SEATTLE — Sam Darnold instilled confidence in his coach and teammates during this career-changing season. Facing another late deficit, the Vikings had no doubt he would deliver.

Darnold connected with a well-covered Justin Jefferson for his third touchdown pass of the game with 3:51 left, and Minnesota edged Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks 27-24 on Sunday and tied Detroit for the top spot in the NFC with.

After the Seahawks took the lead on Smith’s third TD pass, Darnold led a 30-second drive aided by a 15-yard facemask penalty. He stepped into a collapsing pocket and threw a deep ball that Jefferson punched in just in front of the goal line as two defenders closed in on him.

“There wasn’t really a guy — and I know I’m not just speaking for myself — (who didn’t think) we were going to go down and score a touchdown,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said. “And I think the level of trust that this group has in their quarterback and the level of trust that the quarterback has in the 10 guys in the huddle is significant. And so you can do that in this moment on the street, in a place where you can’t hear yourself think.”

Jefferson finished the game with 10 catches for 148 yards and two touchdowns as the Vikings (13-2) won their eighth straight. If they can beat Green Bay and Detroit to finish the season, they will clinch first place in the conference and a bye to the first-round playoffs.

Darnold threw for multiple touchdowns for the 11th time this season and for more than 200 yards for the 10th time. He finished 22 of 35 for 246 yards, helping O’Connell become the first Vikings coach with multiple 13-win seasons.

On the final drive, O’Connell’s headset malfunctioned and Darnold improvised by calling his own game and number in a short scramble. He finished with a quarterback rating above 100 for the 12th time.

Not bad for a veteran who received a one-year contract as a placeholder after the Vikings drafted JJ McCarthy, who suffered a knee injury in the preseason. The final play showed his chemistry with Jefferson, who made a decision midway through the route that Darnold recognized.

“We spend a lot more time together than we did in college and I definitely felt that at the beginning of the season and especially throughout the season,” Jefferson said. “Seeing how much fun we had together and the different plays we made made us all come together every single game. We just lean on each other to fight for each other.”

Darnold said, “I just had to give him a chance, you know, put it on his back hip and let him do the rest.”

Smith threw for 314 yards and his 4-yard touchdown pass to AJ Barner gave the Seahawks a 24-20 lead with 4:41 left, but after Jefferson’s late touchdown he was unable to catch up with Seattle (8-7). Jason Myers missed a 60-yard field goal attempt after the two-minute warning and Theo Jackson caught Smith to seal the game with 49 seconds left.

The Seahawks have lost two straight after a four-game winning streak and are one game behind the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West.

Smith also had scoring passes of 25 yards to DK Metcalf and 18 yards to Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He was also intercepted twice. Smith-Njigba had eight receptions for 95 yards.

Minnesota improved to 8-1 in one-score games this season.

“The reason their record is what it is and what their record is in one-point games is because they are a good football team,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. “We persevered. We had the chance to win the game and we didn’t. There are things we can do better in all three phases, but we also did a lot of great things. We gave ourselves a chance to win.”

The Vikings completed a 12-play opening drive, needing 6:54 en route to a 7-0 lead on Darnold’s 5-yard pass to Jordan Addison, who was open in the middle of the end zone for his third catch of the series.

Smith found Metcalf in man-to-man coverage with Stefon Gilmore in the right corner of the end zone early in the second quarter. It was Metcalf’s first TD reception since Week 7.

Darnold responded two drives later with a 14-yard pass to Jefferson via Tre Brown, who remained in single coverage on the All-Pro’s corner route, to make it 14-7.

Joshua Metellus pressured Smith on the first play of Seattle’s ensuing drive and Dallas Turner stepped in front of a pass to Noah Fant, who intercepted it and brought Minnesota to the Seattle 31. The Vikings settled for Will Reichard’s 52-yard field goal after Boye Mafe sacked Darnold.

Smith drove the Seahawks 88 yards on five plays in 1:05, cutting the lead to 17-14 with 20 seconds left in the half. He hit Smith-Njigba three times on the drive. The first, a 13-yard reception, gave the second-year player his first 1,000-yard reception. The second, 25 yards to the Vikings 18, drew a bicep flex from Smith-Njigba for the cheering crowd. And the third was about the score.

Receive milestones

Metcalf shook off a long scoreless streak and caught his 47th career touchdown with the Seahawks. That helped him pass Hall of Fame receiver Steve Largent and move into sixth place on the team’s career touchdown list.

Smith-Njigba became the tenth Seahawks receiver to record a 1,000-yard season.

Injuries

Vikings: S Harrison Smith (foot) was inactive, missing a game for the first time since 2022.

Seahawks: Placed LB Trevis Gipson (ankle) on injured reserve. … RB Kenneth Walker III left the game with an ankle injury.

Next

Vikings: Host Green Bay next Sunday.

Seahawks: At Chicago on Thursday.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl