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Vikings locker room reacts to 23-22 win over Cardinals
Vikings players Aaron Jones, Justin Jefferson, T.J. Hockenson, Jonathan Greenard, Jordan Addison and Byron Murphy Jr. react from the locker room after a 23-22 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium to win their fifth straight and improve to 10-2 on the season.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Vikings got out-played by the Arizona Cardinals for the better part of three quarters Sunday, and got away with it.
Trailing 19-6 late in the third quarter, the Vikings out-scored the Cardinals 17-3 over the final 18 minutes to get a 23-22 win in front of more than 66,000 at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings have 10 wins by Dec. 1, and a season that started with low outside expectations is turning into one where they have playoff aspirations, and more.
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Kevin O'Connell reacts after Vikings beat Cardinals, 23-22
Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell speaks with reporters after they rallied for a 23-22 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium to improve to 10-2 and win their fifth straight.
What it means
The Vikings improve to 10-2 on the season, and have won five straight. They stay one game behind the Detroit Lions in the NFC North, and one game ahead of the Green Bay Packers.
"We got our 10th win by December 1, which I think is an accomplishment. Games are hard to win. When we absolutely needed it, to put those drives together and find a way to get the points needed to win the game is obviously the intent of everything here," Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said after the win.
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Vikings QB Sam Darnold: 'Phew, another resilient win'
Vikings QB Sam Darnold spoke with reporters after throwing 2 TD passes, including the game-winner to Aaron Jones, in Sunday's 23-22 win over the Arizona Cardinals to improve to 10-2 on the season. It was their 5th straight win.
The big play
Down 22-16 with 3:20 to play, Sam Darnold led the Vikings on a 70-yard game-winning touchdown drive. It ended with Darnold hitting Aaron Jones from five yards out with 1:13 to play. It was redeeming for Jones, who fumbled twice in the first quarter and dropped a potential touchdown in the second half, but responded to make the biggest play of the game.
He also lost a fumble on the 1-yard line at Chicago, and has five lost fumbles on the season.
"I have total trust in Aaron. You guys could see it all over his face, the disappointment he has. But we’ve got to find a way to fix it. There’s a reason why I called the play I did in the end," O'Connell said. "As one of our best players who is going to continue to be one of our best players, there’s not a guy in that locker room that doesn’t absolutely love playing with Aaron Jones. We’ve got his back without any hesitation or question."
"For me it was a rollercoaster, but thankful for these guys in this locker room. They keep my head up, keep me up, coach as well. He’s like ‘Hey, I’m going to come back to you’ and it was at the most important time," Jones said. "I’m really thankful to be here, I’m thankful for my teammates and coaches for lifting me up, even when I’m down. They keep my head up, on the sideline they never lose confidence in me, they never falter and they’re always there to lift me up. It was a sigh of relief."
Darnold got the chance to get Jones the game-winning play after he hit Justin Jefferson for 12 yards on 4th-and-6 to extend the drive. Darnold finished with 235 yards and two scores despite being sacked five times.
Parker Romo’s extra point gave the Vikings a 23-22 lead. Shaq Griffin sealed the win with an interception on a Kyler Murray deep ball with 40 seconds left. The defense made the last play despite Arizona’s offense being on the field for 77 total plays.
The comeback
The Vikings were down 13 points and everything seemed to be going wrong. Then Darnold led a touchdown drive, hitting Johnny Mundt from six yards out to get within 19-13. Byron Murphy Jr. intercepted Kyler Murray, and the Vikings got a field goal out of it to get within 19-16 with 11 minutes to play.
While the offense tried to figure itself out, the defense did its best to contain Murray and the Cardinals. They had six trips inside the red zone, but had one touchdown and five field goals.
What’s next
In what will be one of the most highly-anticipated regular season games for the Vikings in some time, Kirk Cousins makes his return to Minneapolis next weekend. Cousins threw four interceptions on Sunday as the Falcons lost to the L.A. Chargers 17-13 to fall to 6-6.
Cousins left the Vikings after six seasons for a $180 million contract with the Falcons.