If the Vikings wanted next week to mean something, they had to take care of business this week.

That’s exactly what the Vikings did in a 27-25 win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium. After building a big lead throughout the game, the Vikings were forced to hang on for dear life in the final minutes.

No matter. It counts the same.

The win means the Vikings will play the Detroit Lions next week with a chance to win the NFC North. If the Vikings find a way to beat the Lions, they will also lock up the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.

Here are five takeaways from the Vikings’ 27-25-win over the Packers:

Darnold is the man

Every time it seems like quarterback Sam Darnold has reached the next level, he puts together another incredible performance to raise the bar on himself.

With the Vikings leaning on him against the Packers, Darnold responded by completing 33 of 43 passes for 377 yards and three touchdowns.

He impressively shook off an interception midway through the game and responded with a scoring drive. He also helped put the game away on the final drive by completing consecutive passes to help the Vikings run out the clock.

Akers stepped up

You’d be hard pressed to find somebody who has been through more injury adversity than running back Cam Akers. He has suffered a torn Achilles tendon not once, but twice, in his career, and has somehow emerged stronger on the other end.

The culmination of his hard work manifested itself on a few different occasions with the Vikings playing the Packers.

After seeing an uptick in his workload late in the game, Akers certainly made the most of his opportunity. He scored the touchdown that ended up being the difference while also catching the pass the put the game on ice.

Those were pivotal plays in the game that helped the Vikings walk away with a win over the Packers.

Defense dominated early

Never mind that the Vikings got gashed down the stretch. The dominant display from the defense for most of the game left them with some margin for error.

It was a masterful game plan from defensive coordinator Brian Flores as the Vikings managed to contain running back Josh Jacobs in the backfield, while also relying heavily on man coverage to keep quarterback Jordan Love off balance.

That combination helped the Vikings build a big lead as the Packers failed to get into a rhythm until it was too late.

It also helped that the Vikings forced a turnover early in the game when defensive tackle Jerry Tillery punched a ball out and safety Cam Bynum fell on top of it.

Pass catchers balled out

The amount of attention star receiver Justin Jefferson garners on a weekly basis is something else. He regularly sees double coverage and sometimes even triple coverage.

It was a similar story for Jefferson with the Vikings playing the Packers, and he still managed to finish with eight catches for 92 yards.

His gravity also opened the field up for the rest of his teammates. That was on display as receiver Jordan Addison finished with six catches for 69 yards and a touchdown, receiver Jalen Nailor finished with five catches for 81 yards and a touchdown, and tight end T.J. Hockenson finished with five catches for 68 yards.

It’s very hard for opposing teams to plan for the Vikings because of the number of weapons they have at their disposal when they push the ball downfield. That could make them an incredibly tough out in the playoffs.

Reichard had a couple of misses

If there was an area of concern from an otherwise impressive game, it was rookie kicker Will Reichard missing a pair of field-goal attempts.

Though he deserves some grace for coming up a little bit short on a 57-yard attempt early in the game, Reichard probably wants the another swing at the 43-yard attempt that hit the left upright.

In total, Reichard finished 2 for 4 on field-goal tries, and was perfect on three point-after attempts. He set such a high standard for himself to begin his career that whenever he misses it feels like a bigger deal than it actually is.

That said, the Vikings are going to need Reichard in the playoffs, so he needs to get back on track next week.

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