Souhan: Quarterback Sam Darnold lifts the Vikings again; his teammates return the favor

It hung there like it would never come down, like gravity had left the building, like someone had injected the football with helium.

Isn’t that the way this entire Vikings season has felt — inexplicably buoyant?

Facing third-and-2 with 1:49 remaining in a showdown with the Packers on Sunday, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell, for the third time in four plays, called for a pass. Not content to run the ball and force the Packers to call timeouts — that old-timey “safe” strategy that usually isn’t — he wanted a first down that would end the game.

This one did. When Sam Darnold’s flip pass finally landed, running back Cam Akers, he of the two recoveries from Achilles injuries, dived and cradled that belatedly earthbound ball, and the Vikings had won 27-25.

Then Darnold stayed on the field to talk to Fox announcer Tom Brady, maybe to give him a few tips on quarterbacking in the NFL, as Darnold’s teammates waited and schemed in the home locker room at U.S. Bank Stadium.

When Darnold finally burst through the door, his teammates showered him with water and lifted him. To return the favor.

“A lot of water bottles, a lot of water,” Darnold said. “I think I blacked out when Aaron Jones grabbed and lifted me up, I didn’t know what to do with my hands in that situation. Ricky Bobby-style.”

With Darnold compiling one of the best quarterback seasons in Vikings history, this team is 14-2 and headed for a showdown in Detroit for the division title and top seed in the NFC.

Darnold, like Ricky Bobby, is driving the success. He has thrown 35 touchdown passes this season, four shy of Daunte Culpepper’s team record and tied with Kirk Cousins for second. He has thrown for 4,153 yards, and on Sunday he completed 33 of 43 passes for 377 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

Darnold faced plenty of pressure but took only one sack, managing the pocket skillfully. He has thrown 18 touchdown passes and two interceptions in his last seven games, and on Sunday he outdueled Packers quarterback Jordan Love, who struggled to complete passes downfield until Green Bay became desperate in the fourth quarter.

Befitting the nature of this rivalry, the Packers made it a game in the fourth quarter, leaving O’Connell with difficult decisions.

Run the ball, burn the Packers’ timeouts, and hope they couldn’t mount one last drive for a winning field goal? Or throw the ball, earn first downs to run out the clock, while risking incompletions that could ease the Packers’ plight?

The first was a bootleg left, leading to a short pass to fullback C.J. Ham, good for 13 yards. After Akers lost a yard against the Packers’ stacked front, O’Connell called for Darnold to roll right. He did, and gunned a pass to a well-covered Justin Jefferson. Jefferson caught it for nine yards, setting up a third-and-2 with 1:49 remaining.

The Packers had one timeout left.

Darnold again rolled right, this time with Akers leaking out of the backfield into the flat. A pass-rusher in his face, Darnold flipped what looked like an alley-oop in Akers’ general direction.

Akers caught, cradled and cuddled it, and Darnold was on his way to three kneeldowns, a chat with Brady and a waterlogged Ricky Bobby moment.

“I don’t take stuff like that for granted,” Darnold said. “Ever. It’s special.”