With Darnold having one of the best quarterback seasons in Vikings history, this team is 14-2 and heading into a showdown in Detroit for the division title and the top seed in the NFC.

Like Ricky Bobby, Darnold is the engine of success. He has thrown 35 touchdown passes this season, four fewer than Daunte Culpepper’s team record and is tied for second with Kirk Cousins. He has thrown for 4,153 yards and on Sunday he completed 33 of 43 passes for 377 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

Darnold faced a lot of pressure but only grabbed one sack and handled the pocket deftly. He has thrown 18 touchdown passes and two interceptions in his last seven games, and on Sunday he passed Packers quarterback Jordan Love, who struggled to complete passes downfield until Green Bay became desperate in the fourth quarter.

Befitting the nature of this rivalry, the Packers made a play in the fourth quarter and presented O’Connell with difficult decisions.

Run the ball, burn the Packers’ timeouts and hope they can’t make one last drive for a winning field goal? Or throw the ball and earn first downs to pass the clock, risking incompletions that could ease the Packers’ woes?

If O’Connell had any doubts about Darnold’s nerves, he would have run the ball. Instead, O’Connell called for passes on three of the four plays the Vikings ran on their final drive (not counting kneeldowns).