3 days Ago
1. Once protected, Darnold torched the Cheeseheads Sam Darnold’s pass protection started miserably with five pressures in the first eight dropbacks (62.5%) but tightened up with only eight more pressures in his final 36 dropbacks (22.
2%) of Sunday’s 27-25 victory over the Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium.
“It just felt like we settled in a little bit,” right tackle Brian O’Neill said of the offensive line. “That’s how it felt after the first two drives.” Darnold had two throwaways, including one on third-and-3, as the Vikings opened with a punt and a missed 57-yard field goal.
When pressured, Darnold was 6-for-12 for 29 yards, an interception and a sack. When protected, he completed 27 of 31 passes for 348 yards and three touchdowns. On the Vikings’ three touchdown drives, Darnold was pressured just twice while completing 16 of 17 passes for 195 yards and three touchdowns.
“He’s proving everybody wrong,” said running back Aaron Jones in the understatement of the year. Souhan: Darnold lifts the Vikings again; teammates return favor 2. Look out, Guy, K.
O. is 26-9 in one-score games Hall of Famer Guy Chamberlin won four NFL titles in six years coaching Canton, Frankford and the Cleveland Bulldogs from 1922-27. His .
759 winning percentage in one-score games (22-7-7) has stood as the league record for 97 years. Kevin O’Connell has crept closer at 26-9 (.743) and would pass Guy at least temporarily at .
771 with another one-score win at Detroit next week. Give O’Connell credit for putting the ball in the air on three of four plays while protecting a two-point lead and needing Green Bay to burn its timeouts. “I’m going to stay aggressive,” O’Connell said.
The quick-hitting rollout pass to Cam Akers on third-and-2 was the perfect call out of a heavy run personnel that fooled the Packers. The execution wasn’t the greatest, but Akers corralled Darnold’s ugly lob just before it hit the ground for a 6-yard gain and the game-sealing first down. “You spend so much time on the game plans that a lot of times in those moments it’s just finding a play and trying to coach the risk management within it,” said the second-best — for now — one-score coach in NFL history.
3. Jones has been short-yardage gold in December Aaron Jones had only 77 yards on 16 touches (4.8) before sitting out the fourth quarter because of a quad injury.
But the former Packer came through on yet another short-yardage conversion in a key moment. His 4-yard catch on third-and-3 extended the opening drive of the third quarter, which ended with a touchdown and a 20-3 lead. Since Dec.
1, the eve of his 30th birthday, Jones has gotten the first down on nine of the 11 times he’s touched the ball with 1, 2 or 3 yards needed to move the chains. “I’m aging like fine wine,” he said. “I still got it.
” Reusse: Vikings home games are family affair for Cashman 4. Jacobs fumbles, then fades Josh Jacobs, the NFL’s fourth-leading rusher, ruined the Packers’ decision to take the ball after winning the coin toss. Jerry Tillery came from the backside to strip Jacobs of the ball after a 7-yard gain on his second touch.
Jacobs finished the first quarter with 31 yards on seven carries, including a 7-yarder on third-and-3, but had only 10 more carries for 38 yards and a touchdown. He averaged only 60 yards and 13 carries in his first two games in this rivalry. “We got the ball from him early,” said tackle Jonathan Bullard.
“And we pretty much contained him.” 5. B-Flo makes case for coaching honor O’Connell is the betting favorite to win Coach of the Year.
His defensive coordinator might join him as Assistant Coach of the Year. Yes, the Packers made an early blowout a two-point game, like they did at Lambeau Field in Week 4. But Jordan Love was awful for three quarters, entering the fourth quarter with 64 yards.
When he was pressured on 13 of his dropbacks, Love completed four of eight passes for 46 yards and was sacked three times. When he wasn’t pressured, Love completed 15 of 22 passes for 139 yards and his only touchdown. When the Packers were down 20-3, Love’s average per attempt was 3.
5 yards. The Packers came in having scored at least 30 points in five consecutive games, the longest current streak until it ended. To get exclusive analysis on the Vikings in your inbox every Friday, sign up for the free Access Vikings newsletter .
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