That they were talented enough. That they didn’t need external validation. That they would maximize everything they had because he wouldn’t allow anything less. Players trusted those words and watched them come to life. The 5-0 start confirmed O’Connell’s belief, and their response to two midseason losses to the Lions and the Los Angeles Rams only strengthened the credibility of O’Connell’s position.

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One of the main reasons for the Vikings’ strength is the relationship between the coach and his players. O’Connell reinforced his belief by completing six passes in the Vikings’ last seven games Sunday, even though some coaches might have kicked the ball into a crowded box to eat up time and force the opposing coach to use his timeouts . O’Connell viewed this approach as a game-changing endeavor. He believed Darnold would take care of the ball and correctly distinguish between prosperity and disaster. When his defense faltered late in the fourth quarter, he opted for three rollouts.

Darnold threw the first ball to fullback CJ Ham, who galloped for the first down. Darnold made a pass down the sideline to superstar receiver Justin Jefferson that started the final play. Then Darnold fired the ball over Packers edge rusher Kingsley Enagbare, and backup running back Cam Akers twisted his body to keep him just inches from hitting the ground. The Vikings players weren’t so much surprised by O’Connell’s aggression as they were thrilled.

“You want a coach who has all the confidence in the world in his football team,” linebacker Blake Cashman said.

Minnesota also offers a glimpse of what happens when you pair an elite head coach who dictates the game with a defensive coordinator who has the audacity to do whatever it takes to win, even if whatever it takes sometimes backfires strangely. Before Sunday, the Vikings had played man coverage on just 15.7 percent of their defensive snaps this season, according to TruMedia. Minnesota has found success primarily by turning the dial with different zone coverages and blitz attacks.

But earlier this week, Flores told his charges that Sunday’s approach would be different. He called it a “mano a mano” affair. Prepare your hamstrings, Flores told the defenders.

As far as edge rushers go, Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel knew that sacks were secondary. The priority was to keep Packers quarterback Jordan Love in the pocket and not let him roll to his right. Sunday would depend on whether or not the Vikings could accomplish those two goals. Minnesota defenders didn’t question Flores’ plan.

“He’s watching the tape,” Gilmore said. “He knows what position he has to put us in. We just have to do it.”

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According to Next Gen Stats, the Vikings used man coverage on 47.1 percent of the Packers’ dropbacks on Sunday, including 11 of 13 on third and fourth downs.

Packers head coach Matt LaFleur admitted after the game that he did not expect players to cover him at the start of the game and took the blame for not adjusting quickly enough. Green Bay had scored 30 points in five straight games, but on Sunday the team’s wideouts failed to make plays and Love anxiously put himself in the pocket.

But it’s not just the defense that makes Minnesota a formidable opponent. The Vikings are also talented and consistent on offense. Going against Jefferson (who had eight catches for 92 yards) has become a trendy strategy, but one that regularly falls short due to Addison’s dynamism. On Sunday, the second-year senior executed a hitch route, then pivoted into a wheel route and hit Packers safety Javon Bullard for a touchdown.

And as Addison’s Packers coverage got going, receiver Jalen Nailor jumped free and effortlessly broke away from defenders to throw in key passes. The presence of tight end TJ Hockenson is important when the Vikings need to convert bats, and running backs Aaron Jones and Akers are no slouch either.

Those weapons are paired with a strong offensive line and, perhaps most importantly, a quarterback who controls as well as anyone in the NFL. You’d think the stat line of 33 of 43, 377 yards and three touchdowns would tell the story, but even that doesn’t do justice to the difficulty of some of Darnold’s prescient throws over the middle on Sunday.

His teammates’ reaction after the game illustrates Darnold’s role in all of this. While the former journeyman QB handled his media duties on the field, Greenard hatched a plan: Everyone would grab a water bottle, and when Darnold came in, they would aggressively douse him. At that moment, the players took the scene even further, lifting Darnold onto their shoulders and singing 50 Cent’s “Many Men.” O’Connell stood in the corner of the locker room, watching and shaking his head like a proud father.

It was an amazing snapshot, the perfect picture of a team enjoying being together as much as their successes. Smith and Gilmore shared that this was the secret sauce. It’s a chemistry and camaraderie that has garnered a lot of positive attention – but now demands respect.

(Photo by Sam Darnold and Cam Akers: Jeffrey Becker / Imagn Images)

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