With 4:21 to go in the Minnesota Vikings’ 27-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks, play-by-play man Adam Amin addressed the “12th Man” at Lumen Field. “The Vikings let the crowd back into it,” he said, “because of some crucial mistakes.”
Geno Smith had led the Seahawks on an 11-play, 68-yard drive to take a 24-20 lead. The Seattle crowd was roaring, creating oppressive noise near the Puget Sound. Worse yet, Kevin O’Connell’s headset went out, so he couldn’t communicate with Sam Darnold. O’Connell alertly grabbed Darnold on the sideline after he had run out of bounds and gave him the next play.
“My headset went out completely, which I thought was curious in that moment, but Sam…scrambled on the play before, so I was able to talk to him on the sideline and get that play called,” said O’Connell. “By the time the next snap was called, I had a new (battery) pack on.
“Dealing with adversity.”
Minnesota has handled adversity with aplomb all year. Khyree Jackson passed away, Jordan Addison had a DUI, and J.J. McCarthy and Mekhi Blackmon suffered injuries before the season started. The Seahawks game was Minnesota’s 10th one-score game, and they’ve won nine. The Vikings have won 31 one-score games since O’Connell took over in 2021.
O’Connell has become the NFL’s Danny Ocean. The 11 men on the field are situational masters raiding the league like master thieves in Las Vegas. On Sunday, they robbed the Bellagio; Green Bay and Detroit might as well be the Mirage and MGM Grand.
The Vikings are stealing wins in a season where Vegas projected them to win 7.5 games. The only issue is that they’re doing it in the most painstaking way possible.
O’Connell is an offensive coach. He grabbed Darnold in free agency and turned a beater into a Bentley. Still, Minnesota’s defense has carried them all season. The offense is good enough to create explosives and maximize Justin Jefferson. However, it hasn’t created separation recently outside of the 21-point explosion in the fourth quarter of the Atlanta Falcons game.
They’re leaving themselves little margin but almost always escape with the win.
They’re robbing the casino without a getaway car.
According to those who have done it, the key to breaking and entering is that you need a plan to get in and out. Everything else takes care of itself. Everyone knows what to grab once you’re inside. However, you must know how to get in quickly and plan an escape.
Minnesota has typically started fast under O’Connell. He doesn’t script plays but gets Darnold in rhythm and starts with a long drive. On Sunday, the Vikings started with the ball, and Darnold led them on a 12-play, 70-yard drive that lasted nearly seven minutes. However, the Vikings couldn’t peel away with a lead in a place where they hadn’t won since 2006, when Brad Johnson was wearing No. 14 for the Vikings.
- The Seattle went three-and-out on their first drive. But Sam Darnold missed Justin Jefferson on second-and-five, and Josh Jobe hit Jordan Addison hard enough to force an incompletion.
- Minnesota responded to Seattle’s first touchdown by going three-and-out.
- Dallas Turner picked off Geno Smith on his first pass on Seattle’s fourth drive. The Vikings ran three plays for a loss of three yards and settled for a field goal.
- The Seahawks forced a three-and-out on Minnesota’s penultimate drive of the first half and scored a touchdown to make it 17-14.
- With the score tied 17-17 early in the second half, Darnold missed Addison on third-and-seven from Seattle’s 30-yard line, and Will Reichard converted a 48-yard field goal in the rain.
- Minnesota had two drives to go up multiple scores before the Seahawks took a 24-20 lead with 4:21 left in the game.
- After the two-minute warning, Seahawks kicker Jason Myers missed a 60-yard kick that would have tied the game. The Vikings had the ball on Seattle’s 49-yard line but went three-and-out.
- Theo Jackson stepped in for Harrison Smith and picked off Smith to seal the game. However, the Vikings had dropped three interceptions before that.
Minnesota’s defense is allowing them to commit highway robbery. However, they need their offense to keep them off the field and create a margin to beat the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions. The Vikings have raided the Bellagio and can rob the Mirage and MGM Grand to end the season.
They have the right men to pull off another heist. They just need a getaway car.