The 2024 NFL season has been a competitive one.
Despite 19 of the 32 teams currently owning an even record or below through 13 weeks, the games have been extremely tight. Of the 390 total games played between every team (26 teams have played 12 games; six teams have played 13), nearly 79 percent (307) of them have been decided by eight points or fewer.
In Week 13, 12 of the 16 games were decided by a one-score margin, which is tied for the most in a single week in NFL history. The Vikings were a part of that collection of close calls on Sunday against Arizona, in which Minnesota rallied from a 13-point deficit in the second half to earn a 23-22 comeback victory.
Minnesota (10-2) has now won 12 consecutive home games (including one postseason contest) against the Cardinals (6-6) dating back to Oct. 13, 1991.
The victory was Head Coach Kevin O'Connell's 30th at the helm, moving him past Norm Van Brocklin (29 victories) for the seventh-most in franchise history. O'Connell also became the fastest head coach in team history to reach 30 wins, accomplishing the feat in just 46 games, two fewer than Dennis Green's 48 games to record 30 wins.
Speaking of one-score games, O'Connell has the third-best winning percentage (.727) in games decided by eight points or fewer in NFL history (minimum 25 games), per Elias Sports. Only Guy Chamberlain (.759; 22-7-7 record in six seasons with the Canton Bulldogs, Cleveland Bulldogs, Frankford Yellowjackets and the Chicago Cardinals from 1922-1927) and John Madden (.732; 40-14-7 in 10 seasons with the Oakland Raiders) have a better winning percentage in such instances.
In team history, O'Connell's 24 victories in one-score games is the fourth-best mark. Here's how the other Vikings head coaches have fared in those scenarios (in order of coaching history):
Norm Van Brocklin: .385 (8-14-4)
Bud Grant: .580 (70-50-5)
Les Steckel: .429 (3-4)
Jerry Burns: .415 (17-24)
Dennis Green: .612 (52-33)
Mike Tice: .484 (15-16)
Brad Childress: .459 (17-20)
Leslie Frazier: .446 (12-15-1)
Mike Zimmer: .508 (32-31-1)
Kevin O'Connell: .727 (24-9)
O'Connell wasn't the only one to reach a milestone on Sunday. Star wide receiver Justin Jefferson surpassed Kyle Rudolph (453 career receptions) for sixth on the Vikings all-time leaderboard before notching his fifth consecutive 1,000-yard season with a 99-yard afternoon.
Jefferson became the fourth player in NFL history to record 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first five seasons, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer and Vikings Ring of Honor member Randy Moss (six seasons from 1998-2003), A.J. Green (2011-15) and Mike Evans (2014-2023 so far).
Minnesota's fifth consecutive win (its second streak doing so this season) helped the Vikings in this week's Power Rankings, with the biggest jump being two spots. Here's a look at where the Vikings rank going into Week 14:
No. 5 (up 1 spot): Eric Edholm, NFL.com
The Vikings defense bent but didn't break Sunday, holding the Cardinals to one touchdown in six red-zone possessions and limiting Arizona to three points in the final 19-plus minutes. Minnesota's defense was on the field for a whopping 77 plays, blitzing often, and had to be physically whipped, especially coming off a grueling overtime win in Chicago the week prior. But this game really was about Sam Darnold and the offense also stepping up after a slow start, delivering two huge drives late. It wasn't pretty at all, as the Cardinals controlled things for most of the afternoon, but the Vikings moved to 10-2 and all but locked up a playoff spot. The division isn't lost yet, and amazingly, neither is the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The Vikings are a somewhat-flawed operation, but you can't argue much with the results: 10 wins, plus a two-point home loss to the Lions and a 10-point road loss to the Rams that they had a shot to tie up late.
No. 5 (no change): NFL Staff, Bleacher Report
The Minnesota Vikings like to keep things interesting, apparently.
Last week, the Vikings needed overtime to get past the Chicago Bears. Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, the Vikes didn't lead until scoring the go-ahead touchdown with just over a minute left to play.
At 10-2, this is far and away the most successful season of Sam Darnold's career. After the win, Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell told reporters that he has the utmost confidence in his quarterback and the team around him.
"He's been a huge driving force behind us winning games," O'Connell said. "My confidence level in Sam is sky high to play the game however we need to play it. We continue to learn things about our team that will pay a lot of dividends moving forward. Not once did anybody on the team flinch. We did what we had to do to get the win."
Minnesota will be favored in their next two games at home, but the stretch run is a tough one – at Seattle, home against the Green Bay Packers and then what could be a huge Week 18 showdown with the Lions in Detroit.
"The Vikings must be proactive in their problem-solving before the playoffs. Running back Aaron Jones, Sr., has a ball-security issue, having three fumbles (two lost) over the past three weeks," Bleacher Report NFL analyst Maurice Moton said. "Minnesota has done a good job with its commitment to the ground game, minimizing the number of times turnover-prone Sam Darnold has to throw downfield, but Cam Akers and Ty Chandler should be more involved in the Vikings run game."
No. 5 (no change): Pete Prisco, CBS Sports
[The Vikings] win a lot of close games, but isn't that a sign of a good team? You are what your record says you are, so I guess they are pretty good.
No. 9 (down 1 spot): Nate Davis, USA Today
A 10-2 squad probably deserves a little more respect and air time. But the Vikes are also riding a five-game heater – warmer? – in which their average margin of victory is 5.4 points against opponents who are all currently .500 or (much) worse. Next up? A visit from the 6-6 Falcons and old friend Kirk Cousins.
No. 5 (up 1 spot): Josh Kendall, The Athletic
[Sam Darnold] is doing just about all he can to revive his career. He threw for 235 yards and two touchdowns Sunday and is seventh in the league in passer rating (102.5), but even Minnesota fans remain nervous. They were booing an offense that only had six points in the first half Sunday, but Darnold threw both his touchdown passes in the final 17 minutes.
No. 4 (up 1 spot): Conor Orr, Sports Illustrated
I went back and watched all of Sam Darnold's sacks, as I'm seeing that bundled into this chorus of uncertainty about the team's bridge quarterback. On four of those five sacks, there was almost nothing he could do to avoid the pressure. While Darnold definitely missed some throws – I thought he had Trent Sherfield, Sr., on a deep shot on the play where Aaron Jones fumbled – he's so much more decisive than he used to be and is only getting better.
No. 5 (no change): Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News
The Vikings play strong complementary defense and have their passing offense and pass defense going at the right time. They can build on their five-game winning streak before seeing the Packers and Lions again in the final two games.
No. 5 (up 2 spots): Frank Schwab, Yahoo! Sports
The Vikings need to figure out their run game. On Sunday their running backs had 46 yards on 11 carries. Aaron Jones is in a slump, and that included a lost fumble. Yet Minnesota continues to win as they figure out how to fix that.
