Vikings Rode to Victory with Full Team Effort

The Minnesota Vikings made the league sit up and take notice with Sunday’s win over the San Francisco 49ers. One of the things that impressed me on Sunday was the way the Vikings rode to victory with a full team effort. Sure, there were some stand-out performances, but the Vikings got big moments from players right across the board in all phases of the game.

Vikings Rode to Victory with Full Team Effort

Sam Darnold completed 17 of 26 passing attempts for 268 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception while being sacked 3 times. Most importantly, he made the big plays at the right times, like the 97-yard bomb to Justin Jefferson for a touchdown and an excellent third-down conversion to Jalen Nailor. The fourth-quarter drive that took 6:46 off the game clock made the 49ers use the last of their timeouts and led to a game-winning field goal. 

Darnold was an understudy to Brock Purdy last season, but in this battle of former teammates, it was Darnold who came out on top. Purdy completed 28 of 36 passing attempts for 319 yards, 1 touchdown, and one interception while being sacked 6 times. The Vikings’ defense swarmed all over Purdy, with players taking turns to make a big play. Patrick Jones backed up his 2-sack game from last week with another, and Jihad Ward plucked a Purdy fumble out of the air – and these are supposed to just be the depth players.

Jonathan Greenard led the team with six pressures, and he got his first sack as a Viking, while Andrew Van Ginkel got a sack, two tackles for loss, and came close again to intercepting a screen pass. Minnesota native Blake Cashman was arguably the Vikings player of the day in his first game in Minnesota as a Viking. Cashman led the team in tackles with 13 including a tackle for loss, a sack, and three pass deflections.

Offense Spreads The Ball Out

When Jefferson was knocked out of the game with a leg injury, the Vikings were without their star receiver, Jordan Addison, and TJ Hockenson. The Vikings’ offense looked thin on the ground in the fourth quarter, and Aaron Jones also did not have the most productive game on the ground. Ty Chandler stepped up to lead the Vikings’ rushing attack with 82 yards from 10 carries.

Nailor stepped as the Vikings WR2 (and then WR1) with three catches for 54 yards and a touchdown. Brandon Powell, Trent Sherfield, and Johnny Mundt also contributed with crucial catches. Jones had what could have been a good day in the passing game spoiled by his fumble down at the goal line. He caught five passes for 36 yards and has shown why he’s a dual-threat running back with 7.3 yards per reception on seven catches so far this season.

Special teams didn’t miss out either, with veteran CJ Ham getting in on the act with a blocked punt. Will Reichard is so far perfect on the season; after only being required for extra points last week, he converted on all three of his field goal attempts on Sunday and is six for six on extra points. The only real blemish on an excellent day for the special teams unit was rookie Dallas Turner stepping into the endzone for a touchback when he should have downed Ryan Wright’s punt at the one-yard line.

The 2024 Vikings look to have greater depth than the previous two seasons under Kevin O’Connell. That will be a major factor in Minnesota’s maintaining this good start and producing a memorable season.