Sam Darnold completed 20 of 28 passes for 275 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, and the visiting Minnesota Vikings escaped with a 31-29 win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
Jordan Addison finished with one receiving touchdown and one rushing score for Minnesota (4-0). Justin Jefferson (six catches, 85 yards) and Josh Oliver tallied one receiving touchdown apiece and Aaron Jones notched 139 total yards (93 rushing, 46 receiving) against his former team.
Jordan Love completed 32 of 54 passes for 389 yards and four touchdowns, but he also threw three interceptions in his return from injury for Green Bay (2-2). Dontayvion Wicks caught two touchdown passes and Jayden Reed (seven catches, 139 yards) and Tucker Kraft caught one apiece.
Minnesota jumped to a 28-0 lead before Green Bay scored the next 22 points. The Packers pulled within two points with 56 seconds remaining, but the Vikings recovered an onside kick to preserve the victory.
The Vikings started the scoring on the game’s first drive. Darnold connected with Addison for a 29-yard touchdown.
Darnold struck again with 1:37 to go in the first quarter. He found Oliver for a 2-yard touchdown to make it 14-0, capping the Vikings’ second 73-yard scoring drive.
Addison scored his second touchdown with 11:50 left in the second quarter. He took the handoff on a jet sweep to the right and reached the corner of the end zone on a 7-yard run.
Jefferson increased the Vikings’ lead to 28-0 when he caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Darnold with 5:28 left in the half.
After a muffed punt by the Vikings, the Packers capitalized to pull within 28-7 before the half. Love hit Reed for a 15-yard touchdown with 15 seconds left.
Wicks caught a 6-yard pass from Love in the end zone with 11:38 to go in the game, trimming Green Bay’s deficit to 28-14.
Darnold was then strip-sacked by Keisean Nixon and the Packers once again took advantage. Love fired a screen pass to Kraft, who rumbled down the left sideline for a 13-yard score. A successful two-point conversion made it 28-22.
Minnesota increased its lead to 31-22 on a 33-yard field goal by Will Reichard with 6:50 left.
Love found Wicks for a second touchdown, this time from 17 yards, to pull the Packers within 31-29. The score capped a five-play, 96-yard drive that took only 1:22 off the clock.
–Field Level Media
