No. 5 (no change): NFL Staff, Bleacher Report

The Minnesota Vikings like to keep things interesting, apparently.

Last week, the Vikings needed overtime to get past the Chicago Bears. Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, the Vikes didn’t lead until scoring the go-ahead touchdown with just over a minute left to play.

At 10-2, this is far and away the most successful season of Sam Darnold’s career. After the win, Vikings Head Coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters that he has the utmost confidence in his quarterback and the team around him.

“He’s been a huge driving force behind us winning games,” O’Connell said. “My confidence level in Sam is sky high to play the game however we need to play it. We continue to learn things about our team that will pay a lot of dividends moving forward. Not once did anybody on the team flinch. We did what we had to do to get the win.”

Minnesota will be favored in their next two games at home, but the stretch run is a tough one – at Seattle, home against the Green Bay Packers and then what could be a huge Week 18 showdown with the Lions in Detroit.

“The Vikings must be proactive in their problem-solving before the playoffs. Running back Aaron Jones, Sr., has a ball-security issue, having three fumbles (two lost) over the past three weeks,” Bleacher Report NFL analyst Maurice Moton said. “Minnesota has done a good job with its commitment to the ground game, minimizing the number of times turnover-prone Sam Darnold has to throw downfield, but Cam Akers and Ty Chandler should be more involved in the Vikings run game.”