Inside The Vikings

5 things that stood out from Vikings' comeback win over Cardinals

The Vikings trailed 19-6 late in the third quarter but rallied and pulled out another one-score win.

Will Ragatz

Dec 1, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones (33) reacts after scoring the game winning touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals during the fourth quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Dec 1, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones (33) reacts after scoring the game winning touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals during the fourth quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
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The Vikings trailed 19-6 late in the third quarter of Sunday's game against the Cardinals at U.S. Bank Stadium, but found their stride and scored on each of their final three possessions to pull off a 23-22 comeback victory. The win is their fifth in a row and moves them to 10-2 on the season — and it was one they desperately needed in order to remain within striking distance of the Lions in the NFC North.

Here are five things that stood out from this victory.

Darnold comes up clutch again

Sam Darnold was outstanding in the fourth quarter and overtime last week in Chicago, leading a game-winning drive against the Bears. He did more of the same against the Cardinals.

Midway through the third quarter, Darnold had been sacked four times as the Vikings struggled to find quick answers to Arizona's blitzes. The offense was booed off the field after the fourth sack led to a three-and-out.

But Darnold and company started clicking after going down by 13 points. Over the Vikings' final three drives, he was 12 for 17 for 156 yards and two touchdowns. Darnold hit Johnny Mundt for a score late in the third quarter, set up a field goal early in the fourth, and then delivered the game-winning pass to Aaron Jones with 1:13 on the clock. Prior to the Jones TD, he found Justin Jefferson (7 catches, 99 yards) for a key conversion on fourth down.

It was high-level quarterback play in crunch time from a guy who has been excellent this season. This was already Darnold's tenth game in 2024 with at least a 100 passer rating, which ties 2000 Daunte Culpepper and 2009 Brett Favre for the Vikings' single-season record. There are still five games left to play this year. Darnold finished 21 of 31 for 235 yards, 2 TDs, 22 rushing yards, and a 111.6 rating.

Vikings don't give up on Jones

It had to be quite cathartic for Jones to be the one to score the game-winning touchdown, because he had a rough day prior to that play. He fumbled on his first touch of the game and got lucky when Brian O'Neill recovered it. On his fourth touch, he caught a pass and fumbled again — and this one was recovered by the Cardinals. A dejected Jones went to the bench and didn't see another touch for almost a full quarter.

Jones has now fumbled five times, which ties his career-high mark. Three have been recovered by the opponents, and two of those came within two yards of the goal line. Four of his fumbles have come in the last three games, which doesn't even include a dropped pitch against the Titans that was charged to Darnold.

To add to the frustration, Jones couldn't secure a potential touchdown catch in the fourth quarter on a possession where the Vikings ended up settling for a field goal to cut it to 19-16.

But the Vikings didn't give up on Jones. They stuck with him, and he caught the TD pass that gave them their first lead of the game with just 73 seconds left to play.

"I have total trust in Aaron," Kevin O'Connell said. "There's a reason why I called the play I did in the end. He's one of our best players, he is going to continue to be one of our best players, and there's not a guy in that locker room that doesn't absolutely love playing with Aaron Jones. We got his back, without any hesitation or question."

Cardinals elect to kick

A pivotal moment and decision in the game came with 3:23 left and the Cardinals up 19-16. A first-and-goal situation at the 5 yard-line had turned into second-and-25 due to a couple Arizona penalties, including a huge intentional grounding mistake by Kyler Murray, but they got a couple chunks back and faced a fourth-and-goal at the 4.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon chose to kick the short field goal and go up by six points. That felt like a potential mistake in the moment, and it turned out to be the choice that allowed the Vikings to go win the game. If the Cardinals had gone for it and scored a four-yard touchdown, they would've all but put the game away.

Even if they had gone for it and not converted, the Vikings would've had the ball at their own 4 and might've settled for a game-tying field goal if they had faced a fourth down like the one they ended up converting to Jefferson. Because they were down by six, they had to go for it and were able to get it done. That felt like a conservative decision from Gannon.

Gilmore leaves with injury

Vikings cornerback Stephon Gilmore left the game with a hamstring injury in the first half and did not return. His absence became quite notable in the third quarter. Fabian Moreau replaced him and was called for two pass interference penalties in the quarter. The first was very iffy, but the second was an obvious one that resulted in a 38-yard gain on third down. On the very next play, Moreau was covering Marvin Harrison Jr. when Murray found him for a 15-yard touchdown in the back of the end zone.

The Vikings got key second-half interceptions from their other cornerbacks — Byron Murphy Jr. and Shaq Griffin — but they'll be hoping to have Gilmore healthy next week against the Falcons. The depth beyond that top three leaves a lot to be desired.

Defense bends but mostly doesn't break

The Vikings allowed 406 total yards in this game, which is the second-highest total they've given up this season (the Packers had 465 back in Week 4). The Cardinals ran for 154 yards and netted 252 through the air. Murray had some big scrambles and found Trey McBride for 12 catches, but he also threw just the lone touchdown.

Chad Ryland made five field goals for Arizona and missed another attempt. They got to at least the Vikings' 22-yard-line seven times and settled for field goal tries on six of those. Then, when it mattered most, the Vikings came up with interceptions by Murphy and Griffin to seal the deal. Minnesota's lone sack of the day also came at a big time — it happened two plays before the game-sealing pick on the final drive and was credited to Jonathan Greenard, giving him 10.0 on the season.

This was far from the Vikings' best defensive performance, but they came up with a few clutch plays and did enough to win the game.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

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