The Minnesota Vikings struggled to find their offensive rhythm for much of the game. Aaron Jones had another early turnover, but the team stayed focused and didn’t give up.
Sam Darnold’s second touchdown pass of the second half went to Jones with 1:13 left, giving the Vikings their first lead. The Vikings came back from a 13-point deficit to beat the Arizona Cardinals 23-22 on Sunday, securing their fifth straight victory.
“Sam has been absolutely huge for us in these moments where everybody needs him,” said coach Kevin O’Connell.
Darnold threw for 104 of his 235 yards in the fourth quarter, facing a tough Cardinals defense that registered five sacks. These sacks kept the Vikings out of the end zone until Darnold found Johnny Mundt for a touchdown with 1:17 left in the third quarter. That was the second offensive touchdown scored by the Vikings against Arizona in 15 quarters.
Darnold had a similar clutch performance last week against Chicago, going 6 for 6 for 90 yards in overtime to set up the game-winning field goal.
“Dude, I’m just going to continue to do my job every single day, and I’m just going to keep it that simple,” Darnold said. This game marked his seventh win as a starter, setting a new career high.
Kyler Murray’s two interceptions in the fourth quarter led to the Cardinals’ defeat. Despite a strong start, the Cardinals (6-6) fell behind the NFC West-leading Seattle Seahawks.
On the final drive, Jonathan Greenard sacked Murray, forcing the Cardinals to burn two timeouts. On fourth down, the Vikings pressured Murray into a desperation throw, which Shaquill Griffin intercepted. Earlier, Byron Murphy picked off Murray’s risky throw under pressure at the Minnesota 32, setting up a third field goal by Parker Romo.
“We went backwards on the last drive,” said Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon. “That was brutal.”
Justin Jefferson was a key contributor, with seven receptions for 99 yards, including a critical catch on fourth-and-6 from the Arizona 34 to keep the winning drive alive.
The Vikings (10-2) stayed one game behind Detroit in the NFC North, scoring on their final three drives, covering 187 yards on 23 plays.
“That’s a good team over there,” Murray said. “We had a chance to put them away, and we didn’t.”
The Cardinals led 9-6 at halftime despite gaining 228 yards of offense. They relied on safe throws and inside runs once in scoring range.
“They couldn’t do the conservative stuff forever,” Greenard said. “We knew at the end of the game they had to go and try to score.”
