Sam Darnold and the Minnesota Vikings continue to surprise critics while taking charge in the NFC North race.
Darnold threw three touchdown passes, and Jordan Addison scored twice as the undefeated Vikings built a strong 28-point lead and held on to win against the Green Bay Packers 31-29 on Sunday.
Many predicted the Vikings would finish last in the NFC North, but at 4-0, they are enjoying their best start since 2016, when they won their first five games before ending the season at 8-8. They have trailed for less than 3 and a half minutes all season.
“At the end of the day, we believe in each other more than anyone else believes in us,” Darnold said.
Minnesota interrupted the return of Packers quarterback Jordan Love, who came back after missing two games due to an injured left knee. He threw for 389 yards and four touchdowns, both of which were career highs. However, he also tied his career high with three interceptions, completing 32 of 54 passes.
“We fought the whole game and started making plays later, but too little, too late,” Love said.
Green Bay (2-2) got close at 31-29 with Dontayvion Wicks’ second fourth-quarter touchdown catch, a 17-yarder with 56 seconds left. Minnesota’s Josh Oliver recovered the following onside kick, which was actually a drop kick, to secure the win.
Darnold completed 20 of 28 passes for 275 yards, with touchdown throws of 29 yards to Addison, 2 yards to Oliver, and 14 yards to Justin Jefferson. He also threw one interception and lost a fumble.
Addison, who missed the last two games with an ankle injury, scored on a 7-yard run as well.
Former Packers running back Aaron Jones had a solid return to Lambeau Field with 22 carries for 93 yards and four catches for 46 yards. Jones spent seven seasons with Green Bay before being released and signing with the Vikings in March.
Jones had mentioned that he would do a “Lambeau leap” into the stands if he scored a touchdown. Although he never made it to the end zone on Sunday, he still jumped into a section of Vikings fans in the stands as he headed to the locker room after the game.
“As we were taking that last kneel, the Packers defense was like, ‘Ahh, we didn’t let you Lambeau leap here. We didn’t let you Lambeau leap in our house,’” Jones said.
“I’m like, ‘You guys are worried about me Lambeau leaping? You guys should be worried about the score.’ I came here and got what I wanted. But I did get my Lambeau leap in, so I got a two-for-one.”
Jayden Reed caught seven passes for 139 yards and a touchdown for the Packers. The game saw seven turnovers, with Green Bay losing four and Minnesota three.
Minnesota took advantage of two interceptions thrown by Love and two missed field goal attempts from Brayden Narveson to build a 28-0 lead in the first 25 minutes. It was the Vikings’ highest-scoring first half since 2017, when they scored 28 points before halftime and went on to beat Washington 38-30.
“This is a humbling league at times,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “Credit to them. They did more than we did to win the game. We’ve got to bounce back from it. We’ve got to learn from it and get better.”
Minnesota scored on each of its first three possessions as Darnold exploited a Green Bay secondary that was missing injured cornerbacks Jaire Alexander and Carrington Valentine.
When the Packers finally forced a punt, Shaq Griffin returned an interception for 28 yards, setting up another touchdown for the Vikings.
The Vikings were ahead 28-7 and faced a second-and-1 from the Green Bay 20 in the third quarter when Xavier McKinney intercepted Darnold. He became the first Packer to intercept a pass in each of his first four games with the team.
That interception helped Green Bay get back into the game.
Love threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Wicks and a 13-yard touchdown to Tucker Kraft, cutting Minnesota’s lead to 28-22 with 10:16 left. Minnesota responded on its next possession, with a couple of completions to Jefferson setting up Will Reichard’s 33-yard field goal with 6:50 remaining.
The Packers got one last chance after Minnesota’s Jalen Nailor was stopped for no gain on fourth-and-1 from the Green Bay 4 with less than 2 and a half minutes left. Love led a quick 96-yard drive to reduce the deficit to two points.
However, the Packers will continue looking up at the surprising Vikings in the NFC North standings.
“I know what we have in this room is special,” said Byron Murphy, who had one of the Vikings’ three interceptions. “So all that outside noise, I keep saying, ‘Stay off the (band)wagon. Don’t try to jump on it now. You all can stay over there, whatever you all do, but we’re going to keep this thing going.’”
