The Minnesota Vikings took out the Green Bay Packers 27 – 25.
Sam Darnold
Sam Darnold should be considered for MVP. I know Josh Allen has better stats, but no one is leading their team better than Darnold. The reaction when he got into the locker room after the game was special. He has great talent and wasted it with terrible franchises. It’s great to see him get this chance and obviously great to see for the Vikings. 377 Yards and 3 TDs last night add to his impressive season stats. Over 4,000 yards and 35 TDs is not only impressive, it’s one of the best seasons by a Vikings QB ever. He needs 394 yards to match Kirk’s 2022 season total.
KO watching the culture he’s built pic.twitter.com/KreKw1MCkv
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) December 30, 2024
Blake Cashman
Cashman is the leader of the defense. The team is undefeated when he plays. He led the team in tackles again and also had 1 1⁄2 sacks. Jordan Love has played extremely well lately and Cashman and company shut him down last night. It was great to see and gives us great hope heading into the playoffs.
Incredible game from former Gopher Blake Cashman tonight with 11 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 TFL. KOC gave him a game ball and said, “welcome back home for good.” #Skol #SkiUMah pic.twitter.com/cCiI8z9nW3
— Gopherated〽️ (@Gopherated) December 30, 2024
Justin Jefferson
It seemed like every time the Vikings absolutely needed a play it was either Jefferson or Hockenson making the play. Jefferson is so good at finding a way to get open. He also does a great job of being patient. You could see early in the game how much he influenced the Packer defense. Darnold was able to take advantage with Nailor and Addison. Jefferson waited his turn and ended up leading the team in receiving with 92 yards. He has a lot of pressure on him to statistically try to keep up with Chase. At least this year, it will be Chase watching Jefferson in the playoffs.
HOW?!@JJettas2 | @Vikings pic.twitter.com/dVikwPXCvr
— NFL (@NFL) December 30, 2024
Kevin O’Connell
The inventiveness of KOC’s offense is impressive. He finds a way to get the very best out of every player. Darnold is doing a great job running KOC’s offense and KOC is doing a great job adjusting to his skill set. I loved to see him talking to Josh McCown after the first TD pass. KOC was making the hand gesture to keep throwing deep. That aggressiveness is what opens up the shorter routes later in the game. This team is a joy to watch and KOC is the biggest reason so.
