MINNEAPOLIS — Sam Darnold has been surgical lately with the game at stake.

He was 0-5 in action when taking 5-plus sacks and 0-23 when his team trailed by 13-plus points.

Obviously, until Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium when he marshaled a career-high tying third game-winning drive this season and in the process matched Brett Favre in 2009 and Daunte Culpepper in 2000 for the most games in a single season in franchise history with a passer rating of 100 or higher (10).

Darnold is dialed in, and arguably (perhaps not even arguably) playing the best ball of his career.

In the past three weeks, he is 63-for-97 (64.9%) passing with 811 yards (270.3 avg.), six touchdowns and zero picks. In that span, Darnold commanded decisive drives in overtime at a divisional foe on the road, and in the final two minutes at home against a playoff-caliber opponent.

The situations, coupled with the execution, present strong evidence for the best stretch of Darnold's career.

"Let's just be honest, how many throws can we all chat amongst ourselves right now and say that Sam's flat-out just missed this year?" Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell rhetorically said to media members at Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center. "There's just not a lot of them. He's throwing the ball at an incredibly high level – accuracy, perfect amount of pace, layering the ball [and] pushing it downfield when we try to."

O'Connell said Darnold's performance is the byproduct of extreme preparation and confidence in the people surrounding him – the players he's distributing the ball to; the ones protecting him, and himself.

Here are four other takeaways from O'Connell's press conference Monday:

1. Not listening to coach

With seven catches for 99 yards in Week 13, Vikings star Justin Jefferson became the fourth receiver to begin his career with five straight 1,000-yard campaigns, joining A.J. Green, Mike Evans and Randy Moss.

Yet, a block and not a reception painted his brilliance Sunday.

At the 12:39 mark in the fourth quarter, Jefferson transitioned from target to tour guide on a 12-yard scramble by Darnold; Jets successfully shielded off an Arizona cornerback as Darnold moved the sticks.

In a self-deprecating manner, O'Connell shared his play-by-play: "Full disclosure, I saw Sam leaving the pocket and I was like, 'Go!' I start screaming to Justin to go get open and then Sam takes off and Justin – it was one of those, 'Get open! Get open! No, block! No, block! Thank you!' like kind of all in the moment right there, and you're just so thankful that the players don't actually listen to you in those moments."

Jefferson's catches, yards, touchdowns and records normally make the headlines. But his getting-dirty moments, whether it's drawing a penalty that equates to an explosive or his blocking, is as impressive.

O'Connell said Jefferson is evolving into a "complete, complete player."

"He's always really been one and he's so competitive," he clarified, noting Jefferson's career ascent. "But just the poise in which he operates on game day is something that I value and tremendously respect."

2. Cornerback status

Remarkably, the Vikings defense closed out the Cardinals sans starting cornerback Stephon Gilmore.

In Gilly's stead, veterans Shaq Griffin and Fabian Moreau played season highs in snaps (55 and 31). Griffin's role was increased after serving as Minnesota's third cornerback, seeing frequent usage on passing downs over the initial 11 games. Moreau, however, entered Sunday with a single defensive snap.

Both were assets in Minnesota's switch to man coverage and denial of Arizona.

Although Moreau was flagged twice for defensive pass interference for 51 yards (the first was an objectively iffy call) and got beat by rookie Marvin Harrison, Jr., on a corner route for a touchdown, he played really well per O'Connell, doing so on an island – three 1-on-1s targeting Harrison fell incomplete.

Moreau and undrafted rookie Dwight McGlothern are likely candidates to receive more playing time if the 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year misses time with what O'Connell described as a "low-grade" hamstring injury. Evaluations on Gilmore will determine, too, if the Vikings decide they need external assistance at corner.

"I think we'll kind of cross that bridge as we go here knowing that we've got 'Nudie'," O'Connell laughed about the young cornerback's nickname. "Clearly, we have a lot of confidence in [him], not only in the present, but I think he's going to be a heck of a player moving into the future, and so we'll see if it's him or if there's possibly another name or a player out there that we think gives us a chance to come in here and have a chance to have an impact."

Gilmore played at least 80% of the defensive snaps in 10 games before Sunday, when he was limited to 43%.

3. Authentic leadership

Aaron Jones, Sr., fumbled twice in Sunday's win, including on his first rush. That one was recovered by Brian O'Neill, but the second one after a short reception was lost and resulted in Jones not playing as much as he would have.

Jones stood ready on the sideline for nearly the entire second quarter and re-entered the game for several pass plays (one checkdown to him) before the break. He wound up making the pivotal TD catch that sent Minnesota ahead with 1:13 left and expressed gratitude for O'Connell coming back to him.

O'Connell shed light on why positive dialogue, specifically reassurance that he's riding with Jones, was important for the running back, and every player, to remember when they are dealing with adversity.

"I'm not having those conversations in those moments out of anything other than it's what I'm authentically feeling, and I want the player to know," O'Connell shared. "So if it does allow him to go play with a quieter mind and have confidence to go make that last play, great. But either way, if I'm going to tell him, 'Great job,' as I have a lot of this year when he's played great for us for most of the year, I better be there to tell him that my confidence level is not lacking in any way, shape or form when maybe it doesn't go our way. I just think that that's how leaders should operate and if you've got true belief and authentic belief – with all the time we've spent together preparing to try to win these football games – just because it doesn't go our way, it doesn't mean we get to stomp our feet and be different in those moments, because I think that would be something that our players would recognize."

Ultimately, the positives outnumber the negatives for Jones. He's amidst a tremendous season from a production standpoint, averaging 92.6 scrimmage yards per game, and is an incredibly influential leader. His career-high five fumbles may be due to a ribs injury he's nursed.

"He's been a huge part of our team, both in this building [and] on the field," O'Connell confirmed. "Couple tough plays there, but when we had to have it, Aaron Jones made the play. Simple as that."

O'Connell also wished a happy birthday to Jones, who turned 30 on Monday.

4. Big interior breakout

Jalen Redmond pinned his ears back and attacked.

The first-year Vikings defensive lineman flew off the ball, crossed the face of Arizona's left guard, got an edge assist from Andrew Van Ginkel, and met running back James Conner in the backfield for a timely 2-yard loss with about 10 minutes left. Two snaps later, Redmond did it again, this time reading a guard pull, olé-ing the Cardinals center and fighting through a block to bury Conner 3 yards deep.

Redmond's impact, which earned him his first game ball this year, also featured a pass rush in the first quarter that caused Kyler Murray to abandon the pocket and gain a yard on a scramble. Redmond's burst on the play was fantastic, but his hustle was the most inspiring; Redmond forced Murray to retreat to Minnesota's 36-yard line and was only a step or two behind him as he crossed out of bounds at the 23.

The 25-year-old starred last season in the XFL and has dutifully earned the trust of Vikings coaches.

"I think the cool thing about Jalen is he always showed some unique things as a rusher, as an interior rusher with some twitch," O'Connell commented. "And then as he went through (training) camp you started to see a little bit more power and ability to be rooted in the run game, but also use that athleticism to get on edges. He's a perfect fit for our scheme with the way we move those guys up front."

On 15 plays Sunday, Redmond put it all together, warranting O'Connell's attention and a game ball.

"Sometimes as a head coach, you're just feeling impactful plays and you start feeling guys' energy and juice," O'Connell said. "It was really cool to hear the reaction of the other d-linemen when we did that."