Minnesota Vikings 27, Seattle Seahawks 24: Minnesota Hangs On For Eighth Straight Victory

Again, it wasn’t pretty, but it worked

Another Sunday, another afternoon of far too much excitement for fans of the Minnesota Vikings.

Sam Darnold found Justin Jefferson for the go-ahead, 39-yard touchdown with just under four minutes to play, and the Vikings’ defense did just enough to engineer a 27-24 victory for the Vikings over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 16 NFL action.

The Vikings drew first blood in this one, as they put together a 12-play drive that spanned nearly seven minutes on the game’s first possession. The final play saw Sam Darnold connect with Jordan Addison for a 5-yard touchdown to make it 7-0 early on.

Seattle struck back early in the second quarter, as Geno Smith connected with D.K. Metcalf for a 25-yard touchdown to tie things at 7-7 about a minute and a half into the second quarter.

Minnesota took the lead back in the second quarter courtesy of a 19-yard touchdown pass from Darnold to Justin Jefferson to make it 14-7. Jefferson was called for taunting after the touchdown but it didn’t affect Will Reichard’s extra point attempt as the Vikings went back up seven.

On the Seahawks’ very next offensive play, the Vikings’ defense took the ball back as rookie Dallas Turner undercut a route and picked off a pass from Smith to set the Vikings up in Seattle territory.

Darnold was sacked on the ensuing possession, and the Vikings had to settle for a 52-yard Will Reichard field goal to make it 17-7 with about three and a half minutes left in the first half.

Seattle then drew closer on a two-minute drive to end the half, with Smith finding Jaxon Smith-Njigba for an 18-yard touchdown pass to make it 17-14 in favor of the Vikings heading into the locker room at halftime. The home team then tied it on the first possession of the second half on a 43-yard field goal from Jason Myers to make it 17-17 about five minutes into the third quarter.

Minnesota took the lead back on their first possession of the half, getting a 48-yard field goal from Will Reichard to make it 20-17 with just under six and a half minutes left in the third quarter. That’s how the score remained until late into the fourth quarter, when Geno Smith found A.J. Barner for a 4-yard touchdown to give Seattle their first lead of the afternoon at 24-20 with a little more than four minutes left.

On the ensuing possession, the Vikings got themselves right back into the lead, as Darnold found Jefferson again, this time a 39-yard touchdown to make it 27-24 in favor of the Vikings with just under four minutes left.

Seattle got into Minnesota territory on their next possession but faced a 4th-and-14 from the Minnesota 42 at the two-minute warning. They called on Jason Myers to attempt a 60-yard field goal, and his attempt came up a couple of yards short to give the Vikings the ball back at midfield.

Minnesota went three-and-out on the ensuing possession and forced the Seahawks to burn their remaining timeouts. On the Seahawks’ first play from scrimmage, Geno Smith dropped back to pass and threw one right into the arms of Theo Jackson, playing in place of the injured Harrison Smith, to seal the deal for Minnesota.

With the Vikings win, they move to 13-2 and remain tied with Detroit atop the NFC North in the race for the division and the top seed in the NFC playoffs. They’ve got a big one coming on Sunday when they host Green Bay at U.S. Bank Stadium in Week 17.

The Minnesota Vikings hold on to get their eighth consecutive victory, taking down the Seattle Seahawks by a score of 27-24. Thank you to everybody who got their coverage of this week’s game right here at The Daily Norseman!