December 29, 2024 • 24 mins
Minnesota Tim reviews the Minnesota Vikings' recent performance against the Green Bay Packers, highlighting the significant impact of quarterback Sam Darnold. The discussion covers Darnold's impressive statistics, the effectiveness of the Vikings' offense, and the crucial moments that defined the game. Tim emphasizes the Vikings' strong defense and the strategic decisions made by head coach Kevin O'Connell, ultimately celebrating the team's success and potential for the playoffs.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Before we break down this performance by the Minnesota Vikings
and Green Bay Packers, let's just let this sink in
for a second. The Minnesota Vikings are a fourteen and
two football team and control their own destiny. They have
a chance to beat the Detroit Lions next week on
(00:29):
the road, and if they win that game, they are
the number one seed in the NFC. These are all
facts that we know, but let's just let this sink
in for a second. Remember Sam Darnold, the guy that
we signed last offseason to a one year, ten million
(00:51):
dollars deal to be a bridge quarterback. Remember that. What
was your reaction when the Vikings signed Sam darn to
be that guy? Go back several months, almost a year,
and think about, Okay, we're bringing in Sam Donald. He'll
probably last five games, then he'll bring in the rookie
(01:14):
and we'll set off into the sunset fourteen and two.
Donald's completely changed his career trajectory, whether that's with the
Vikings next season or some other football team, and they
are competing for the number one seed in the NFC.
All right, enough of that wishy washy talk. Let's break
(01:39):
down the Vikings win. They win twenty seven to twenty
five in a game that was eerily similar to the
game that they played earlier in the season against the
Green Bay Packers. Same formula. Vikings early lead, offense is rolling,
Daviense is shutting down. Jordan Love up early, thirteen three
(01:59):
at half time up twenty seven to ten. Green Bay
can't do anything offensively, green Bay can't stop the Minnesota
Vikings defensively, and then late in the game, the Green
Bay Packers go on their late run and give themselves
a legitimate chance to try to win this football game,
down to three timeouts and the two minute warning, and
(02:23):
the Minnesota Vikings close out the Packers twenty seven twenty
five in a game that ended up being way more
thrilling than it should have been. But let's just talk
it about the game and what stood out. So Number
one first takeaway is this, Sam Darnold, how can it
(02:44):
not be thirty three for forty three, three hundred and
seventy seventy yards, three touchdowns, one pick, a QBR of
seventy nine point six, and a passer rating of one
hundred and sixteen point one. You know what's funny is
that we are starting to see the temperature in the
(03:06):
room change regarding Sam Darnald and his future with the
Minnesota Vikings. You know, coming into this season, the plan
the Minnesota Vikings had, and this is not guesswork, this
is the plan. You sign Donald to a one year deal,
you draft a quarterback, you're gonna put that quarterback, and
eventually that's the plan and the plan entering the season.
(03:30):
Donald was always going to be QB one, regardless of
how McCarthy played in preseason game number two or preseason
game number three, and maybe mid season to make that
switch depending on how Donald is playing well. Donald has
completely flipped the future plans within the Minnesota Vikings organization
(03:55):
because of how he's played this season. Donald, in this
football game, was tearing up the Green Bay Packers. They
had no answer for him in the first half. And
in that third quarter, second quarter of Vikings put up
thirteen points, third quarter of Vikings put up fourteen points.
(04:16):
Donald was hitting Naylor, he was hitting Jefferson, hitting Addison, Hitten, Hockinson,
and he is so good at moving around in the
pocket and well one, he's good at scrambling, but he's
also so good at making a slight change in his
(04:38):
footwork a slight movement in the pocket and finding a
wide receiver for a touchdown. Case in point, the Jordan
Addison touchdown. A guy got around Brian O'Neil. He steps
up into the pocket, makes a quick jerk to the
left and quick jerk to the right, gives himself, buys
(05:00):
himself a second more time, and that's just enough time
to hit Addison in stride on the numbers for an
easy touchdown, throw and catch. It's those simple things that
Sam Darnald is so good at that we are seeing
for the first time in his career because he's got
(05:21):
a good head coach, great head coach, great organization, and
guys that can throw him the football. Also credit to
the Minnesota Vikings offensive line for keeping Donald upright almost
the entire game. He took one sack in this game,
so credit the Minnesota Vikings offensive line for protecting him
(05:44):
and giving him a clean pocket and allowing him to
make throws to the wide receivers and running backs. One
thing that needs to be pointed out here is the
brilliant scheme of Kevin O'Connell to utilize a legitimate threat
in Jalen Naylor and Darnold for finding him. It was
(06:06):
planned for Jalen Naylor to have a big first half
against the Green Bay Packers. He used Jefferson and Addison
to get what he wanted with Jalen Naylor. And I
think Naylor gets forgotten because we got Addison and Jefferson
and Hockinson. But when Addison was injured the first few
(06:31):
weeks of the season, it was actually Jalen Naylor that
stepped up in his absence and scored touchdowns. This was
actually Naylor's sixth touchdown catch of the season. So he
is a talented wide receiver, probably the most talented wide
receiver three in the NFL. What's because And that's crazy
(06:53):
because not only did the Vikings have a superior talented
wide receiver three, but they the most talented wide receiver
two in the NFL, Jordan Aison. He would be wide
receiver one on a lot of football teams. And now
that Donald trusts Addison, it doesn't have tunnlevision towards Jefferson
(07:14):
the entire game. We are seeing Addison flourish week after
week after week, and that's why we're seeing the Minnesota
Vikings offense reach new heights. So the fact that Donald
found Naylor multiple times in the first half. He had
five catches eighty one yards, one touchdown for thirty one yards.
(07:34):
He had five targets, So Naylor was a premium part
of the Minnesota Vikings offense in this game. And I
know that because Naylor really hadn't been focused on much
recently on the Vikings against the Seahawks, one catch against
(07:56):
the Bears, one catch against Atlanta, no targets against Arizona,
two targets against Chicago, two targets against Tennessee, two targets.
This was Jalen Naylor's first five target game that he
had since Sunday, October twentieth against the Detroit Lions, in
(08:17):
which he was targeted five times. But earlier on in
the year, he had touchdowns in the first three football
games of the year against the Giants, San fran and
Houston when Addison wasn't healthy. Jalen Naylor had a touchdown
grabbing each of those games. So he has talent, he
has the ability to make plays. And with the Green
(08:39):
Bay Packers playing so well defensively recently, and they showed
the graphic on television, they were ranked as the best
defense in the NFL the last five weeks of the
season or the last five weeks, Kevin O'Connell utilized a
guy that they would not be expecting to have a
(09:00):
big game, Jalen Naylor, and he stepped up big time
for the Minnesota Vikings in the first half. And also Donald,
he found him two. Donald found Naylor wide open for
a big touchdown, which was actually I'm pulling up a
stat here by one of the Packers reporters for ESPN
(09:21):
NFL Nation, Rob Dmowski. He said this, and I'll share
this screen with you if you're watching on YouTube, and
I'll read it. This is something that was the first
completion of thirty plus air yards allowed by the Packers
this season. Per ESPN stats Info, Green Bay foes were
all of thirteen with three interceptions on such throws this season.
(09:45):
Entering today, the Packers were the last team in the
NFL to allow such a completion this season, and that
speaks to the Packers' defensive dominance. For not allowing a
single bomb until Week seven team of the NFL regular
season is remarkable stuff. But it's also just as remarkable
(10:07):
that the Minnesota Vikings were able to exploit one of
the Packers' strengths and turn that into a touchdown in
this football game. So got to give credit to o
Donald Naylor, the Minnesota Vikings offensive line, Jefferson Addison Hockinson,
the Vikings offense was rolling and something that needs to
(10:31):
be addressed and talked about, because I've seen some people
pointing out that Donald is only playing the way he's
playing because of the receivers that I just mentioned and
because of the tight end Hockinson, the offensive play color
Kevin O'Connell, And my response to that would be, yeah,
(10:54):
that's a part of it. What great quarterback does not
have an elite wide receiver. Joe Montana had Jerry Rice
is still considered one of the greatest quarterbacks ever. Steve
Young had Jerry Rice, Tom Brady had Randy most for
a few years, but had Rob Gronkowski for almost, you know,
(11:17):
the entire second half of his career. Of his career,
look at every single great quarterback. Joe Burrow, he's having
one of the best seasons of quarterbacks ever, had Jamar Chase,
Patrick Mahomes. He doesn't really have a guy. Travis Kelce
doesn't have a wide receiver he's necessarily thrown to. Right now,
but all the Super Bowl runs, Travis Kelcey's right there,
(11:38):
Hall of Fame tight end. So I don't want to
come with these excuses for Donald while he's got Jefferson
in that what great quarterback did not have a great
wide receiver to throw the ball to. Donald's fortunate that
he's got multiple guys to throw the ball to. But
let's not you know, pooh pooh Donald because of the
(12:00):
guys he's throwing the ball to, when every single great
quarterback that's ever lived has had great wide receivers to
throw the football to. So let's stop with that nonsense.
Late in the half, second half, I should say, and
Donald throws an interception, the Vikings are up, well were
(12:24):
they up twenty to three? I think? And Donald throws
a pick in the Vikings territory, which is a bad pick.
That's a bad pick. That's a case where it's a
bad pick is you threw a pick and they're in
scoring range right away. It's one thing to throw a
pick on a bomb and it's basically a punt or
(12:44):
a pick on a third down or a fourth down,
and you know you're throwing it up for grabs and
you're trying to make a play, that's one thing, But
to throw a pick in your own territory is not
A bad pick is a bad pick, especially when you're
up twenty to three. And that gave the Green Bay
Packers life. But what was so cool about this situation?
(13:05):
Packers scored touchdown twenty to ten. This was a game
changing drive on the Minnesota Vikings. Momentum shifts to the Packers.
Vikings up twenty to ten, and Sam darnald next drive
leads the Minnesota Vikings down the field for an easy
(13:25):
touchdown to Cam Akers on a screen pass. That's a
situation where a lot of quarterbacks in the league would
melt and fall apart, and Donald rose to the occasion
and led the Minnesota Vikings down to a game ceiling
touchdown that ended up being the game sealing touchdown twenty
(13:47):
seven points. They won twenty seven to twenty five. So
that drive cannot be overlooked because the momentum had shifted
and the Packers finally got something going. And it would
have been easy for Donald to go into check down
mode and say, you know what, I threw a pick,
Let's rely on the defense. Let's just escape out of
(14:08):
this game alive. And he led the Minnesota Vikings down
the field, went five for five and completed a touchdown
pass to Cam Akers on a screen. If you don't
want Sam Donald back next season on a franchise, take
(14:28):
on a contract, excession, whatever it is. I don't know
what you're looking at anymore, because this guy has shown
the traits of a franchise quarterback. His mobility in the pocket,
his arm strength, his pocket awareness, his ability to scramble
(14:50):
when he needs to, his ability to find multiple wide
receivers down the field, his toughness he's been playing hurt
for a lot of the season. His likability. Players in
the locker room love him. What else could I mention
about Donald? Could go on and on his leadership ability.
(15:15):
Donald has shown everything that Minnesota Vikings fans and the
Minnesota Vikings organization. He has shown everything that this franchise
has been looking for forever and finding a franchise quarterback.
Every time we have a good run, it's a nine
(15:37):
to five or a seventeen case. Keenum, we had a
guy fall into our lap in his prime who was
looking for a destination to stay and he found one,
and now we want to risk getting rid of him
for a rookie quarterback coming off a second knee surgery,
(16:00):
a guy that's never played before. After a guy who's
in his prime has now thrown for thirty five touchdowns
and twelve picks. It just makes no sense anymore if
you think the Vikings should part ways with Sam Darnold
because he has shown everything that you would want in
a franchise quarterback. Vikings defense late in the game, Jordan
(16:28):
Love did what Jordan Love did last time. He padded
his stats and he ends up finishing with one hundred
and eighty five yards nineteen for thirty one touchdowns, zero picks,
three sacks, eighteen yards loss, eighty three point five QBR,
ninety one point seven passer rating. In that third quarter, though,
when the Vikings were dominating, Jordan Love ten for eighteen
(16:52):
sixty four yards. The Packers' offense could not do anything
against the Minnesota Vikings defense for the first three quarters
of that football game, and that's why they lost. Sure,
they made a comeback, they made it look nice. It
was a thrill thrilling end of the game. But the
Packers could not move the ball on the Minnesota Vikings
(17:14):
defense the first three quarters, and that's that the Vikings
defense was brilliant again. Dallas Turner has another sack, they
have their they have another takeaway in the first half,
first quarter, first drive of the game for the Packers,
which was huge, and they pull off another high school
(17:37):
musical celebration which Fox could have wait for for some
stupid reason. They should have known that was coming. Like
they've done this all season long, from celebrations like the
parent trap to they had another legendary one last week
that I can't recall right now, and they have this
high school musical celebration, Like that's a big air on Fox.
(18:00):
But the Minnesota Vikings defense steps up again and delivers
and shuts down a Packers offense that was recently rolling.
They had scored thirty points in five straight games coming
into this ballgame. And my one of my concerns entering
this game was that the Packers were hot and that
(18:21):
they would continue it going into this Vikings game. And
you know what, They're gonna beat the Vikings at US
Bank Stadium. And you know what I was wrong, And
I think what I did in this situation is I
overlooked who the Packers were playing during this win streak.
(18:42):
They played San France. They sucked this year. They scored
thirty in on them. They played Miami Dua can't play
on the call. They scored thirty there. They played Detroit,
they scored thirty one. Well, their defense stinks. They're all hurt.
They place Seattle Gino Smith gets hurt. They've put up thirty.
They play the Saints, Okay, they stink. They put up thirty.
So all of these Packers wins recently have come against
(19:05):
bottom feeders in the NFL, and I overlooked that, and
I thought they would defeat the Vikings, and I'm happy
to be wrong. The Minnesota Vikings defense shut down the
Green Bay Packers for seventy five percent of that football game,
and really the only thing that got them going was
a Sam Darnold interception in the third quarter. So the
(19:27):
Minnesota Vikings defense braveled to them for making plays and
for doing things that nobody expected they could do before
the season started. Game changing moments. I love talking about
game changing moments because these are plays that get overlooked
at the end of the day, that nobody remembers, that
(19:49):
nobody goes back and said, oh, remember that play in
the first half. So this is my game changing moment,
segment that nobody remembers the brand Powell muff punt. He
muffs a punt. The Minnesota Vikings are dominating defensively. It
could have been something that changed the game around. It
(20:10):
would have been easy for a Packers player to jump
right back on it, but Powell gets it back. It's
a game changing play. That's number one. Number two on
my list is the re Rekerd field goal before halftime.
Fifty five yard field goal misses. The officials give the
(20:31):
Minnesota Vikings the benefit of the doubt call in off
sides on one of the field goal blocking Green Bay
Packers defenders, and it looked a little sketchy when they
showed the instant replay. It did not look like a
holding or an out holding and off sides it looked
(20:53):
like a clean play by the Packers defense. And you
saw Matt Lafloor getting in the officials here. He hated
the call, and that set up Rekerd from fifty and
he knocked that one down. That's three points. The Minnesota
Vikings won by two. That cannot be overlooked when you
(21:14):
look at and just react to this football game, because
you know it's a play at the end half. Who
really cares on so many other three plays that's a
three point swing. He missed the first one. The officials
bailed the Minnesota Vikings out and they win by two.
That cannot be overlooked. Another thing you can't overlook in
(21:38):
this game, Packers fourth and two, down seven to three
at this moment, go for it, Packers receiver. It would
have been a tough catch, went off his hands, though
Trefferson r Addison would have had that one. So those
are three game changing plays that I mentioned in this
game that you won't hear from anywhere else that completely
(22:01):
shifted the trajectory of the football game. They're small first
half plays that you know, no one really remembers because
it wasn't a touchdown play and it wasn't a sexy
catch by Jefferson or a defensive stop by Blake Cashman.
But the margins of air in these football games are
(22:23):
so slim that you take a look at these moments
and you look back on them and it's like that
changed the course of this football game. It wasn't a score,
well the field goal was. It wasn't a highlight play
that you're gonna see on sports Center or ESPN. But
these plays changed the game and helped the Minnesota Vikings
(22:51):
win this tightly contested battle late in the fourth quarter
and ultimately win twenty seven to twenty five thanks to
an incredible case by cam Akers. Also Capitol Conald trusts
Sam Donald with everything second and eleven, putting Donald on
the run, he guns it to Jefferson catches it. That's
(23:13):
high quality execution right there, that's high quality execution. Jefferson
drops that or Donald missfires, clock stops third and eleven,
Packers have two timeouts. The Minnesota Vikings might lose that
football game if Donald miss fires or Jefferson drops it.
(23:35):
Coach trusts him and the Minnesota Vikings ultimately end up
winning that game. Cam Akers saves the day what they
catch near his tippy toes, and he played a vital
role in this game. So credit the Minnesota Vikings for
going out and getting him this season and bringing him
(23:56):
back to the Purple and Gold Sosoda. Vikings win twenty seven,
twenty five, fourteen and two, and next week will ultimately
decide if the Minnesota Vikings will play another home game
this season, whether they're fourteen and three or fifteen and two.
(24:19):
This season has been a heck of a ride and
a season that we will not forget for a long,
long time. What a game, what a run, what a quarterback,
what a head coach, what an organization. Thanks for watching,
and thanks for making this podcast a part of your day.
Before we break down this performance by the Minnesota Vikings
and Green Bay Packers, let's just let this sink in
for a second. The Minnesota Vikings are a fourteen and
two football team and control their own destiny. They have
a chance to beat the Detroit Lions next week on
(00:29):
the road, and if they win that game, they are
the number one seed in the NFC. These are all
facts that we know, but let's just let this sink
in for a second. Remember Sam Darnold, the guy that
we signed last offseason to a one year, ten million
(00:51):
dollars deal to be a bridge quarterback. Remember that. What
was your reaction when the Vikings signed Sam darn to
be that guy? Go back several months, almost a year,
and think about, Okay, we're bringing in Sam Donald. He'll
probably last five games, then he'll bring in the rookie
(01:14):
and we'll set off into the sunset fourteen and two.
Donald's completely changed his career trajectory, whether that's with the
Vikings next season or some other football team, and they
are competing for the number one seed in the NFC.
All right, enough of that wishy washy talk. Let's break
(01:39):
down the Vikings win. They win twenty seven to twenty
five in a game that was eerily similar to the
game that they played earlier in the season against the
Green Bay Packers. Same formula. Vikings early lead, offense is rolling,
Daviense is shutting down. Jordan Love up early, thirteen three
(01:59):
at half time up twenty seven to ten. Green Bay
can't do anything offensively, green Bay can't stop the Minnesota
Vikings defensively, and then late in the game, the Green
Bay Packers go on their late run and give themselves
a legitimate chance to try to win this football game,
down to three timeouts and the two minute warning, and
(02:23):
the Minnesota Vikings close out the Packers twenty seven twenty
five in a game that ended up being way more
thrilling than it should have been. But let's just talk
it about the game and what stood out. So Number
one first takeaway is this, Sam Darnold, how can it
(02:44):
not be thirty three for forty three, three hundred and
seventy seventy yards, three touchdowns, one pick, a QBR of
seventy nine point six, and a passer rating of one
hundred and sixteen point one. You know what's funny is
that we are starting to see the temperature in the
(03:06):
room change regarding Sam Darnald and his future with the
Minnesota Vikings. You know, coming into this season, the plan
the Minnesota Vikings had, and this is not guesswork, this
is the plan. You sign Donald to a one year deal,
you draft a quarterback, you're gonna put that quarterback, and
eventually that's the plan and the plan entering the season.
(03:30):
Donald was always going to be QB one, regardless of
how McCarthy played in preseason game number two or preseason
game number three, and maybe mid season to make that
switch depending on how Donald is playing well. Donald has
completely flipped the future plans within the Minnesota Vikings organization
(03:55):
because of how he's played this season. Donald, in this
football game, was tearing up the Green Bay Packers. They
had no answer for him in the first half. And
in that third quarter, second quarter of Vikings put up
thirteen points, third quarter of Vikings put up fourteen points.
(04:16):
Donald was hitting Naylor, he was hitting Jefferson, hitting Addison, Hitten, Hockinson,
and he is so good at moving around in the
pocket and well one, he's good at scrambling, but he's
also so good at making a slight change in his
(04:38):
footwork a slight movement in the pocket and finding a
wide receiver for a touchdown. Case in point, the Jordan
Addison touchdown. A guy got around Brian O'Neil. He steps
up into the pocket, makes a quick jerk to the
left and quick jerk to the right, gives himself, buys
(05:00):
himself a second more time, and that's just enough time
to hit Addison in stride on the numbers for an
easy touchdown, throw and catch. It's those simple things that
Sam Darnald is so good at that we are seeing
for the first time in his career because he's got
(05:21):
a good head coach, great head coach, great organization, and
guys that can throw him the football. Also credit to
the Minnesota Vikings offensive line for keeping Donald upright almost
the entire game. He took one sack in this game,
so credit the Minnesota Vikings offensive line for protecting him
(05:44):
and giving him a clean pocket and allowing him to
make throws to the wide receivers and running backs. One
thing that needs to be pointed out here is the
brilliant scheme of Kevin O'Connell to utilize a legitimate threat
in Jalen Naylor and Darnold for finding him. It was
(06:06):
planned for Jalen Naylor to have a big first half
against the Green Bay Packers. He used Jefferson and Addison
to get what he wanted with Jalen Naylor. And I
think Naylor gets forgotten because we got Addison and Jefferson
and Hockinson. But when Addison was injured the first few
(06:31):
weeks of the season, it was actually Jalen Naylor that
stepped up in his absence and scored touchdowns. This was
actually Naylor's sixth touchdown catch of the season. So he
is a talented wide receiver, probably the most talented wide
receiver three in the NFL. What's because And that's crazy
(06:53):
because not only did the Vikings have a superior talented
wide receiver three, but they the most talented wide receiver
two in the NFL, Jordan Aison. He would be wide
receiver one on a lot of football teams. And now
that Donald trusts Addison, it doesn't have tunnlevision towards Jefferson
(07:14):
the entire game. We are seeing Addison flourish week after
week after week, and that's why we're seeing the Minnesota
Vikings offense reach new heights. So the fact that Donald
found Naylor multiple times in the first half. He had
five catches eighty one yards, one touchdown for thirty one yards.
(07:34):
He had five targets, So Naylor was a premium part
of the Minnesota Vikings offense in this game. And I
know that because Naylor really hadn't been focused on much
recently on the Vikings against the Seahawks, one catch against
(07:56):
the Bears, one catch against Atlanta, no targets against Arizona,
two targets against Chicago, two targets against Tennessee, two targets.
This was Jalen Naylor's first five target game that he
had since Sunday, October twentieth against the Detroit Lions, in
(08:17):
which he was targeted five times. But earlier on in
the year, he had touchdowns in the first three football
games of the year against the Giants, San fran and
Houston when Addison wasn't healthy. Jalen Naylor had a touchdown
grabbing each of those games. So he has talent, he
has the ability to make plays. And with the Green
(08:39):
Bay Packers playing so well defensively recently, and they showed
the graphic on television, they were ranked as the best
defense in the NFL the last five weeks of the
season or the last five weeks, Kevin O'Connell utilized a
guy that they would not be expecting to have a
(09:00):
big game, Jalen Naylor, and he stepped up big time
for the Minnesota Vikings in the first half. And also Donald,
he found him two. Donald found Naylor wide open for
a big touchdown, which was actually I'm pulling up a
stat here by one of the Packers reporters for ESPN
(09:21):
NFL Nation, Rob Dmowski. He said this, and I'll share
this screen with you if you're watching on YouTube, and
I'll read it. This is something that was the first
completion of thirty plus air yards allowed by the Packers
this season. Per ESPN stats Info, Green Bay foes were
all of thirteen with three interceptions on such throws this season.
(09:45):
Entering today, the Packers were the last team in the
NFL to allow such a completion this season, and that
speaks to the Packers' defensive dominance. For not allowing a
single bomb until Week seven team of the NFL regular
season is remarkable stuff. But it's also just as remarkable
(10:07):
that the Minnesota Vikings were able to exploit one of
the Packers' strengths and turn that into a touchdown in
this football game. So got to give credit to o
Donald Naylor, the Minnesota Vikings offensive line, Jefferson Addison Hockinson,
the Vikings offense was rolling and something that needs to
(10:31):
be addressed and talked about, because I've seen some people
pointing out that Donald is only playing the way he's
playing because of the receivers that I just mentioned and
because of the tight end Hockinson, the offensive play color
Kevin O'Connell, And my response to that would be, yeah,
(10:54):
that's a part of it. What great quarterback does not
have an elite wide receiver. Joe Montana had Jerry Rice
is still considered one of the greatest quarterbacks ever. Steve
Young had Jerry Rice, Tom Brady had Randy most for
a few years, but had Rob Gronkowski for almost, you know,
(11:17):
the entire second half of his career. Of his career,
look at every single great quarterback. Joe Burrow, he's having
one of the best seasons of quarterbacks ever, had Jamar Chase,
Patrick Mahomes. He doesn't really have a guy. Travis Kelce
doesn't have a wide receiver he's necessarily thrown to. Right now,
but all the Super Bowl runs, Travis Kelcey's right there,
(11:38):
Hall of Fame tight end. So I don't want to
come with these excuses for Donald while he's got Jefferson
in that what great quarterback did not have a great
wide receiver to throw the ball to. Donald's fortunate that
he's got multiple guys to throw the ball to. But
let's not you know, pooh pooh Donald because of the
(12:00):
guys he's throwing the ball to, when every single great
quarterback that's ever lived has had great wide receivers to
throw the football to. So let's stop with that nonsense.
Late in the half, second half, I should say, and
Donald throws an interception, the Vikings are up, well were
(12:24):
they up twenty to three? I think? And Donald throws
a pick in the Vikings territory, which is a bad pick.
That's a bad pick. That's a case where it's a
bad pick is you threw a pick and they're in
scoring range right away. It's one thing to throw a
pick on a bomb and it's basically a punt or
(12:44):
a pick on a third down or a fourth down,
and you know you're throwing it up for grabs and
you're trying to make a play, that's one thing, But
to throw a pick in your own territory is not
A bad pick is a bad pick, especially when you're
up twenty to three. And that gave the Green Bay
Packers life. But what was so cool about this situation?
(13:05):
Packers scored touchdown twenty to ten. This was a game
changing drive on the Minnesota Vikings. Momentum shifts to the Packers.
Vikings up twenty to ten, and Sam darnald next drive
leads the Minnesota Vikings down the field for an easy
(13:25):
touchdown to Cam Akers on a screen pass. That's a
situation where a lot of quarterbacks in the league would
melt and fall apart, and Donald rose to the occasion
and led the Minnesota Vikings down to a game ceiling
touchdown that ended up being the game sealing touchdown twenty
(13:47):
seven points. They won twenty seven to twenty five. So
that drive cannot be overlooked because the momentum had shifted
and the Packers finally got something going. And it would
have been easy for Donald to go into check down
mode and say, you know what, I threw a pick,
Let's rely on the defense. Let's just escape out of
(14:08):
this game alive. And he led the Minnesota Vikings down
the field, went five for five and completed a touchdown
pass to Cam Akers on a screen. If you don't
want Sam Donald back next season on a franchise, take
(14:28):
on a contract, excession, whatever it is. I don't know
what you're looking at anymore, because this guy has shown
the traits of a franchise quarterback. His mobility in the pocket,
his arm strength, his pocket awareness, his ability to scramble
(14:50):
when he needs to, his ability to find multiple wide
receivers down the field, his toughness he's been playing hurt
for a lot of the season. His likability. Players in
the locker room love him. What else could I mention
about Donald? Could go on and on his leadership ability.
(15:15):
Donald has shown everything that Minnesota Vikings fans and the
Minnesota Vikings organization. He has shown everything that this franchise
has been looking for forever and finding a franchise quarterback.
Every time we have a good run, it's a nine
(15:37):
to five or a seventeen case. Keenum, we had a
guy fall into our lap in his prime who was
looking for a destination to stay and he found one,
and now we want to risk getting rid of him
for a rookie quarterback coming off a second knee surgery,
(16:00):
a guy that's never played before. After a guy who's
in his prime has now thrown for thirty five touchdowns
and twelve picks. It just makes no sense anymore if
you think the Vikings should part ways with Sam Darnold
because he has shown everything that you would want in
a franchise quarterback. Vikings defense late in the game, Jordan
(16:28):
Love did what Jordan Love did last time. He padded
his stats and he ends up finishing with one hundred
and eighty five yards nineteen for thirty one touchdowns, zero picks,
three sacks, eighteen yards loss, eighty three point five QBR,
ninety one point seven passer rating. In that third quarter, though,
when the Vikings were dominating, Jordan Love ten for eighteen
(16:52):
sixty four yards. The Packers' offense could not do anything
against the Minnesota Vikings defense for the first three quarters
of that football game, and that's why they lost. Sure,
they made a comeback, they made it look nice. It
was a thrill thrilling end of the game. But the
Packers could not move the ball on the Minnesota Vikings
(17:14):
defense the first three quarters, and that's that the Vikings
defense was brilliant again. Dallas Turner has another sack, they
have their they have another takeaway in the first half,
first quarter, first drive of the game for the Packers,
which was huge, and they pull off another high school
(17:37):
musical celebration which Fox could have wait for for some
stupid reason. They should have known that was coming. Like
they've done this all season long, from celebrations like the
parent trap to they had another legendary one last week
that I can't recall right now, and they have this
high school musical celebration, Like that's a big air on Fox.
(18:00):
But the Minnesota Vikings defense steps up again and delivers
and shuts down a Packers offense that was recently rolling.
They had scored thirty points in five straight games coming
into this ballgame. And my one of my concerns entering
this game was that the Packers were hot and that
(18:21):
they would continue it going into this Vikings game. And
you know what, They're gonna beat the Vikings at US
Bank Stadium. And you know what I was wrong, And
I think what I did in this situation is I
overlooked who the Packers were playing during this win streak.
(18:42):
They played San France. They sucked this year. They scored
thirty in on them. They played Miami Dua can't play
on the call. They scored thirty there. They played Detroit,
they scored thirty one. Well, their defense stinks. They're all hurt.
They place Seattle Gino Smith gets hurt. They've put up thirty.
They play the Saints, Okay, they stink. They put up thirty.
So all of these Packers wins recently have come against
(19:05):
bottom feeders in the NFL, and I overlooked that, and
I thought they would defeat the Vikings, and I'm happy
to be wrong. The Minnesota Vikings defense shut down the
Green Bay Packers for seventy five percent of that football game,
and really the only thing that got them going was
a Sam Darnold interception in the third quarter. So the
(19:27):
Minnesota Vikings defense braveled to them for making plays and
for doing things that nobody expected they could do before
the season started. Game changing moments. I love talking about
game changing moments because these are plays that get overlooked
at the end of the day, that nobody remembers, that
(19:49):
nobody goes back and said, oh, remember that play in
the first half. So this is my game changing moment,
segment that nobody remembers the brand Powell muff punt. He
muffs a punt. The Minnesota Vikings are dominating defensively. It
could have been something that changed the game around. It
(20:10):
would have been easy for a Packers player to jump
right back on it, but Powell gets it back. It's
a game changing play. That's number one. Number two on
my list is the re Rekerd field goal before halftime.
Fifty five yard field goal misses. The officials give the
(20:31):
Minnesota Vikings the benefit of the doubt call in off
sides on one of the field goal blocking Green Bay
Packers defenders, and it looked a little sketchy when they
showed the instant replay. It did not look like a
holding or an out holding and off sides it looked
(20:53):
like a clean play by the Packers defense. And you
saw Matt Lafloor getting in the officials here. He hated
the call, and that set up Rekerd from fifty and
he knocked that one down. That's three points. The Minnesota
Vikings won by two. That cannot be overlooked when you
(21:14):
look at and just react to this football game, because
you know it's a play at the end half. Who
really cares on so many other three plays that's a
three point swing. He missed the first one. The officials
bailed the Minnesota Vikings out and they win by two.
That cannot be overlooked. Another thing you can't overlook in
(21:38):
this game, Packers fourth and two, down seven to three
at this moment, go for it, Packers receiver. It would
have been a tough catch, went off his hands, though
Trefferson r Addison would have had that one. So those
are three game changing plays that I mentioned in this
game that you won't hear from anywhere else that completely
(22:01):
shifted the trajectory of the football game. They're small first
half plays that you know, no one really remembers because
it wasn't a touchdown play and it wasn't a sexy
catch by Jefferson or a defensive stop by Blake Cashman.
But the margins of air in these football games are
(22:23):
so slim that you take a look at these moments
and you look back on them and it's like that
changed the course of this football game. It wasn't a score,
well the field goal was. It wasn't a highlight play
that you're gonna see on sports Center or ESPN. But
these plays changed the game and helped the Minnesota Vikings
(22:51):
win this tightly contested battle late in the fourth quarter
and ultimately win twenty seven to twenty five thanks to
an incredible case by cam Akers. Also Capitol Conald trusts
Sam Donald with everything second and eleven, putting Donald on
the run, he guns it to Jefferson catches it. That's
(23:13):
high quality execution right there, that's high quality execution. Jefferson
drops that or Donald missfires, clock stops third and eleven,
Packers have two timeouts. The Minnesota Vikings might lose that
football game if Donald miss fires or Jefferson drops it.
(23:35):
Coach trusts him and the Minnesota Vikings ultimately end up
winning that game. Cam Akers saves the day what they
catch near his tippy toes, and he played a vital
role in this game. So credit the Minnesota Vikings for
going out and getting him this season and bringing him
(23:56):
back to the Purple and Gold Sosoda. Vikings win twenty seven,
twenty five, fourteen and two, and next week will ultimately
decide if the Minnesota Vikings will play another home game
this season, whether they're fourteen and three or fifteen and two.
(24:19):
This season has been a heck of a ride and
a season that we will not forget for a long,
long time. What a game, what a run, what a quarterback,
what a head coach, what an organization. Thanks for watching,
and thanks for making this podcast a part of your day.
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