EAGAN, Minn. — Kevin O'Connell is forging a hot route to NFL Coach of the Year honors.

For now, however, a game ball awarded to him by one of the Vikings captains is symbolic enough.

"I think that was my third one," O'Connell said Monday after the 27-24 win at Seattle.

"I truly have really relished those moments with the team after these victories, where we're able to go and put a lot of different parts of this organization together in a 3-hour window to get a win," O'Connell reflected, noting his second game ball was received in November 2022 following the birth of his second daughter and fourth child, Callie. "Those have been the real highlights for the year for me, for sure, and nobody I respect more than Brian O'Neill, so to get that from him in that moment was really special."

The attention on Minnesota's play-caller in the visiting locker room at Lumen Field was warranted. Not because of his calming voice in quarterback Sam Darnold's ear this season or meticulous sprinkling of offensive looks that elicited a Seahawks safety to overreact to the middle of the field – freeing up Justin Jefferson – on the go-ahead touchdown Sunday. Actually, those are reasons why, but not the main one.

O'Connell joined George Seifert and Matt LaFleur as the only coaches in league history with multiple 13-win seasons in their first three as NFL head coaches. Yeah, that qualifies as deserving of a game ball.

As for that first one, well, O'Connell was presented with it Sept. 11, 2022, on the heels of his first win as Vikings coach – a 23-7 win at home over the rival Packers and reigning MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Another win this week against Green Bay may position Minnesota for a winner-takes-the-1-seed in the regular season finale at Detroit. We'll save that chit-chat for a different day with full focus on the Packers.

Here are four takeaways from O'Connell's session with media members:

1. Play of the season?

Darnold grimaced in pain after a second-and-10 sack and laid with his face in the rain-soaked turf.

The play was negated by a face mask penalty, but there was still the effect of the hit.

"I checked with him via the headset – the classic, 'Are you OK?' and he can't talk back," O'Connell quipped.

Darnold gave a thumbs up, which is all K.O. needed, and proceeded to find Jefferson.

In the immediate aftermath, O'Connell pondered it as the play of the season. Fewer than 24 hours later, he reflected on Darnold rising to his feet, then rising up in the pocket and feathering a touchdown to the Vikings big-play star as the atmosphere at Lumen Field reached a crescendo with an equal amazement.

"It was just a fantastic play," O'Connell confirmed.

On their fiery connection as of late – Jefferson has produced 31 catches for 448 yards and five touchdowns in his past four appearances – O'Connell eloquently explained it relates to "time on task."

That's the Saturday morning meetings. The Thursday third-down debriefs. Darnold's growing experience and command of the system. Jefferson's overall football intelligence and instincts – developed through three years of facing every coverage known to mankind. They're all interconnected and paying dividends.

When the Vikings need it most, too.

"We can stack all the information gathered [in games] on top of the thousand upon thousands of reps of building that rapport, that those guys can then make those plays in those moments," O'Connell expressed.

2. December to remember

To think it's nearly January is absurd. But time flies when you're having fun – and winning.

"To start the month of December off the way we have and knowing the critical time of the year it is for our team, I do think we're doing a lot of the right things and doing the things that win this time of year," O'Connell said in his opening remarks. "It's going to be something we're going to have to do this week."

Some of those right things are …

Protecting the football: Minnesota has turned the rock over four times in its past six games and only twice in four December affairs. In that latter span, the Vikings defense has amassed eight takeaways.

Darnold, specifically, has been "lights out as a decision maker" per O'Connell.

Dating to his three-pick game at Jacksonville – and the third of Minnesota's eight-game win streak – Darnold has clipped 131 of 200 throws (65.5%) for 272.5 yards per game and a TD-INT ratio of 15:1.

Finishing: The four December wins so far include two go-ahead touchdown passes in the final four minutes (against NFC West foes Arizona and at Seattle), and two more convincing results where the Purple defense tightened its hold on Atlanta and Chicago, pitching three shutout quarters combined.

Both are indicative of strides that should set up Minnesota to be ultra-competitive down the stretch.

3. Intentional camaraderie

You can't really "coach" camaraderie. But you can be an example of it. You can set a standard with actions. And you can seek out players and people who will practice those habits to the greatest extent.

That's part of team building – an intentional endeavor for Minnesota that has reaped joyous results, with defensive players celebrating offensive successes and vice-versa; it's a special top-to-bottom connection.

"I thought it would be a critical part of truly maximizing who we would become as a team," said O'Connell, adding the process began by acquiring the right kind of players. "Not just for moments like yesterday, but there's been a lot of them throughout the year where complementary football, sometimes is something that people throw out as a loose term, but to do that, you've got to have the right makeup."

Smart, tough and loves football.

We've heard that mantra before – we've heard it mentioned a seemingly infinite number of times in press conferences, and heard it echoed on the field by way of incredibly clutch, selfless performances.

"It starts to get ingrained," O'Connell said, praising his players' ownership. "I'm not telling those guys what to say. I'm not telling them anything other than messages of what I think it's going to take to win every game we play, but then also the foundational piece that between our football philosophy and what we feel very strongly about that matters is the makeup of our locker room and the culture that those guys have built here, that we're all trying to adhere to that standard, because it's not about ourselves."

It's about each other. And the Vikings are demonstrating that care for the collective every game day.

4. Next-man-up mentality

Bobby McCain and Theo Jackson are the latest little-known Vikings to make meaningful contributions.

Little-known isn't meant as a slight – they just happen to be buried in one of the NFL's deepest safety rooms. But they seized their moment Sunday afternoon, rotating in roles to help account for the absence of Harrison Smith who was inactive with a foot injury. McCain played 37 defensive snaps and Jackson 21.

"I think we've seen that all across the board on our team this year," O'Connell emphasized. "A lot of those guys – getting elevated, stepping in, playing and doing some really good things in all three phases."

Each player was involved in four tackles – and Jackson, who O'Connell credited with having "maybe one of the best offseasons out of anybody on our team," silenced the frenetic "12^th Man" with an interception.

McCain, who has started 87 games in his career and overlapped with Vikings Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores in Miami, is someone O'Connell has leaned on for perspective during the club's 13-2 start.

Primarily acting as a scout team player each week, McCain has been a sounding board, O'Connell said, for the adjustments that the offense has made in practice to elevate the execution of concepts in games.

That readiness extended to the trenches, with rookie seventh-round draft pick Levi Drake Rodriguez, who appeared on defense for the first time in his career (he made his NFL debut on Sunday Night Football against the Colts in Week 9 but exclusively played special teams) and made an impact on limited snaps.

"He's a guy we're pouring into, obviously, for the long term," O'Connell disclosed. "We think he's got a lot of upside from a versatility standpoint, rushing the passer, continuing to grow and defending the run."

Rodriguez was around the ball on single-digit ops, stuffing Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III on a first-and-goal run on one instance, as well as jumping to deflect a third-down pass from Geno Smith.

"We have a lot of confidence in Levi to go in there and do his job and that's what he did," O'Connell said.