SEATTLE – Sam Darnold has inspired confidence in his coach and teammates throughout this career-changing season. With the Vikings facing another late deficit, they had no doubt he'd deliver.
Darnold connected with a well-covered Justin Jefferson with 3:51 left for his third touchdown pass of the game, and Minnesota outlasted Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks 27-24 on Sunday to keep pace with Detroit for the top spot in the NFC.
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After the Seahawks took the lead on Smith's third TD pass, Darnold led a 30-second drive that was aided by a 15-yard facemask penalty. He stepped up in a collapsing pocket and launched a deep ball that Jefferson hauled in just short of the goal line with two defenders closing in.
“There wasn’t really one guy — and I know I’m not speaking just for myself — (who didn’t think) we’re going to go down and we’re going to get a touchdown,” Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said. “And I think the level of confidence that that group has in their quarterback and the level of confidence the quarterback has in the 10 guys in the huddle is significant. And that’s how you’re able to go do that in that moment on the road at this place where you can’t hear yourself think.”
Jefferson finished with 10 catches for 148 yards and two touchdowns as the Vikings (13-2) won their eighth straight. If they can beat Green Bay and Detroit to close out the season, they will earn the top seed in the conference and a first-round playoff bye.
Darnold threw for multiple touchdowns for the 11th time this season and more than 200 yards for the 10th. He finished 22 of 35 for 246 yards, helping O'Connell become the first Vikings coach with multiple 13-win seasons.
On the final drive, O'Connell's headset malfunctioned and Darnold improvised, calling his own play and his own number on a short scramble. He finished with a quarterback rating over 100 for the 12th time.
Not bad for a veteran who was signed to a one-year deal as a placeholder after the Vikings drafted J.J. McCarthy, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the preseason. The final play showed his chemistry with Jefferson, who made a decision mid-route that Darnold recognized.
“We spend a lot more time than in college with each other and I definitely felt that going into the season and especially throughout the season,” Jefferson said. “Seeing how much fun we were having together, seeing the different plays that we were making, all of us came together every single game. We just lean on each other to fight for one another.”
Said Darnold: “I just needed to give him a shot, you know, put it on his back hip and let him do the rest.”
Smith threw for 314 yards and his 4-yard TD pass to AJ Barner gave the Seahawks a 24-20 lead with 4:41 left, but he couldn't rally Seattle (8-7) after Jefferson's late TD. Jason Myers missed a 60-yard field goal try after the two-minute warning, and Theo Jackson picked off Smith with 49 seconds left to seal it.
The Seahawks have lost two straight after a four-game winning streak and fell one game behind the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West.
Smith also had scoring passes of 25 yards to DK Metcalf and 18 yards to Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He was also intercepted twice. Smith-Njigba had eight receptions for 95 yards.
Minnesota improved to 8-1 in one-score games this season.
“The reason that their record is what it is and what their record is in one score games is because they’re a good football team,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. "We hung right in there. We had an opportunity to win the game, and we didn’t. There’s things in all three phases that we can do better, but we also did a lot of great things. We gave ourselves a chance to win.”
The Vikings ran a 12-play opening drive, consuming 6:54 on the way to a 7-0 lead on Darnold’s 5-yard pass to Jordan Addison, who was open in the middle of the end zone for his third catch of the series.
Smith found Metcalf in man-to-man coverage with Stefon Gilmore early in the second quarter in the right corner of the end zone. It was Metcalf’s first TD reception since Week 7.
Darnold responded two drives later to make it 14-7 on a 14-yard pass to Jefferson over Tre Brown, who was left in single coverage on the All-Pro’s corner route.
Joshua Metellus pressured Smith on the first play of Seattle’s ensuing drive and Dallas Turner stepped in front of a pass to Noah Fant for an interception that set up Minnesota at the Seattle 31. The Vikings settled for Will Reichard’s 52-yard field goal after Boye Mafe sacked Darnold.
Smith drove the Seahawks 88 yards in 1:05 on five plays to cut the lead to 17-14 with 20 seconds left in the half. He found Smith-Njigba three times on the drive. The first, a 13-yard reception, put the second-year player over 1,000 yards receiving for the first time. The second, for 25 yards to the Vikings 18, drew a biceps flex from Smith-Njigba for the cheering crowd. And the third went for the score.
Receiving milestones
Metcalf shook off a long scoreless streak to catch his 47th career TD with the Seahawks. That helped him pass Hall of Fame receiver Steve Largent and move into sixth on the team's career touchdown list.
Smith-Njigba became the 10th Seahawks receiver to record a 1,000-yard season.
Injuries
Vikings: S Harrison Smith (foot) was inactive, missing a game for the first time since 2022.
Seahawks: Placed LB Trevis Gipson (ankle) on injured reserve. ... RB Kenneth Walker III left the game with an ankle injury.
Up next
Vikings: Host Green Bay next Sunday.
Seahawks: At Chicago on Thursday.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl