SEATTLE – Sam Darnold was a man under siege. Surrounded by large, screaming men, his arms tied to his sides, he couldn’t move and breathing became a problem.

He had played flawlessly all afternoon, even as defenders enveloped him like the eternal Seattle fog, scrambling and turning in the pocket and firing passes that defied geometry if not physics. And now, in the twilight, he was beaten.

“I think I drooled on him,” Dalton Risner said.

Risner plays guard for the Vikings and was one of those who hit Darnold in the helmet and back because Darnold had just made the play of the season, if not Darnold’s entire life.

The Vikings trailed the Seattle Seahawks by four points late in the fourth quarter. They took the ball at their 30, then Darnold went to work. Twelve yards to Justin Jefferson. A fight at 9. A facemask penalty resulted in a first down at the Seattle 39 with 3:58 left.

Darnold fell back, felt the pressure and charged forward. Jefferson turned and went into the depths. Darnold hit him with the winning touchdown pass without breaking stride in the Vikings’ 27-24 win, and then his offensive linemen surrounded him, looking like bears ripping bark from a tree.

“I mean, my God, I’ve been a part of a lot of football teams and it’s just unbelievable, whether it’s Justin Jefferson or him, just that we’re able to make plays like that in crunch time in an environment like that,” said Risner. “That doesn’t surprise me, but it’s just so much fun to be a part of it. We were like, ‘Dude, this is a great thing.'”

The numbers justified the emotions. Against a stout defense in a roaring stadium in the rain with first place in the NFC playoffs within reach, Darnold completed 22 of 35 passes for 246 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating of 112.3.