Clutch Darnold Did It.
One of my favorite sayings during my NFL career was, “Nobody ever said it was going to be easy.”
That was an appropriate thought after Aaron Jones lost a fumble at the Chicago 1 on the first series. The Vikings rebounded to take a late 11-point lead only to blow it on a botched onside kick by Johnny Mundt and have to ride the clutch play of Sam Darnold and his receiving corps along with kicker Parker Romo to win at Soldier Field (for the fifth straight year) in overtime.
Clutch Darnold Did It.
Bottom line — it’s a big NFC North win (the Vikings’ fourth straight victory) to improve the record to a highly unexpected 9-2, still one game behind the Lions and one ahead of the Packers. The Vikings now have a 98% playoff probability (per Next Gen Stats), but the goal must be to overtake the Lions for the division title and perhaps the top NFC seed for homefield in the playoffs. Or earn the fifth seed as the top wild card team with the likelihood of traveling to the division champ with the worst record in the wild card round (which will be the NFC West or NFC South winner rather than Philadelphia as a likely No.2 seed if the Vikings were to fall to the seventh seed).
I was one of the few media people locally or nationally to predict that the Vikings would have a winning season before the year kicked off. I had them at 9-8, earning the last NFC Wildcard spot. Most media predictions were between 6-11 and 8-9. In full disclosure, I had J.J. McCarthy taking over for Darnold in Week 9, but that went by the wayside with McCarthy’s preseason knee injury. Nobody except Darnold and Kevin O’Connell expected him to lead the Vikings on this roll and rank ninth in NFL passer rating (101.7).
Darnold was so clutch on the overtime drive in Chicago when he completed all six passes for 90 yards to set up Parker Romo’s 29-yard game-winner. Included were a 13-yarder to Jordan Addison on 3rd-and-10 from the Vikings 21, a 20-yard strike to Justin Jefferson, and completions of 12 and 29 yards to T.J. Hockenson.
With four of the last six games at home, including the following three — starting with Arizona on Sunday — it’s very possible the Vikings will reach 12 or 13 wins. The problem is they may need to run the table to win the division over the hot Lions, who have won eight straight. The Vikings meet them in the regular season finale in Detroit.
Here are my other reactions to the Vikings OT win in Chicago:
1. Darnold showed his toughness when he hurt his ankle in the fourth quarter but only missed a couple of plays before returning and finishing the drive that wound up with a field goal and the short-lived 11-point lead.
2. I heavily criticized Nick Mullens for his careless play with so many interceptions (8) when he took over for Josh Dobbs late last season. But I give him credit now for stepping in and cooly completing a key 3rd-and-13 play with a 14-yard completion to Jones on the fourth quarter drive to a field goal. Mullens is proving his worth as the No. 2 QB this season.
3. Hockenson and Addison big games set up by Jefferson: Yes, Hockenson and Addison were great in this game as they made key receptions and several times in heavy traffic. They both demonstrated their run-after-catch ability, Addison on the 69-yarder when he managed to stay in bounds down the sideline and Hockenson on the 29-yard OT catch and run to the Chicago 9 that set up the game-winning field goal. Addison has had a lot of games with limited targets, so it was nice to see him have a career-best 162 receiving yards, and Hockenson obviously is fully recovered from his 2023 knee injury.
Jefferson had only two catches for 27 yards as the Bears doubled him constantly with a safety over the top, preventing deep strikes. But it’s inaccurate and uninformed for anyone to say he didn’t significantly impact this win.
O’Connell and Hockenson saluted him for his immense value in drawing extra coverage and opening things up for the other receivers to make big plays. Jefferson also drew two pass interference calls against Bears Pro Bowl corner Jaylon Johnson (the first was a 35-yard penalty to the Chicago 6 that set up Jalen Nailor’s second-quarter TD, and the second kept a third-quarter drive alive that wound up in Jones’ TD run after the muffed punt).
4. The Vikings’ offensive line had its ups and downs, with David Quessenberry replacing Cam Robinson (foot) early and allowing two sacks and five pressures. The Vikings need Robinson to recover quickly, but Quessenberry and the entire O-line gave Darnold solid protection late in the games, except for one sack in overtime. And the line was effective enough in the run game with 124 rushing yards (4.6 average) against the Bears 13th ranked defense that came in better against the pass (9th) than the run (23rd).
If Josh Oliver can return this week from his ankle injury sustained in the Tennessee game, it will help the run game and add another receiving weapon.
5. Caleb Williams impresses: I was not a fan of Williams during the pre-draft process because of his arrogance, and he has been up and down this season. But he played well on Sunday with 340 passing yards, two TDs, running for 33 yards, and a few critical first downs. He showed his big arm and mobility in this game, but he made a huge rookie mistake by not throwing the ball away when Jonathan Greenard sacked him to kill the Bears’ overtime drive.
It was a great play by Greenard to keep pushing through a double team, but Williams held the ball too long, and the coverage was good on the play.
6. Greenard continued his Pro Bowl-caliber season with his eighth and ninth sacks to tie Andrew Van Ginkel for the team lead. Greenard also had four tackles for loss, two QB hits, and six tackles in the game. Either he or Van Ginkel should make the Pro Bowl team to represent the Vikings’ excellent edge rusher group that has been a key to their defensive improvement, along with better play in the D-line and generally improved secondary play, although there has been too much leakage in pass defense recently.
7. The secondary allowed too many completions to Keenan Allen (9 for 86), D.J. Moore (7 for 106), and Cole Kmet (7 for 64). Williams’ ability to escape pressure and throw downfield was a big factor in allowing 340 yards through the air. That has to improve this week against a very mobile quarterback in Kyler Murray and the Cardinals receivers, and it will also have to improve come playoff time against mobile quarterbacks such as possibly Jalen Hurts.
The Vikings’ D is currently 11th ranked, and their No.1 run D held the Bears to 78 yards (only 30 yards on 13 carries, a 2.3-yard average, for their leading rusher, D’Andre Swift).
8. Such a rollercoaster day for the Vikings’ special teams: the good included Romo’s continued excellent and clutch field goal kicking along with most of his kickoffs going deep in the end zone (except for the 55-yard return by DeAndre Carter that gave the Bears too short of a field when they drove to the last minute TD that pulled them within three points).
Also, there was the second-quarter blocked field goal by Jerry Tillery, which came after the Vikings scouted the low kicks by Cairo Santos that cost the Bears the game last week against the Packers. Brian Asamoah had a nice 22-yard return of that blocked kick. And there was the third-quarter muffed punt by Carter, which was recovered by Bo Richter. The blocked field goal and the muffed punt recovery led to 14 points for the Vikings.
The bad special teams plays were the long kickoff return and the terrible play by Mundt on the onside kick when he was totally unaware of where the ball was as it hit him in the foot — plus the ball had not gone the required 10 yards when it hit him. This was the first onside kick recovery in the league this season. Mundt and others on that unit need to be coached up so this doesn’t happen again.
9. There are injury concerns regarding Robinson’s foot and Ivan Pace’s hamstring that knocked them both out of the game in the first half. They are two key players who need to recover quickly, along with Oliver, who suffered an ankle injury that caused him to miss the Bears game. Fortunately for the Vikings, Darnold says his ankle is OK after it looked more serious at the time.
I’ll return later this week with my preview of Vikings vs. Cardinals. U.S. Bank Stadium should have a great atmosphere as the Vikings seek their tenth win of the season.
Around the NFL in Week 12 & a look ahead to Week 13:
1. In the NFC North, the Lions and Packers rolled along without difficulty in wins over Indianapolis and San Francisco, respectively. The Lions rushed for 137 yards and three TDs (and had 37 minutes in time of possession) in their 24-6 win in Indy. The Packers ran for 169 yards and three TDs and forced two Brandon Allen turnovers (replacing injured Brock Purdy) in demolishing the 49ers 38-10 at Lambeau.
Both Detroit and Green Bay will host games this week on Thanksgiving. The Lions meet the Bears in the early game, while the Packers and Dolphins play the evening game. Miami is 5-6 but has three straight wins since its quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, returned from his most recent concussion.
2. The Vikings next opponent — Arizona — had a poor offensive showing in Sunday’s 16-6 loss at Seattle. Kyler Murray threw for 285 yards (including 133 yards on 122 catches by his tight end Trey McBride), but the Cardinals’ sixth-ranked rushing attack gained only 49 yards on the ground, with Murray (380 rushing yards on the season) only running for nine yards plus he threw a costly Pick-6. Fourth overall pick Marvin Harrison Jr. was held to three catches for 47 yards as the Seahawks moved into a tie with the Cardinals for first place in the NFC West at 6-5.
3. The Eagles won their seventh straight game with a 37-20 triumph at the Rams. NFL leading rusher Saquon Barkley had a terrific game with 255 rushing yards and two TDs, plus another 47 yards on four receptions for a 302-yard day. Philly opened up a 2 ½ game lead over Washington in the NFC East as the Commanders were upset at home by the Cowboys when kicker Austin Seibert missed a potential game-tying extra point after a bad snap disrupted the timing.
4. Other big games in Week 13 besides Vikings-Cardinals and the Thanksgiving games involving the Lions and Packers include Philadelphia at Baltimore (in the Sunday doubleheader game) and San Francisco at Buffalo (on Sunday night).
Just-Released Viking Signs with Panthers
Jeff Diamond is a former Vikings GM, former Tennessee Titans President and was selected NFL Executive of the Year after the Vikings’ 15-1 season in 1998. He now works for the NFL agent group IFA based in Minneapolis and does other sports consulting and media work along with college/corporate speaking. Follow him and direct message him on Twitter– @jeffdiamondnfl
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