NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The tour through the AFC South has officially come to a close.

No word yet on if the Vikings are petitioning to stay in the division for good.

After scrapping their way to wins over the Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars over the past couple of weeks, the Vikings followed a similar script in a 23-13 win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday afternoon at Nissan Stadium.

Though it wasn’t the blowout that it looked like it could’ve been, the Vikings got the job done, and they now boast an 8-2 record as a result.

After falling behind 3-0 after turnover on their opening possession, the Vikings made a statement the next time they got the ball.

In the face of pressure, quarterback Sam Darnold hung in the pocket for as long as he possibly could, then delivered a strike to receiver Jordan Addison in the middle of the field. As soon as he caught the ball, Addison looked like he was shot out of a cannon, racing 47 yards for a touchdown put the Vikings in front 7-3.

On the next drive, Darnold shapeshifted into Harry Houdini, getting himself out of harrowing situations on a few separate occasions.

He used his legs to buy some time on 16-yard pass to receiver Trent Sherfield, then did it again on a 31-yard pass to star receiver Justin Jefferson. He also used his legs to score a touchdown, plunging into the end zone on a quarterback sneak as the Vikings extended their lead to 13-3.

On the other end, the Vikings befuddled maligned quarterback Will Levis with exotic looks before the snap that appeared to break his brain. Not only did Levis rarely have any idea where the blitz was coming from, even when he did, he failed to deliver the ball on time.

The dominant display by the Vikings on defense helped put kicker Parker Romo in position to atone for a missed extra point earlier in the game. He calmly converted on a 40-yard field goal that made it 16-3 at halftime.

Just when it looked like the Vikings were on the verge of putting the game away for good, they let the Titans right back into it with a play safety Josh Metellus will be thinking about for a long time. Instead of forcing the Titans to punt in the shadow of their own goal post, Metellus misplayed a ball in the air, and Levis found receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine for a 98-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 16-10.

As the Vikings walked back onto the field, the offense had a chance to pick up the defense. That’s exactly what happened as Darnold led an impressive march and capped it by hitting running back Cam Akers on a little flare out of the backfield for a touchdown to make it 23-10.

On following possession, the Titans trotted kicker Nick Folk out for a 43-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 23-13 heading into the home stretch. That held up as the final score as veteran safety Harrison Smith hauled in an interception in the final minutes to put the finishing touches on the win for the Vikings.

Now the Vikings will turn their attention back to the NFC North with a matchup against the Chicago Bears coming up next weekend.

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