This version of Darnold makes the Vikings genuine Super Bowl contenders

The ceiling is extremely high for the Vikings if they keep getting quarterback play like this.
Dec 8, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) looks on after the game against the Atlanta Falcons at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Dec 8, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) looks on after the game against the Atlanta Falcons at U.S. Bank Stadium. / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
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If Sam Darnold continues to play the way he has over the last month, the Minnesota Vikings will head into the playoffs as true, legitimate, genuine Super Bowl contenders — even if they have to do it as a wild card team in the NFC.

The Vikings put together their most complete performance since September in Sunday's 42-21 victory over the Falcons. They won the turnover battle 3-0, got five touchdown passes from Darnold to Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, and got into the end zone on each of their final four drives of the game to pull away after an up-and-down start. The Falcons aren't a great team, but they aren't a bad one, either. And they learned the hard way that when Darnold is on his game, the Vikings are a force to be reckoned with.

Minnesota has now won six in a row and sits at 11-2 for the first time since 2009. With all due respect to Mike Zimmer's 2017 team and their top-ranked defense, this is the best the Vikings have been since Brett Favre led them to the cusp of the Super Bowl 15 years ago. Why? Because of the ceiling they possess on both sides of the ball. All season long, this has been arguably the best defense in the NFL. When you add in the offense we just saw at U.S. Bank Stadium, this Vikings team feels complete enough to win it all.

FTN Fantasy's DVOA metric has the Lions and the Ravens as the two best teams in the NFL. Then there's a second tier that includes the Packers, Bills, Eagles, and Vikings. The Chiefs and 49ers round out the top eight — and those feel like the eight franchises with a realistic chance to win the Super Bowl in February. Looking at the teams with the best point differentials, you've got the Lions (+183), Bills (+129), Eagles (+108), and the Vikings (+99). Those teams are the cream of the crop in the league right now.

The Vikings' defense did give up a bunch of yards against the Falcons, so there are some things to clean up for a group that was without Stephon Gilmore, Ivan Pace Jr., and Pat Jones II due to injury. But they came up with two more interceptions and lead the league in that department. They're still first this season in DVOA, third in opponent EPA per play, fourth in sacks, and sixth in points allowed. Brian Flores' defense has been undeniably elite.

With all of the talent the Vikings have on both sides of the ball, their ceiling was always going to be determined by Darnold. And after a shaky five-game stretch in the middle of the season, he's been absolutely dialed in over the past four weeks, scoring 12 total touchdowns with zero interceptions during that span. Darnold looks like he's got complete control over Kevin O'Connell's offense right now. What he put on tape against Atlanta was championship-level quarterback play.

"The pitch-and-catch feel between Sam and Justin and Jordan was pretty spectacular," O'Connell said on Monday. "There was some high, high-level stuff going on, in rhythm."

Darnold certainly has the weapons to keep this up. He's throwing to arguably the best wide receiver duo in the NFL, not to mention a top-tier pass-catching tight end. Aaron Jones is eighth in the league in yards from scrimmage and gives the offense much-needed balance. The Vikings' interior offensive line remains a bit of a question mark, but the front office deserves credit for going out and getting Cam Robinson at left tackle after Christian Darrisaw went down. Brian O'Neill has been incredible all year on the other side of the line.

The coaching staff is there, too. O'Connell is 28-11 with the Vikings in games started by Darnold or Kirk Cousins. He's got Wes Phillips, Josh McCown, and Keenan McCardell as a few of his top assistants on offense. Flores is a former head coach who is definitively one of the best defensive minds in the game.

It all comes down to the quarterback — and this is now a pretty big sample size that suggests what Darnold is doing isn't fluky or unsustainable. He's had a passer rating above 100 in 11 of 13 games this season, setting a Vikings single-season record with a month to spare. Outside of a few poor decisions here and there, he's been outstanding all season.

As long as that continues, the Vikings are capable of beating any team in the league. And that will give them a fighting chance, regardless of what seed they are, to make something special happen when the postseason rolls around.


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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.