The playoffs might become a Purple State
The Vikings said they were playing as well as anyone, and on Sunday they convinced Green Bay.
They have played in the ramshackle intimacy of Metropolitan Stadium, and in the plastic greenhouse known as the Metrodome, and in the current pleasure place of US Bank Stadium. Through those years and those locales, the Minnesota Vikings have spent a lot of time at the place they are right now. They are 14-2 after their not-that-close, 27-25 win over Green Bay on Sunday, just like they were 13-4 in 2022 and 13-3 in 2017, and 12-4 in 2009 and 12-2 four other seasons, and even 15-1 in 1998. None of those launching pads ever sent them into orbit. The Vikings never have won a Super Bowl, and haven’t played in one since 1976, having lost four in eight years.
At some point they would stumble into the trophy, right? There would be a Helmet Catch or a Philly Special to get them over the top. After all, they’ve been to the playoffs 28 times since the NFL-AFL merger, most of anyone except Dallas and Pittsburgh.
The Vikings always had a disproportionate share of the game’s best players, from Fran Tarkenton to John Randle to Ron Yary to Paul Krause to Warren Moon to Cris Carter to Randy Moss. Instead, their kicker Gary Andersen would miss his first place-kick of the year in the NFC Championship game, right there in the Dome. Instead of leading 30-20, those unstoppable 15-1 Vikings, with Randall Cunningham flinging it at will to Moss and Carter, couldn’t stop the Falcons from tying the game and winning in overtime.
In 2015, the Vikings were between real stadiums, so they played in the U. of Minnesota’s outdoor facility. They played Seattle in a wild-card game in near-zero conditions, and Blair Walsh botched a 27-yard field goal in a 10-9 loss. And let’s not even talk about the original Hail Mary, in which Roger Staubuch hit Drew Pearson with a 50-yard game-winner in 1975, 24 seconds from the end. The victims, again, were the Vikings, particularly cornerback Nate Wright, whom Pearson knocked down on the way to the ball.
So that’s why the outside world is slow to grasp the fact that these Vikings, the ones who didn’t make the playoffs last year and the ones who lost to the Giants at home the last time they did, are real playoff threats, not bowling pins. Coach Kevin O’Connell and others have picked up on this doubt and are using it as grievance.
In this way, Sunday’s win could be a problem. Nobody who saw it will lowball the Vikings’ chances again.
Sam Darnold, striking a blow for third-chance quarterbacks everywhere, went 33 for 43 for 377 yards and three touchdowns. Blake Cashman had a sack-and-a-half. But the real deciders were center Garrett Bradbury, guards Dalton Risner and Blake Brandel, and tackles Cam Robinson and Brian O’Neill. They kept the sack-happy Packers off Darnold most of the day, allowing only one sack, although linebacker Edgerrin Cooper had four tackles for loss. Add the constant pressure from Brian Flores’ defense, and the Vikings won it thanks to the guys in the big shoes, which hasn’t always been the case.
There were some bleak flashbacks, to be sure. Minnesota had the ball and a 27-10 lead when Will Reichard’s 43-yard field goal hit the left upright and bounced away. That seemed to hotwire the Packers, who scored touchdowns on their next two drives. But the Vikings gathered in the onside kick, and Darnold hit Cam Akers with a six-yarder on third down to wrap it up.
Flores is the former New England assistant who became Miami’s head coach, couldn’t always get along with general manager Chris Grier, and got fired. After that he filed a class-action suit against the NFL, charging that the league was refusing to hire Black coaches. That suit is under an arbitration process that the NFL will supervise. Meanwhile, Mike Tomlin hired Flores as a senior defensive assistant at Pittsburgh, which led to his Vikings opportunity.
The Vikings defense, after 15 games, had 22 interceptions and had given up 22 passing touchdowns. Flores tantalizes quarterbacks by sending pressure indiscriminately. The Vikings blitz 37 percent of the time, by far the most of any NFL team. They also made savvy free-agent buys, like Andrew Van Ginkel from Miami and Robert Greenard from Houston, and Harrison Smith, the headache-activator from Notre Dame in his 14th year, still runs things from the safety position. Only the Bears’ Caleb Williams has had a 100-plus passer rating against Minnesota in the past nine games.
The offensive talent is obvious, of course, with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison working outside. Since a 30-20 loss at the Rams, the Vikings have won nine consecutive games.
This opens the curtain for a Week 18 game of rare significance. Minnesota goes to Detroit in a battle of 14-2s.The winner will get top seed in the NFC playoffs, and the loser likely will be fifth. That means the loser might well travel to Tampa Bay in the wild-card round, and Tampa Bay has already won at Detroit, while the winner sits and watches and samples the Pizza Hut triple-drawer special during its bye.
Either way, this game matches two tortured fan bases. The Lions haven’t won an NFL championship since 1957. They can claim they’ve suffered more because, for the most part, their team hasn’t been good enough to spark visions of sugar plums. Vikings fans would disagree on that very basis. Defeat is much easier when it never plants a dream.
Otherwise:
Washington 30, Atlanta 20 (OT)
— The 2023 Heisman Trophy winner and runnerup drew swords and showed their fans a promising future. Jayden Daniels was the winner then and now, taking the ball in overtime and leading a 70-yard drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown to Zack Ertz. It was the second TD of the game for the 34-year-old tight end, and it gave the Commanders their 11th win, most since 1991 when Washington won the Super Bowl, and also nailed down a playoff spot.
— Daniels threw three TDs, hit 24 of 36 passes for 227 yards, and also ran 16 times for 127 yards. Yet the Falcons’ Michael Penix, who finished second in that Heisman vote, nearly sent Daniels home a loser. In his second start, Penix converted a fourth-and-11 to Drake London and then hit Kyle Pitts with a 13-yard touchdown, also on fourth down, to create overtime.
— Atlanta led 17-7 at halftime but Washington ruled most of the second half, giving the Falcons only four plays in the third quarter and only one first down in the first 26 minutes of the second half. The Falcons are 8-8 and need to beat Carolina while New Orleans is beating Tampa Bay to win the NFC South.
Philadelphia 41, Dallas 7
— The Eagles emptied their can of quarterbacks in a win that clinched the NFC East. Tanner McKee came in when Kenny Pickett injured his ribs and threw two TD passes. Pickett had already gone 10 for 15 for 143 yards. Both were subbing for Jalen Hurts (concussion). But since the Eagles are no longer in contention for the No. 1 NFC seed, there’s no need to stress about next week’s quarterback.
— Saquon Barkley battered the Cowboys with 31 carries for 167 yards and now has 2,005 yards for the season. If Barkley gets 101 yards in next week’s superfluous game with the Giants, he’ll pass Eric Dickerson’s single-season NFL record, set in 1984. DeVonta Smith also caught two touchdowns and piled up 120 yards, after his dropped pass helped the Eagles lose to Washington last week.
— Cooper Rush led Dallas on a TD drive to tie it 7-7 but the Cowboys (7-9) lost the rest of the game 34-0. Dallas had only 268 net yards, although Rico Dowdle continued his strong running with 104 yards in 23 carries. Micah Parsons had two tackles, one of which kayoed Pickett, and no sacks.
Tampa Bay 48, Carolina 14
— The Buccaneers seemed a little miffed over their loss to Dallas. They were merciless against the Panthers (4–12), with J.J. Russell blocking a punt for a touchdown and Baker Mayfield continuing his season-long heater. He was 27 for 32 with 359 yards and five touchdowns, including two apiece to Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan. Rookie Bucky Irving turned in a 20-carry, 113-yard rushing game. Tampa Bay had 33 first downs, Carolina 13 and ran 74 plays to Carolina’s 46.
— Bryce Young was fine statistically for Carolina, with no interceptions , two touchdowns and a 15 for 28 day. His 40-yard TD pass to Adam Thielen cut the Tampa Bay lead to 27-14. The Panthers were missing Chuba Hubbard and gained only 39 rushing yards.
— –The Bucs (9-7) have won four of five, and Mayfield has 14 touchdown passes in his last four games. Irving has three 100-yard rushing games in that five-game span. Thanks to Atlanta’s overtime loss at Washington, the Bucs can wrap up the NFC South by beating the injured, dispirited Saints.
Miami 20, Cleveland 3
— Tyler Huntley survived the battle of backup quarterbacks, with a 13-yard touchdown run that gave Miami a 13-3 lead. He was also 22-for-26 for 225 yards as the Dolphins improved to 8-8 and are still breathing in the AFC playoff scrum. Tyreek Hill also celebrated with nine catches totaling 105 yards.
— The Browns still unleashed a fearsome defensive effort, throwing Dolphin ballcarriers for losses 12 times. Myles Garrett had three of those. The Dolphins were also 2 for 12 on third down. The difference was in the red zone, where Miami went 2-for-2 in touchdowns, and Cleveland went 0-for-3.
— Cleveland (3-13) restructured its absurd contract with DeShawn Watson and are expected to re-enter the QB market in the off-season. The Browns have scored four touchdowns in the past four weeks, and in this game they did not have a 20-yard play. Yet two of their three wins have been against Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
Buffalo 40, N.Y. Jets 14
— It was 12-0 at one point but then devolved to 40-0, as the Bills accepted 16 penalties and ran Aaron Rodgers out of the game. The Jets got their two touchdowns on passes by Tyrod Taylor. Thanks to turnovers, the Bills (13-3) had touchdown drives of 37, 38 and 15 yards.
— Josh Allen ran for a touchdown and passed for two, giving him responsibility for 40 touchdowns for five consecutive seasons. He’s the first in league history to do that. Backup Mitch Trubisky threw a 69-yard score to Tyrell Shavers, who became the 13th Buffalo receiver to catch a TD pass this year.
— The Jets fell to 4-12 and Rodgers was sacked four times, giving him 568, another NFL record. This was Buffalo’s fourth 40-point game and third in its past four games. The Bills have scored at least 30 in 12 of their 16 games, and are 11-1 when they do so.
N.Y. Giants 45, Indianapolis 33
– Assuming the Giants produce a highlight film this season, most of it will feature events from this game, which broke a franchise-record 10-game losing streak. Ihmir Smith-Marsette, a Newark, N.J. native, had a 100-yard kickoff return, and Drew Lock pulled out a career game at quarterback, with four touchdowns, no picks, and 309 yards for a 155.3 passer rating. And rookie Malik Nabers snagged seven of eight passes in his direction for 171 yards and two scores.
— The Giants (3-13) had scored 59 points in their past five games and topped their previous high of 29, which they got in their last win, at Seattle in the fifth game. It was also the first game in which New York quarterbacks weren’t sacked.
— The Colts (9-7) were eliminated from the playoffs but it wasn’t Joe Flacco’s fault. He was 26-for-38 for 330 yards with two touchdowns, and Michael Pittman and Alec Pierce both broke 100 yards receiving. Pittman’s touchdown cut the lead to 35-33 with 6:38 left, but Lock took the Giants 70 yards and scrambled for a 5-yard score. On the next play from scrimmage, Andru Phillips intercepted Flacco. The Giants don’t have the first-overall pick anymore, thanks to the win, but maybe they found a quarterback under their noses.
Jacksonville 20, Tennessee 13
Not every Jaguar will remember 2024 as a disaster. Mac Jones has begun to rehab his QB reputation, and went 15 for 22 in this one with a 122 passer rating. Rookie receiver Brian Thomas Jr. caught seven for 91 yards and a touchdown, his fifth in his past four games, and took an end-around 18 yards to set up a touchdown. Josh Hines-Allen had a sack and is within two of Tony Brackens’ club record. The Jaguars are 4-12 and the Titans 3-13, with Tyjae Spears leaving an impression for 2025 with 95 yards in 20 carries.
Las Vegas 25 New Orleans 10
The Raiders (4–12) waited until Week 17 to nail down their first 2-game win streak of the season, maybe because these were their first two games without a turnover. Even without Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas had four sacks, and Ameer Abdullah ran for 115 yards, his first 100-yard game in a 10-year career. Brock Bowers had seven catches for 77 yards and has 108 catches for 1,144 yards, setting NFL records for both. The Saints (5-11), playing without most of their significant offensive parts, got their only touchdown on a flea-flicker.