The Minnesota Vikings defeated the Seattle Seahawks in a thriller, 27-24. This marked the Vikings' first victory in Seattle since 2006, when Brad Johnson was under center. With the win, the Vikings improve to 13-2 and continue to control their own destiny for the NFC North Title and the number 1 seed in the playoffs. This is what I had predicted for this game: "Games in Seattle are always difficult, but the Vikings coaching staff will have a good gameplan. I expect the Vikings defense to get a couple sacks on QB Geno Smith and force him into a couple turnovers. I predict a 26-19 victory for the Vikings, improving to 13-2 on the season. Let's keep the good times rolling!" I correctly predicted the win, the 2 sacks, and the 2 turnovers... Seattle is not an easy place to win, and the Vikings had to fight and claw to earn this victory. Go Vikings!
Highlights vs Seahawks:
Sam Darnold, Justin Jefferson, Andrew Van Ginkel, Dallas Turner, and Theo Jackson were the highlight players from Sunday.
Sam Darnold went 22/35 for 246 yards and 3 touchdowns (2 touchdowns and 144 yards to Jefferson & 1 touchdown to Addison). Providing the stat line, alone, doesn't do him justice. When the Vikings were down 24-20 late in the 4th quarter, Darnold locked in to lead the Vikings to their 13th victory on the season. Early in the drive, Darnold was hit in the pocket, pulled down by his face mask, and rolled his ankle. This caused him to have a visible limp for the remainder of the drive. Later in the drive, Kevin O'Connell and Darnold's communication went out, so Darnold calmly called a play on his own which allowed him to scramble towards the Vikings sideline for a first down and out of bounds to stop the clock, thus saving a timeout. This is the calmness I spoke about early in the season that Sam possesses and our former quarterback did not. (*Example, think back to the Bills game in 2022 when Cousins couldn't hear O'Connell. Cousins decided to call a 4th&Goal quarterback sneak which was unsuccessful and almost cost us the game. This had KOC fuming and yelling at Cousins to trust him and not to go off script.) By getting out of bounds on the Vikings sideline and stopping the clock, it allowed Darnold to calmly jog over to O'Connell and discuss the next play, face to face, before heading back to the huddle. This led to one of the best plays I have ever seen by a Vikings quarterback. With a bad ankle, Sam Darnold stepped up into the pocket, threw off one leg to a double covered Justin Jefferson in the only spot where the 2 defensive backs for Seattle couldn't get to. Justin Jefferson spun a full 360 to catch the ball and score the game-winning touchdown. Absolutely spectacular throw and catch.
Andrew Van Ginkel had the only 2 sacks for the Vikings and played a huge role in getting the win.
Dallas Turner recorded his first career interception and is starting to really make an impact late in the season.
Theo Jackson, playing in place of the injured Harrison Smith, came through with the game-sealing interception.
Ending the season at Seattle, home against Green Bay, and at Detroit is going to pay huge dividends for the Vikings in the playoffs. We are essentially starting the playoffs 3 weeks early and I love it!
Minnesota Vikings:
Our 2024 Minnesota Vikings are 13-2 with 2 games remaining. This is our best start since the 1998 season.
Kevin O'Connell is the first head coach in Vikings history with multiple 13 win seasons. *For context, Bud Grant coached when there were only 14 games in the regular season.
The Vikings' 13 wins are tied for the second most in a season in franchise history (2017 & 2022), trailing only Minnesota's 15 wins in 1998.
RB Aaron Jones became just the 3rd player to reach 1,000 rushing yards in his first season with the Vikings, joining Adrian Peterson (2007) and Chester Taylor (2006).
I had talked about this in my blog a few weeks ago, but with the 1 score win over the Seahawks, Kevin O'Connell is now the winningest head coach in 1 score games in the Super Bowl Era, officially surpassing John Madden. O'Connell is now 25-9 (.735) in 1 score games, while Madden was 40-14-7 (.732). Absolutely incredible.
Kevin O'Connell has a special ability as an NFL coach. He makes everyone in the organization truly believe that they can and are able to make a difference. When you hear teams say "next man up," the current Vikings are actually able to walk the walk. I will give a few examples of this. To seal the game, backup safety Theo Jackson came through with the game winning interception. Many teams would have given up on high draft pick Brian Asamoah due to his inability to crack into a starting linebacker role. But Asamoah has bought into KOC's system and came up huge with a forced fumble on special teams against the Atlanta Falcons that started the 4th quarter onslaught. Early in the season when Ivan Pace Jr. missed his first game at linebacker, backup Kamu Grugier-Hill stepped in and had an interception in that game. Finally, when our star rookie kicker Will Reichard got injured, the Vikings called upon another rookie John Parker Romo that they had worked with in camp and he was able to win us a few ball games. Football is a violent sport and players are going to get injured. The fact that KOC is able to get an entire roster, plus some, to fully buy into his positive winning culture and actually perform on gameday is incredible. Not every team in the NFL has this type of success with "the next man up." Don't take this ability for granted. Truly special.
Here is what I had to say in my blog after the Vikings dominated the Texans to start 3-0 on the season: "I know it has only been 3 weeks, but [the Vikings are] absolutely one of the best teams in the NFL. I could definitely see this team making the Super Bowl. This kind of early season success is not a fluke. I talked about it in my season preview that this Vikings team improved on Offense, Defense, Special Teams, and Coaching Staff. They're playing even better than I thought, and I had them winning 11-13 games and finishing 2nd in the NFC North." It's crazy that my season win prediction might end up being too low! Go Vikings and never doubt Birdman's Blog!
Sam Darnold:
Sam Darnold posted a 112.3 passer rating vs Seattle, marking his 12th such game this season with 100+ passer rating. Darnold now holds the NFL record for most games with 100+ passer rating in a player's first season with a team since 1950.
Sam Darnold's 12 games this season with a passer rating above 100 is of course a Minnesota Vikings record, but only 2 different quarterbacks have accomplished more than 12 such games in a single season in NFL history: Aaron Rodgers (2011 & 2020) and Patrick Mahomes (2018). Sam Darnold is having a historic season.
Sam Darnold (32 passing touchdowns) is 1 passing touchdown away from tying Brett Favre (2009) for most passing touchdowns by a Vikings QB in his first season with the franchise. He is also only 7 passing touchdowns away from tying the Vikings single season franchise record set by Daunte Culpepper (2004).
With Sam Darnold surpassing 30 passing touchdowns this season, the Vikings are the first franchise in NFL history to have 6 different quarterbacks throw for 30+ touchdowns in a season. Sam Darnold, Curtis Cousins, Brett Favre, Daunte Culpepper, Randall Cunningham, & Warren Moon.
Sam Darnold and the Vikings are now on an 8 game winning streak, which is the longest by a Vikings quarterback since Randall Cunningham in 1998.
Sam Darnold has as many wins this season with the Vikings (13) as he had in his entire career with the Jets. He played 38 games for the Jets and only 15 games with the Vikings, so far.
Vikings Wide Receivers:
With 144 yards and 2 touchdowns, Justin Jefferson recorded his 34th career 100-yard receiving game. Jefferson, who is in his 5th NFL season, passed Torry Holt for 3rd most games with 100+ receiving yards in a player's first 6 NFL seasons in league history.
Justin Jefferson has 10 receiving touchdowns on the season. He only needs 1 more to set a personal best in a season.
Justin Jefferson is the best non-quarterback in the NFL. He is the definition of clutch.
With his 18th career receiving touchdown, wide receiver Jordan Addison passed Justin Jefferson for the 3rd most receiving touchdowns by a player in his first 2 seasons as a Viking. Randy Moss (28), Sammy White (19), Jordan Addison (18), & Justin Jefferson (17).
Jordan Addison's 18th touchdown reception also ties him with Larry Fitzgerald for the 5th most receiving touchdowns by a player under the age of 23 in NFL history. Randy Moss (28), Rob Gronkowski (27), Ja'Marr Chase (22), Odell Beckham Jr. (19), Jordan Addison (18), & Larry Fitzgerald (18).
Jordan Addison is easily one of the best WR2 in the NFL.
Vikings Defense:
The Vikings have forced at least 1 turnover in all 15 games this season, the longest active streak in the NFL. It is also the most by any team since the 2020 Miami Dolphins had at least 1 turnover in 16 consecutive games. Common denominator? Brian Flores.
The Vikings defense has 22 interceptions (1st in the NFL), own a +10 turnover differential (4th), 30 total turnovers (2nd), allowing 18.4 points per game (3rd fewest), and have 44 sacks (5th). This is one of the best defenses in the NFL, hands down.
Vikings are 12-0 when linebacker and captain Blake Cashman plays this season. He will be playing this Sunday against the Packers.
OLB Andrew Van Ginkel became the 2nd player since 1982 to record 10+ sacks and 2+ pick-6's in a single season.
Both new to the Vikings in 2024, Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard have each recorded 11 sacks on the season. This is just the 12th time in team history that multiple players have reached double-digit sack totals in a season and only the 4th time since 2000.
I have seen people upset that our first rounder, Dallas Turner, hasn't been as productive as they would like to see, especially compared to other defensive draft picks like Jared Verse. Here is my response to that. Turner is going to be REALLY good, just give him time as he is already showing positive flashes. He is lucky to have joined such a strong roster that is allowing him to grow and develop in his early years. Players get opportunities and are asked to play at different moments in their careers. Jared Verse is 24 years old and Dallas Turner is only 21 years old. That is a huge difference in the NFL. Dallas Turner is very young and gets the pleasure of learning in his first season under Brian Flores and behind Greenard and Van Ginkel. It has taken the pressure off his in-game performance and is allowing him to grow and develop in a positive environment. This will help him become the best version of himself in the long run.
Vikings vs Packers Gameday:
The 13-2 Vikings will host the 11-4 Packers on FOX at 3:25pm Sunday. The Vikings are currently 1-pt favorites with the over/under set at 48.5 points.
Both teams have been dominating opponents this season. The Vikings come in with a +120 point differential, while the Packers currently have a +126 differential.
The Vikings and Packers rivalry has been split every season since 2020. The Vikings are looking to sweep the Packers for the first time since 2017. The Packers lead the all-time series at 66-59-3.
Harrison Smith and Ivan Pace Jr. should be returning into the lineup as they were both full participants in practice. Them returning will be enormous for the Vikings defense.
I predict this game will be another 1-score, back and forth battle, with the Vikings winning 31-23. I expect the Vikings defense to force Jordan Love into multiple turnovers because he is horrible under pressure, Justin Jefferson is going to have a huge game with multiple clutch receptions, and Sam Darnold is going to continue his historic quarterback season under center. The Vikings need to contain Packers running back Josh Jacobs while also winning the turnover battle. Let's improve to 14-2 and have the opportunity to compete with the Detroit Lions in week 18 for the number 1 seed in the NFC playoffs!
