MINNEAPOLIS – "Be where your feet are."

That's been the mantra for Sam Darnold and this Minnesota Vikings all season, even prompting fans to approach the QB in public and drop a "We went 1-0!" on him.

But after the Vikings did so again this week and defeated the Packers 27-25 at home, improving to 14-2 on the season, you've gotta celebrate a little bit.

Darnold's teammates were there to do that for him.

As he left the U.S. Bank Stadium turf and walked into the locker room, Darnold was met by a huddle of hoots, hollers and celebratory showers.

"Just water," Jalen Nailor laughed. "No champagne – just water."

Teammates hoisted an emotional Darnold onto their shoulders, and he joined in the cheering while being doused.

"I didn't know what to do with my hands in that situation — so, Ricky Bobby style," he quipped, referencing Talladega Nights. "It was an interesting moment, but a fun moment, to be embraced by your teammates like that.

"That was pretty special," he added.

A lot about this Vikings team feels special, and it's been led largely by Darnold, who on Sunday surpassed 4,000 passing yards on the season and reached 35 passing touchdowns — which tied him with Kirk Cousins for the second most in a Vikings season all-time. His TD throws to Jalen Nailor, Jordan Addison and Cam Akers marked his sixth game for Minnesota with three-plus passing scores.

"I'm so happy for Sam," Aaron Jones, Sr., said. "Outside of these walls, nobody really believed in him, nobody really gave him a chance, but he's proven everybody wrong, and I'm just so happy for him."

Even after an errant throw intercepted by Carrington Valentine in the third quarter, Darnold kept his composure; on Minnesota's next series, he led the offense down the field and found Akers for a 9-yard touchdown.

Darnold went 5-for-5 with 55 yards during the possession.

Time and time again, the word "resilient" is used to describe Darnold.

"There's never any doubt," Jones said. "He's always confident."

Darnold completed a pass to eight different Vikings Sunday, including hitting five different players for third-down conversions.

The final third-down pass of the night put the Border Battle to bed.

Darnold rolled to his right and lofted the football to Akers, who had to get low for the catch but hung on to ice the game.

"It felt like that ball was in the air forever," Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell quipped postgame. "Sam had 43 attempts tonight, and that one was the most stressful."

Akers shrugged it off, demonstrating the blue-collar mentality most have come to expect from the Vikings.

"It wasn't an easy catch, but it was catch-able," he said, emphasizing the second syllable. "It touched my hand, so I wanted to be reliable for Sam and the team."

Darnold found plenty of reliable receivers, especially over the middle. On two different third downs, he connected with Nailor in the middle of the field for 16 and 22 yards, respectively. Asked if that was part of the game plan, he noted it was "just the way it worked out" based on what the Packers defense presented.

"Obviously we understand what other teams want to do with 18 (Justin Jefferson) in terms of coverages or plan, you know, man coverage," Darnold said, "but yeah, I think the biggest thing for me is just continuing to go through my reads, listen to my feet and just continue to go through my progressions."

Darnold finished his outing 33-of-43 for 377 yards, three touchdowns and an interception with a 116.1 passer rating. His 377 yards set a new career high.

"He fits perfectly here," Jefferson said. "With the coaching staff, the play calling, he feels a lot more comfortable, which I can see. I can't speak for him, but he seems a lot more comfortable — a lot more confident just going out there and playing ball, especially when you have so many different guys you can throw the ball to.

"Sam has been playing great. Playing fantastic," he added.

Jefferson led the Vikings with 92 receiving yards on eight catches, followed by Nailor's 81 yards on five catches.

"It felt good to be out there and help the team win," Nailor said. "That's all I'm trying to do, just help the team win and get on to the next game with a 'W.' That's my focus."

Addison added six catches for 69 yards, and T.J. Hockenson had five catches for 68 yards.

Jones contributed four receptions for 30 yards through the air, as well as 12 carries for 47 rushing yards, and Akers added 33 scrimmage yards.

Though the end result is always most important regardless of opponent, Jones admitted the win felt a little sweeter against his former team.

"Ultimately, I just wanted to come out with the victory," he said. "I was happy we were able to perform well and get it done against them. It was big for us.

"We're still playing for that No. 1 seed," Jones added. "So this was a big game, and they're a playoff team, as well. Who knows, we may see them again. This was a good test for us, and we're going to continue to get better and keep stacking it."

The Vikings enjoyed celebrating the win but will turn their attention now to the Lions, whom they'll visit next weekend to vie for the NFC's top position and a first-round bye in the postseason.

So even after setting career benchmarks and becoming just the fifth Vikings quarterback to pass for 4,000 yards (Cousins, Brett Favre, Daunte Culpepper and Warren Moon) and ninth instance, Darnold isn't ready to take the spotlight.

"It means we're doing our job on offense," he said nonchalantly. "That's really all it means to me, you know, and I'm going to strive to improve every single day. I feel like that's what we've been doing, that's the reason we've been executing, and we're going to continue to do that."

After all, you've gotta stay where your feet are.

"It's the same mindset we've had the entire season; we talk about it all the time," Darnold reiterated. "But it's a way of life, too, every single day. Tomorrow, we're going to watch the tape and continue to get better.

"You get in a routine — to where you're not caught up in the result of anything or what the next game could mean," he continued. "You start to get in that routine, and we just get laser-focused on our next opponent."