Sam Darnold rallies Vikings to 23-22 win over Cardinals, 10-2 record

Quarterback Sam Darnold #14 of the Minnesota Vikings celebrates a third quarter touchdown during the third quarter of a game against the Arizona Cardinals at U.S. Bank Stadium on December 01, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. ((Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images))

The Brief

• • The Vikings are 10-2 after a 23-22 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium
  • Aaron Jones fumbled twice in the first quarter, but caught the game-winning TD pass with 3:20 to play.
  • Sam Darnold threw for 235 yards and 2 TDs, Shaq Griffin sealed the win with an interception

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – The Minnesota Vikings got out-played by the Arizona Cardinals for the better part of three quarters Sunday, and got away with it.

Trailing 19-6 late in the third quarter, the Vikings out-scored the Cardinals 17-3 over the final 18 minutes in a 23-22 win.

What it means

The Vikings improve to 10-2 on the season, and have won five straight. They stay one game behind the Detroit Lions in the NFC North, and one game ahead of the Green Bay Packers.

The big play

Down 22-16 with 3:20 to play, Sam Darnold led the Vikings on a 70-yard game-winning touchdown drive. It ended with Darnold hitting Aaron Jones from five yards out with 1:13 to play. It was redeeming for Jones, who fumbled twice in the first quarter, but responded to make the biggest play of the game.

Parker Romo’s extra point gave the Vikings a 23-22 lead. Shaq Griffin sealed the win with an interception on a Kyler Murray deep ball with 40 seconds left. The defense made the last play despite Arizona’s offense being on the field for 77 total plays.

They key sequence

The Vikings were down 19-6 and everything seemed to be going wrong. ThenDarnold led a touchdown drive, hitting Johnny Mundt from six yards out to get within 19-13. Byron Murphy Jr. intercepted Kyler Murray, and the Vikings got a field goal out of it to get within 19-16 with 11 minutes to play.

What’s next

In what will be one of the most highly-anticipated regular season games for the Vikings in some time, Kirk Cousins makes his return to Minneapolis next Sunday. Cousins threw four interceptions on Sunday as the Falcons lost to the L.A. Chargers 17-13 to fall to 6-6.

Cousins left the Vikings after six seasons for a $180 million contract with the Falcons.