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The Vikings have won 13 games for the fourth time in franchise history and broke a long winless streak at Seattle with a 27-24 victory over the Seahawks.

Minnesota remained in position to win the No. 1 seed if it can win its final two games of the 2024 regular season.

Sam Darnold and Justin Jefferson combined for what Head Coach Kevin O'Connell said might be the play of the season — a 39-yard touchdown with 3:51 remaining in the game. Oh yeah, Jefferson did some more "passing" of his own, moving into the franchise’s top 5 for career receptions.

The Vikings defense forced a 60-yard field goal attempt that was short on Seattle's following possession to protect their 3-point lead. The Seahawks got the ball back with 55 seconds remaining in the game, but Theo Jackson's interception put the game on ice.

Going on the road and winning is never easy, but good teams find ways to do that, and Minnesota is now 6-1 as the visiting team this season.

Let's get right to the questions.

How many people outside of the organization (including most fans) would have predicted with two games left in the season that the Vikings would have locked up a playoff seed? But here we are with two games left, we have a chance at the No. 1 seed.

K.O. is easily the Coach of the Year. Whether he actually wins that or not who knows, but I have never seen a team rally behind their head coach and support each other more than this team. There's no egos, there's no selfish individuals, no drama. He has Darnold as a strong candidate for MVP when everyone else labeled him a bust.

K.O. has this team in this position after going through so much adversity that I think a lot of people overlook with the tragedy to our rookie CB (Khyree Jackson) before the season started. He doesn't have his TE1 for the first half of the season. Loses his starting LT before the season is half over.

But watching every one of his post-game conferences and locker room speeches and seeing how much he cares about this team this organization and these players I see why these players will not quit on him. I guarantee it would mean more to him to get a championship for this team this organization and his players than the individual award of Coach of the Year, and he has these players I would bet feel the same way. Forget the MVP award, the Comeback Player of the Year award, etc. Let's go get this championship.

One thing that sticks with me that he has said is "I think organizations fail young quarterbacks before young quarterbacks fail organizations." This guy is the ultimate players' coach and is Coach of the Year in Minnesota Viking fans hearts — no matter if he gets the award or not.

— Skol from Brandon in Winona, Minnesota

I think the answer to the first question, at least externally, is one person, Vikings fan and comedian Nick Swardson, during his appearance on The Rich Eisen Show in July.

While Swardson predicted wins against Detroit and at Los Angeles and losses at Jacksonville and at Detroit, he had Minnesota finishing 15-2 on the season. Eisen and people on set were almost laughing Swardson from the mic.

The Vikings control their own fate in terms of securing the No. 1 seed, and it will take winning 15 games for the second time in franchise history to vault ahead of the Lions.

I remember the over/under preseason win total for Minnesota being set at 6.5. This team has doubled that mark. I also remember many predicting a cellar finish in the division instead of competing for the NFC North crown (and so much more).

This isn't to downplay the success of anyone anywhere else, but if one were to layout accomplishments over expectations of this squad (without any particular name or team attached), O'Connell's list would garner votes.

The love from players is widespread, authentic and captured palpably in this video clip.

The selflessness of this team is one of the biggest takeaways. It seems like every player enjoys a play by a teammate, and the energy from that creates a positivity for when it's another player's turn to make a play.

Here was O'Connell's speech with his game ball distributions.

The roster nerd in me thought it was really something that players with jerseys 14 (Darnold), 15 (Dallas Turner), 16 (Will Reichard), 17 (Ryan Wright) and 18 (Jefferson) all received a game ball, along with Jackson (No. 26) and Andrew Van Ginkel (No. 43).

Van Ginkel's two sacks gave him 11 on the season. He joined Jason Taylor (2006) as the only NFL players since 1982 to record two interception return touchdowns and 10-plus sacks in a season.

Another exciting game goes the Vikings way. Each week, in addition to the star players doing their thing, it's been fun seeing other players on the team step up big when it counts. Kudos to Theo Jackson for his game-sealing interception. Also, Dallas Turner is coming on.

I'm confused however as to how not one but two end zone celebrations got flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. Watching highlights of other games, there were a number of group end zone celebrations not penalized.

The Vikings end zone celebrations are always the best.

— Kevin F.

And

Quick question that I didn't figure out from the broadcast: Where were the taunting penalties coming from? Were the refs saying they were prolonged? Was there something else going on? First time I've seen it, and the Vikings have had some pretty elaborate celebrations. Love that they get national recognition for them, too.

SKOL VIKINGS!!

— Jerry V. Schroeder in Belleville, Michigan

Really cool moment for Jackson, who nabbed his first interception of 2024 during some extended play with the Vikings without Harrison Smith. Coincidentally, Jackson's pick was No. 22 for Minnesota this season (matching Smith's jersey), doubling the Vikings total from a year ago.

Folks were a little impatient on Turner earlier this season, but I've relayed I didn't think it was time to worry yet.

In the past three weeks, he recorded an impactful hit on Kirk Cousins against Atlanta, registered a key sack of Caleb Williams against Chicago and nabbed his first career interception to set up a field goal in Seattle.

He's also got the demeanor to take coaching and continue to grow, especially for a player who is only 21 years old.

I don't want to speculate on the penalties, but on the Jefferson one, it looked like he was staring down a Seahawks player while hitting The Griddy.

It did seem like there was a bit of chirping from many directions.

Credit Reichard for being unbothered by a 33-yard extra point becoming a 48-yard try.

The Vikings are staying on task but also finding time to add fun practices for celebrations, the joy of football, if you will.

I would like us to get better at controlling the ball at the end of the half and the game and not give the other team a chance to score going into halftime or at the end of the game. Control the ball and clock and protect the lead.

— Gerald Goblirsch

And…

Our 2-minute offense is abysmal. Our 2-minute defense isn't much better. Every week they fail to score and give up points at the end of half. And am I the only one that's seen enough of the soft zone defense with no pass rush?

— Roman in Grand Forks, North Dakota

I'm combining these two since they are closely related.

The "middle 8" of games was so critical to the Vikings success in 2022, but Minnesota won Sunday in spite of a bad middle 8 that included a three-and-out by the offense and an 88-yard drive on just five plays by the Seahawks to close the first half, as well as a drive that ended with a tying field goal to open the second half. That stretch accounted for 10 of Seattle's 24 points.

While I don't know if it is the "right" time for this kind of Mailbag, but since we have no Thanksgiving here, Christmas is our time to say thanks. So I wanted to take this opportunity to make clear how happy and thankful I am for our team. I don't even mean because of our record, which is way better than anything I had dared to hope for before the season. No, I am thankful, because I can't remember the last time I was so hopeful for the future of the franchise. Now there are many people who obviously deserve a lot of credit (for example: K.O. or Flores), but I would like to focus on someone else.

While draft season may be the time GM's get praised or cursed the most, in my opinion you have to point out how well Kwesi Adofo-Mensah managed this season. The decision to let Kirk Cousins go and save the money may have hurt some fans, but it could not look smarter in retrospective. How well Kwesi works/communicates with K.O. and Flores is obvious. The "higher profile" players Flores got for his defense all work out. For me that means Flores was able to explain what he needed, and Kwesi was willing to get him the pieces he wanted at a reasonable price. In every special team you can see the "quality" of a team. If every player, even those with the smaller paychecks and less playtime, leaves everything on the field, you have a "working" team, and a special team shows that. Our team does just that. (Special shoutout to Will Reichard and Ryan Wright, both with great seasons in my opinion.)

And then the in-season decisions. It's impossible to replace a Top 5 tackle (Christian Darrisaw), but Kwesi managed to plug the hole reasonable enough with a solid player. Picking up Daniel Jones was just a smart move. Darnold plays himself to a well-compensated new contract, which I doubt we will/can give him. So having a talented QB experience our facilities and maybe decide he will stay here a year to start/backup and restart his career is a savvy move. I really, really like the way Kwesi operates, and his success speaks for itself.

So yeah, the way the organization is positioned for the next couple years makes me giggle. I pretty much love everything about K.O. (scheme, QB tutelage, locker room speeches, X&O's every week), and Kwesi seems to be the smart and decisive manager I had hoped for.

And lastly: Thank you for all your hard work. For another year you guys helped me stay connected with the team and other fans, and I really appreciate all your hard work. Merry Christmas from Germany. Hopefully to a more peaceful 2025 so we can all appreciate our awesome team the way it deserves to be recognized.

Best wishes,

— Alexander Markhart

It's never a wrong time to express gratitude and goodwill toward all. Appreciate your readership and kind words. We are so thankful to have the opportunity to try to connect the Vikings and fans across the globe through content.

Alexander's email is well-timed for another reason. I'm actually working on a story for Vikings.com about the moves that Adofo-Mensah and his team made in free agency before and after the season started. There's a short, two-page version that is going in the Playbook game program for this coming Sunday, but I plan to elaborate on the topic (without the print space and deadline limitations).

I think part of why Adofo-Mensah and O'Connell have worked so well together is that they are both solution-oriented and flexible in their thinking. That serves both so well, especially when resolving something unexpected or rapidly finding a fix without compromising philosophies.

I'd like to send out a collective Happy Holidays and positive wishes for the New Year to all.

Happy Holidays everybody. I hope the warm feeling of a Viking victory adds to your holiday cheer!!

This was a great win!

Yes, some of the usual issues made it dramatic and a little stressful up to the end, but the bottom line is we hung in there and got it done against a playoff-caliber opponent (which is all we will face from here on out)! Hopefully our Christmas present will be that none of the lumps and bruises our players took will be serious and we can bring it against the Pack!

Let's Go!!! Skol!

— Mike in Arden Hills, Minnesota

The playoffs really did start early with Minnesota closing the regular season with so many teams who were or are vying for the postseason (Arizona was eliminated Sunday, but the Cardinals were in contention at the start of the month; Atlanta is back in the lead in the NFC South; Seattle is still trying to win the NFC West).

Instead of Minnesota being in a place where it's hoping to steal a Wild Card with some help across the league, the Vikings know they're going to the dance and have an opportunity to win their second division title in three years.

The final two weeks of the regular season are a continuation of the playoff atmosphere.

The Border Battle is always special. If the Vikings win that, they will be able to play for the No. 1 overall seed at Detroit, regardless of what happens next week when the Lions visit the 49ers.

Man, it shouldn't be this stressful, but glad Sam put that drive together at the end, going to be tough against Packers next week! I think our defense waited until the fourth quarter to really put the heat on. I think Sam needs to keep doing what he's doing. Hopefully he can come back on a fair contract for us. He's a great fit. Merry Christmas.

— Toby in Alaska

One thing that probably went without getting as much credit as it deserved was the job Minnesota did against the run. Yes, Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet were working through injuries, but the Vikings limited the Seahawks to 59 yards on 15 carries (3.9 yards per rush) and allowed just one run of more than 10 yards.

Performing well against the run will be absolutely critical in the final two weeks of the regular season and playoffs.

Minnesota did seem to boost its effectiveness on its pass rush with the two sacks by Andrew Van Ginkel in the fourth quarter. He totaled three QB hits, to go along with two by Joshua Metellus, two by Jihad Ward and one by Jonathan Greenard. The Vikings also posted eight passes defensed, continuing to affect Seattle's passing game.

The Darnold wagon gained a few more riders among media members on Sunday, joining teammates who were already aboard.

He was interviewed on the field after the game and said, "I'm so proud of the guys in that locker room and wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

Big game. Glad we pulled it out. It seemed like we gave Geno too much time to throw. We gave up sustained Seahawks scoring drives but forced a late FG attempt when it mattered most. We did get the game-sealing interception when we needed it. Below are my 3 Ups and 3 Downs for this game:

UPS:

1. Beautiful 8-minute game-opening TD drive to start the game. The second TD drive of the first half ending in the score to Jefferson was well-executed. Both very nicely done.

2. Two fourth-quarter sacks of Geno. That was nice.

3. Fourth-quarter scoring drive to take the lead with a TD pass to Jefferson. And the game-winning interception. Wow!

DOWNS:

1. Wasted turnover near the red zone. A 12-yard sack takes us out of FG range. We're lucky to end up getting the FG. Not cashing in on that type of turnover field position is a problem.

2. Absolutely horrendous play at the end of the half, again. Poor coaching strategy, poor offensive execution, and poor defensive execution. So much for finishing the half smart and strong to protect a 10-point lead. First on offense, we don't run at the 2-minute warning with two timeouts and a chance to get first downs; no, we throw 3 incompletions and punt it back with no time off the clock? Then on defense, we never get to Geno and give up an 88-yard TD drive with multiple completions? It is just sad and weak and unacceptable; it's a crime. If we can't consistently perform smarter and better heading into halftime, it will be our downfall.

3. Gave up the fake punt conversion on fourth-and-one? And on the following drive give up a sustained fourth-quarter TD drive for the Seahawks to take the lead. Disappointing.

13-2. That is so great. Looking forward to the Packers already.

Respectfully,

— Jeff Ludwig

It's always great to score on the first possession of the game, particularly if on the road, but the Vikings weren't able to put the Seahawks away early because they didn't close the first half well.

There's so much to be said about the completeness of that win with big plays on offense and defense, as well as a great day by Minnesota's specialists. It didn't look to me like the fake punt caught Minnesota off-guard, and there was some conversation about the spotting of the football. That sequence could have been a major momentum shift in the game, but the Vikings rallied with a tackle for loss by Greenard on a short pass to Walker, which was followed two plays later by Van Ginkel's first sack of the game.

13-2? That's really nice. REALLY nice. But like Coach O'Connell, I'm far more interested in 1-0. That's what happened Sunday. Even when Seattle scored the go-ahead TD, my confidence in this offense was not shaken. My only worry was scoring too early. Defense shut the door at the end with a few sacks and a game-sealing INT.

I'm very impressed with Vikings discipline in penalties. They don't self-destruct, and that provides a real cushion especially on the road.

I want Ivan Pace, Jr., back. And I think we saw the value of a healthy Harrison Smith through his absence today. A healthy and disciplined Vikings team coming down the stretch is dangerous. Let's keep the 1-0 train rolling and Skoling.

Skol!!

— Jeff in Sacramento, California

There's been some strong and repeated evidence that this Vikings squad isn't going to "get shook" when confronted with a challenge.

My mind keeps going back to the gotta-have-it fourth down pass against the Cardinals in Week 13 during the game-winning drive.

The Vikings had seven penalties assessed for a total of 70 yards; the Seahawks had 11 accepted penalties for 77 yards.

Pace is making good progress to be back in the mix, so that could be another boost for Minnesota.

First win in Seattle since '06! HUGE! I counted this one, like all trips to Seattle, as a loss. Coming away with the victory is awesome! Jefferson having a big day was key. Sam had an amazing day — again. A few missteps offensively. The three-and-out before the half and then giving up the TD to end the half, we gotta fix that! 5 plays 88 yards 1:05. Ugly.

Dallas Turner getting his first INT was cool. Gave up the fake punt. But overall defense did what it does best. Coming through when needed most. I thought we gave them too much time that last drive, but the INT to ice it was clutch. Bring on the Pack next week! Whoa Nelly, gonna be a barn burner!

SKOL,

— J.B. Brunet in Texas

And that 18-year gap hasn't been for a lack of opportunities, either. In 2019, the Vikings fell 37-30. The following year, the squad dropped a 27-26 decision after blowing a lead late.

There were no such meltdowns at the end of this year's visit to the Pacific Northwest.