The stage was set for Sam Darnold on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium.

To silence all the doubters once and for all. To play hero. To win the game for the Vikings.

With 3 minutes, 20 seconds to go, Darnold stepped into the huddle knowing the Vikings needed a touchdown to beat the Arizona Cardinals. He proceeded to complete 5 of 7 passes for 57 yards, capping the drive with a touchdown pass to running back Aaron Jones.

That drive put the Vikings in front 23-22 and veteran cornerback Shaq Griffin hauled in an interception to make sure that held up as the final score.

The crazy finish to the game was a start contrast to the sleepy start.

After the Cardinals went up 3-0 after a field goal on their opening drive, the Vikings responded with a field goal of their own to tie the game 3-3.

It looked like the Vikings had a chance to take control from there after forcing a punt. Instead, running back Aaron Jones coughed up the ball while fighting for extra yardage, and the Cardinals took over in good field position.

Though the Vikings managed to come up with a big stop on defense, the Cardinals eventually got the ball back and tacked on a field goal to make it 6-3.

There wasn’t much flow from there with the Vikings settling for a field goal to make it 6-6 before the Cardinals added another field goal to make it 9-6 at halftime

After the Cardinals got yet another field goal out of halftime to make it 12-6, they started to pick on cornerback Fabian Moreau, who was filling in for injured cornerback Stephon Gilmore. It resulted in a pass interference that amounted to 38 yards before Murray found rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. for a touchdown to stretch the lead to 19-6.

On the next drive, the Vikings finally punched back, driving the length of the field when they needed it most, with Darnold finding tight end Johnny Mundt wide open in the end zone to cut the deficit to 19-13.

After a field goal from the Vikings cut the deficit to 19-16, the Cardinals settled for a field goal to make it 22-16.

That set the stage for Darnold and he took the Vikings the length of the field once again, finding Jones for a touchdown that make it 23-22 before Griffin slammed the door shut with his interception.

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