Murphy: There's nothing like a playoff race
The Vikings won again in Seattle as the chase continues for the No. 1 seed
By Brian Murphy
Split-screen season arrived Sunday as the NFC playoff race rocketed into the rarified air of measuring who is whole and who will be dissed in this fantastic finish.
The NFL’s penchant for parity typically leaves the handwringing for the desperate souls hovering around .500 and haunting the “In The Hunt” graphics in the evolving postseason picture. Not this year.
The knife fight among Minnesota, Detroit and Philadelphia for the NFC North title and the No. 1 seed in the conference is pure gold for the Park Avenue suits who couldn’t cross-functionally concoct a more entertaining narrative for the Shield with all the lawyers and PR mavens in Manhattan.
The overlapping drama rendered the opening minutes of the Vikings’ late-afternoon clash with Seattle moot as drama unspooled in the nation’s capital. Washington Commanders and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels daggered the Eagles in the waning seconds and drove the Eagles from the perch they had shared with the Lions for weeks atop the NFC.
A first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs was on the table as Sam Darnold led Minnesota on a game-opening touchdown drive. Three hours later, he hit Justin Jefferson for the winning score in a 27-24 victory that elevated this special Vikings season into the spectacular.
If the sea parted any wider, Moses would be high-stepping a double-wide into the promised land.
Two games against division rivals Green Bay and Detroit and an acre of broken glass stand between the Vikings and just their second 15-win season in franchise history. The Packers and Lions were a combined 23-6 entering Green Bay’s game Monday night against New Orleans.
The Vikings by far have the hardest road to hoe to secure the top seed. But if we have learned anything about this resilient band of brothers, they wouldn’t have it any other way.
Certainly not Darnold or coach Kevin O’Connell, whose synergy and shared purpose are baked into the roster general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has stealthily built into a 53-man wrecking crew.
Complimentary seasons like this are rare gems, when philosophy meshes with organic growth and total buy-in leverages random opportunity to create entertainment for the ages. If scar tissue prevents you from investing in what is truly possible with this team, why even care at all?
There is nothing fraudulent about the 2024 Vikings, who are balanced and battle-tested. Win, lose or travel for the postseason, they have earned the right to seize this moment starting with this Sunday’s annual holiday grudge match against border rivals Green Bay at what should be a supercharged U.S. Bank Stadium.
“I think this team understands how we got to this point,” O’Connell said after roaring back against the Seahawks. “It's a mature team that can be dangerous, I do believe, if we continue to just understand what got us to this moment, from the first day we got to training camp through each and every one of our 15 opportunities so far.”
The Vikings have been playing since Sept. 8 – 106 days give or take. Losing twice within a four-day span in October means they have been playing winning football and talking about playing winning football for more than three months.
Should they be expected to defeat the Packers and Lions to claim their destiny? Maybe. Maybe not. But there is no reason to believe they can’t.
I know these next two games of unscripted entertainment will be more compelling than anything that happens with this franchise short of qualifying for its first Super Bowl in 48 years. If the Vikings run the table and watch the wild-card round from their couches, they should be favored to end the drought and drop anchor Feb. 9 in New Orleans.
“We know exactly the kind of team we have and exactly the kind of guys we have in that locker room,” said Darnold. “It's just for us to be able to continue to go 1-0.”
A pinch of spice is as much as Darnold is willing to sprinkle on his spectacular comeback season and Minnesota’s potential. The playmaking prowess and alligator blood coursing through his veins make it all loud and clear.
Moments after Seattle took its first lead of the game, 24-20, with four minutes remaining, Darnold coolly led a four-play, 70-yard drive in 30 seconds, culminating with an improvised 39-yard touchdown strike to Jefferson that tossed a final wet blanket on the rain-soaked fanatics at Lumen Field.
That’s 15 touchdown passes against one interception since Darnold bottomed out with three picks in an ugly win seven weeks ago at Jacksonville. A lame duck on an open-ended mission to secure his long-term future in the NFL, whether that’s still Minnesota or greener pastures elsewhere.
And that’s eight straight wins while Minnesota improved to 8-1 in one-score games.
Meanwhile, the NFL’s money changers are busy pulling the network strings to cash in on the remote-control toggling that will keep fans from MSP, Philly and bolted to their BarcaLoungers the next two weekends.
Split-screen madness indeed.
A rare win in Seattle is reason enough to be satisfied with the late winning TD and interception. I was able to watch some of the game on my phone while my wife was in an ER and then hospital. Missed the ending but all is good.