Sam Darnold, Titans penalties lead Vikings to victory in Tennessee

The Vikings are 8-2 after completing a sweep of the AFC South on Sunday.

Nov 17, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) celebrates with wide receiver Jordan Addison (3) after his touchdown against the Tennessee Titans during the first half at Nissan Stadium. / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Behind three Sam Darnold touchdowns and a barrage of penalties by the Titans, the Vikings completed their sweep of the AFC South and improved to 8-2 with a 23-13 win in Tennessee on Sunday.

Darnold threw two touchdown passes and scored another on a QB sneak for Minnesota. Most importantly, he didn't throw any interceptions after tossing five of them in the two previous weeks. Darnold looked a lot more like the early-season version of himself in this game, which was played in front of a ton of Vikings fans at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. He completed 20 of 32 passes for 246 yards and made several plays on the run after escaping pressure. He also had a potential fourth touchdown dropped by Jalen Nailor in the fourth quarter.

Darnold did technically lose one turnover on a fumble in the first quarter, but that was primarily the fault of Aaron Jones, who couldn't catch the ball on a toss play.

The Vikings played fairly well in this game, but the story of the afternoon was the Titans' bevy of highly-impactful penalties. They finished with 13 of them for 91 yards in the game. Four of them extended Vikings offensive drives. Another one nullified a touchdown. Some of the calls were obvious self-inflicted wounds by a bad and undisciplined Titans team. Others may have been fortunate breaks for the visiting team.

The most notable and controversial call was a hit on Jordan Addison in the end zone by Titans safety Mike Brown in the second quarter. Brown hit Addison hard, forcing an incompletion on fourth and goal. But even though he appeared to hit him in the chest, the refs threw a flag for unnecessary roughness. Titans head coach Brian Callahan was so mad that he drew an unsportsmanlike conduct flag after the play (which only moved the ball a couple inches closer to the goal line). Instead of a turnover on downs, the Vikings scored on the next play.

The Titans were also flagged for an illegal formation on what would've been a 51-yard touchdown to Calvin Ridley in the second half. They had flag after flag after flag on both sides of the ball. Had those been cut down, this could've been a much closer game, because the Vikings' defense gave up some chunks to Will Levis through the air.

Justin Jefferson caught 6 passes for 81 yards for the Vikings on a day where he broke Torry Holt's record for the most receiving yards in a player's first five seasons in NFL history. Addison caught a 47-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring for the Vikings. Defensively, Minnesota sacked Levis five times, with Andrew Van Ginkel and Pat Jones II getting two apiece. Harrison Smith sealed the game with an interception in the final minutes.

The Vikings remain one game behind the Lions — who blasted the Jaguars on Sunday — in the NFC North. Next up is a trip to Chicago to face the Bears next week, which will cap a three-game road trip.