Trailing the Arizona Cardinals 19-6 in the middle of the third quarter, the Minnesota Vikings appeared to heading toward suffering their third loss of the 2024 season. However, Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold and the rest of the team had other plans.
After the Cardinals took a 19-6 lead, Darnold led Minnesota's offense on a six-play, 70-yard drive that ended with tight end Johnny Mundt hauling in an easy four-yard touchdown.
Then, a few drives later, the Vikings and their starting quarterback had the opportunity to take the lead over Arizona with another touchdown score, and they did just that when Darnold tossed a five-yard pass to running back Aaron Jones that led to Minnesota taking the lead for good and walking off the field with an improbable 23-22 victory.
Minnesota Vikings QB Sam Darnold deserves more MVP consideration after Week 13 win over Arizona Cardinals
Before helping the Vikings improve their record to 10-2 this season with Sunday's win, Darnold wasn't really mentioned by many people as a player who deserves consideration for this year's MVP award. Well, after his third straight game without a turnover, and leading Minnesota to another comeback win, the veteran quarterback is very deserving of being in the race to win this season's MVP.
No one is saying Darnold should be a favorite to win the award, but very, very few people thought the Vikings would have 10 wins after their first 12 games this season, and Darnold has a lot to do with the success the team has been able to achieve.
In his 12 starts this season, Darnold has completed 67.6 percent of his passes for 2,952 yards, 23 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, and a 102.6 passer rating in addition to rushing for 187 yards and another score.
With Sunday's win, Minnesota is still keeping pace with the 11-1 Detroit Lions for the top of the NFC North and the No. 1 seed in the NFC. If the Vikings are able to come out of the next few weeks as the top seed in the conference, then one can expect that Darnold will not only be in the MVP race, but he will be among the serious contenders to actually win the award.