Vikings running back Cam Akers said there was no pressure when head coach Kevin O’Connell dialed up the game-sealing play with the ball headed his way on third-and-2.
All that ran through his head was get open and catch the ball.
He did that, catching a low ball from quarterback Sam Darnold in space on the right side for a 6-yard pickup.
“Game over,” was the first thing that went through his head when the first down was signaled, he said. Then: “On to the next.”
The Vikings turned to Akers in the key moment with starting running back Aaron Jones held out of the fourth quarter of the Vikings' 27-25 win against the Packers.
Akers scored the Vikings' last touchdown on a 9-yard screen pass in the third quarter. He carried the ball six times for 18 yards and added 15 yards on two receptions.
“He just brings something,” O’Connell said. “Brings physicality, a level of mental and physical toughness that I think makes us all better. We’ve got a lot of examples like that on the team, but Cam’s just another one of ‘em that I feel very fortunate to have him on this team.”
Jones suffered a quad contusion early in the game and played through it, he and O’Connell said.