So it turns out that Sam Darnold is more than a journeyman quarterback. And the Vikings are more than the 6-11 mediocrities that they were predicted to be by some pundits who shall remain nameless.

So in light of Minnesota’s season-sweeping victory over Green Bay on Sunday, it wasn’t a surprise to anyone that the NFL and NBC pushed the Vikings’ Week 18 showdown with the kneecap-biting Detroit Lions into prime time.

Two teams with a combined 28 victories have never met in the history of professional football. And the stakes have never been higher. The winner at Ford Field has to win only two home games to reach the Super Bowl in New Orleans, while the loser likely would have to win three road games.

So the hype button will be turned up to 11 all week for this one. The question everyone is asking is whether this game is THE most-hyped regular-season game in the Vikings’ 64-year history. Here is our ranking:

10. (tie) Vikings 31, Cowboys 27 / January 3, 1983

Amid the abomination of The Strike Year and an abbreviated nine-game season, this was still a Monday Night Football season finale in which the Vikings were playing for the right to host a playoff opener in their first season at the Metrodome.

The Vikings prevailed, thanks to a Tommy Kramer to Rickey Young touchdown pass in the final two minutes, securing the No. 4 NFC seed and earning a home playoff game against Atlanta. But what most folks remember from that frosty night is Tony Dorsett’s touchdown jaunt estimated by ABC’s Dandy Don Meredith as “99 and a half” yards.

Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett drops the ball after the touchdown is signalled in fourth quarter action as surprised Minnesota Viking fans watch him complete a 99 1/2-yard run from scrimmage to set a new NFL record in Minneapolis, Minn., Jan. 4, 1983. The Vikings went on to win, 31-27. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

10. (tie) Vikings 38, Dolphins 35 / September 25, 1994

Hyped beforehand as a possible Super Bowl preview between future hall of famers Warren Moon and Dan Marino, this game is mostly remembered for the Vikings rolling out to a 28-0 lead, then having to cling by their fingertips to the victory.

The quarterbacks combined for 757 yards and six touchdown passes. But Marino completed two passes to linebacker Jack Del Rio, leading to the Dolphins’ first loss of the season. Spoiler alert: Neither team made it to the 29th Super Bowl.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Warren Moon, center, in Japan prior to a 17-9 preseason win over the Kansas City Chiefs in an NFL football game on Aug. 7, 1994 at the Tokyo Dome. (Courtesy of Minnesota Vikings)

10. (tie) Vikings 17, Packers 14 / September 18, 2016

Interest overflowed in the Vikings’ U.S. Bank Stadium debut since it was oh-so-cleverly scheduled against Aaron Rodgers and a Green Bay powerhouse that had won four of the previous five NFC North Division titles.

Yet the Vikings prevailed thanks to the yeoman skills of quarterback Sam Bradford, who passed for 286 yards and two touchdowns. If only so briefly, Bradford was regarded as Minnesota’s best-ever QB named Sam.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford (8) throws a pass over Green Bay Packers inside linebacker Jake Ryan, left, during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Andy Clayton-King)

9. Vikings 20, Packers 13 / January 3, 2016

In one of the first season-finale games flexed to prime time on NBC, the Teddy Bridgewater-led Vikings went into Lambeau Field to fight for the NFC North title against their heavily-favored neighbors.

Captain Munnerlyn’s TD return of a Rodgers fumble gave the Vikings a 20-0 lead that they barely held onto. But their Super Bowl drive ended abruptly in sub-zero temps the next week when kicker Blair Walsh went wide left on a 27-yard chip shot.

Minnesota Vikings’ Captain Munnerlyn (24) gets past Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Rodgers (12) and James Starks (44) for a touchdown after recovering a fumble during the second half an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)

8. Bears 33, Vikings 24 / September 19, 1985

Early on the way to legendary status, unbeaten Chicago got a huge scare from a rebuilding Vikings squad in keeping its record temporarily perfect.

The Vikings took a 17-9 lead against hapless backup QB Steve Fuller. But then injured Jim McMahon talked coach Mike Ditka into subbing him in during the third quarter, and he went on to quickly throw three TD passes.

For Bud Grant, who helped rescue the Vikings franchise from the wreckage of Les Steckel, it was his last big moment.

Chicago Bears quarterback Steve Fuller (4) is brought down by Minnesota Vikings cornerback Willie Teal after picking up three yards on a carry on a three yard line in the first quarter, on Sept. 19, 1985. The Bears had to settle for a field goal.(AP Photo/Larry Salzman)

7. Vikings 28, Browns 23 / December 14, 1980

This must-win game that gave Minnesota the NFC Central crown would be higher were this a list of the Vikings’ greatest moments.

Cleveland looked like Super Bowl material, taking a 14-point lead into the final five-plus minutes, and the Browns still looked like winners when the Vikings took the ball on their own 20-yard-line, down one point, with just 14 seconds left.

As you all know, the next two plays were a hook-and-lateral from Kramer to Joe Senser to Ted Brown, then a Hail Mary to Ahmad Rashad. The Miracle at the Met was the first of many crushing losses for the 1980s Browns.

Minnesota Vikings receiver Ahmad Rashad (28) makes a one-handed catch of a desperation pass by Vikings quarterback Tommy Kramer that was tipped by Cleveland Browns defenders during an NFL football game in Bloomington, Minn. on Sunday, Dec. 14, 1980. Rashad captured the tipped ball in the end zone for a touchdown with no time remaining and the Vikings won, 28-23 to win the Central Division title. (Joe Oden / St. Paul Pioneer Press)

6. Vikings 20, Rams 13 / December 7, 1969

The NFL’s titans, 11-0 Los Angeles and 10-1 Minnesota, faced off at the Los Angeles Coliseum in The Game of The Year. The Vikings won their 11th in a row thanks to a powerful rushing attack, as Joe Kapp managed to complete only eight passes all afternoon.

Little did anyone suspect George Allen’s Rams had already posted their final victory of the season, as Grant’s Purple People Eaters would beat the Rams again 20 days later in the Western Conference playoff at the Met.

The Vikings went on to rout Cleveland the following week to win their first and only NFL championship.

Minnesota Vikings running back Dave Osborn (41) goes over a pile of players on his back to score in the first quarter against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFL Western Division playoff, Dec. 27, 1969, Minneapolis, Minn. The touchdown came shortly after the Rams scored and a Vikings point-after-TD tied the score at 7-7. Defenders are linebacker Doug Woodlief (57) and Coy Bacon (79). (AP Photo)

5. Vikings 37, Packers 34 / December 30, 2012

The Vikings’ Adrian Peterson was the entire focus in this season finale at the Metrodome as he chased Eric Dickerson’s NFL record of 2,105 yards. “All Day” ran 34 times for a paltry 199 yards, coming up nine yards short, though in subsequent years he has been found to come up short in multiple other areas.

Minnesota’s feeling of border superiority was short-lived, as the Packers beat the Vikings six days later in their wild-card playoff  on the Frozen Tundra.

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson runs over Green Bay Packers cornerback Tramon Williams on his way to a 26-yard gain during the fourth quarter at the Metrodome on Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012. The Vikings won 37-34. (Pioneer Press: John Autey)

4. Vikings 37, Bears 13 / September 17, 1961

Two years after hosting a couple of Chicago Cardinals games in Bloomington, Minnesota finally got its own NFL franchise, beginning play as 10-point underdogs against a Chicago team that would go on to win the NFL title two years later.

George Shaw started at quarterback for the Vikings, but rookie quarterback Sir Francis Tarkenton came off the bench and announced his presence with authority, tallying four TD passes and a TD run.

Unfortunately, Tarkenton’s relationship with coach Norm Van Brocklin would turn toxic, leading the new franchise into the abyss for most of the 1960s.

Rookie quarterback Fran Tarkenton for the Minnesota Vikings, Sept. 19, 1961. (AP Photo)

3. Vikings 27, Chiefs 10 / September 20, 1970

The marquee matchup the first weekend after the NFL-AFL merger was the Super Bowl IV rematch between the conquering Chiefs and the shamed Vikings, eight months after Minnesota learned the limitations of its 65 Toss Power Trap defense.

But Grant’s crew took vengeance, gaining control on a fumble recovery by Jim Marshall, who lateraled to teammate Roy Winston for a 36-yard touchdown.

Minnesota breathed a sigh of relief until learning later in the season the limitations of its post-Kapp quarterback rotation.

Minnesota Vikings defensive player Jim Marshall picks up fumble by Kansas City Chiefs Mike Garrett on Chiefs 38 yard line and rant to the chiefs 14 where he later led to Roy Winston who scored touchdown to give the Vikings a 10-0 lead in the first half of Sunday?s National Football Conference game in the Twin Cities at Minneapolis, on Sunday, Sept. 21, 1970. Minnesota downed the Chiefs, 27-10. (AP Photo/LS)

2. Vikings 48, Cowboys 26 / November 26, 1998

There are a few folks around here, when they’re asked about Thanksgiving, who still think first of Randy Moss. Back in the long ago days when chomping on the John Madden drumstick was a big deal.

And beating the Dallas Cowboys was a big deal. Randall Cunningham threw four touchdown passes, three to The Freak from Marshall, as the nearly perfect Vikings embarrassed the team that had won three of the previous six Super Bowls.

Few have ever leaped onto the Sports A List more spectacularly.

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Randy Moss, right, celebrates with teammate Cris Carter after Moss caught a Randall Cunningham pass for a 51-yard touchdown during the first quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas on Nov. 26, 1998. Moss caught three touchdown passes in the game and Carter added another as the Vikings rolled to a 46-36 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day. (John Doman / Pioneer Press)

1. Vikings 38, Packers 26 / November 1, 2009

Got Favre? Still one of the few NFL regular-season games to get Super Bowl level hype as former New York Jets QB Brett Favre faced future Jets QB Rodgers in the national TV spotlight.

No. 4 beat his old team and former understudy for the second time in four weeks, racking up 515 yards and seven TD passes.

The tremendous hype surrounding this game is no doubt hard to understand for younguns after the two protagonists spent the past decade-plus tarnishing their legacies.

Green Bay Packers fans voice their displeasure as Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre, who played for the Packers for 16 seasons, and the Vikings defeated the Packers 38-26 in Green Bay, Wis. on Nov. 1, 2009. (Scott Takushi / Pioneer Press)

You can hear Kevin Cusick on Wednesdays on Bob Sansevere’s “BS Show” podcast on iTunes. You can follow Kevin on Twitter — @theloopnow. He can be reached at kcusick@pioneerpress.com

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