Minneapolis, Mn – The Vikings offense was machine like to start, and resilient at the end of Sunday’s 31 to 29 win over the Packers at Lambeau Field.

Take for instance, wide receivers Jordan Addison and Justin Jefferson standing on their word.

Addison missed the previous two games with an ankle injury and said this week he was going to make up for all his lost time. Jefferson not-so-subtly warned that he would be Griddy-ing in their end zone.

They both walked the talk against Minnesota’s division rival.

On the game’s sixth play, Addison stutter-stepped and sped by the secondary for a 29-yard touchdown. Addison stayed hot, changing gears on a sweeping run in the second quarter to put the club ahead 21-0.

“I thought Jordan was huge coming back,” Vikings Head Coach Kevin O’Connell said after the game.

Jefferson keyed Addison’s touchdown run with a teach-tape block that secured the edge. And of course, Jets did his trademark TD dance after nabbing his fourth scoring catch in four games late in the first half.

Note: The 14-yard TD for Jefferson linked him to Vikings Legend Randy Moss (2004) as the only players in team history with a receiving touchdown in each of the first four games of a season. No one’s shocked Jefferson has joined Moss on another elite list.

The receivers consistently came up big as Minnesota survived a feverish finish to move to 4-0 and drop Green Bay to 2-2.

The first divisional win of 2024 had a brilliant beginning, maddening middle and exuberant ending.

“You guys can feel it – the juice and the energy in here,” O’Connell said. “Momentum in football is a serious thing. Plays that sometimes at different points in the game could look a whole different way. Momentum, the energy, I thought it was a pretty significant atmosphere, especially in that second half.”

O’Connell mentioned his confidence in his quarterback is very high. Deservingly so.

Sam Darnold played his best first half as a Viking yet, dealing 11-for-15 with 136 yards and three touchdowns, lifting his tally through four games to 11 (tied with Tommy Kramer in 1986 and Kirk Cousins in 2023 for second most in franchise history behind Daunte Culpepper, who had 13 in 2004). Darnold’s final two quarters in Sunday’s Border Battle weren’t bad by any stretch, but they were less colorful than his entry.

Darnold was poised, completing a pass to eight different players on the first three drives. He was smart, scrambling for 9 and a key first down on the second series. He was surgical, too, needling a throw into a tiny window to Jefferson with Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon draped all over him in the end zone.

All told, Darnold and Minnesota’s defense were suffocating.

The one obvious blemish in the first 30 minutes was a muffed punt by Jalen Nailor that gave Green Bay’s offense an easy opportunity to dodge a first-half shutout. Nailor was subbing for Brandon Powell as the punt returner after Powell was injured during an incompletion over the middle with 1:21 until the break.

“I didn’t love the way we finished the first half,” O’Connell said. “B.P. gets a little banged up, and I credit Speedy for going back there and being willing to try to field that kick. But we thought at that point, anything over his head probably shouldn’t be fielded. But in the moment, he’s trying to make a play.”

Darnold seemingly resumed in the second half where he left off in the first.

He was confident, connecting for 25 yards with Addison over the middle of the field one play after missing Jefferson on a deep pattern to the left. He was instinctive, escaping the pocket for a 12-yard gain with his legs, while protecting the ball and outrunning a couple Packers pursuers. Lights out, again.

Addison, who crossed the 1,000-yard threshold for his career when he climbed the ladder to bring down Darnold’s middle-of-the-field throw on Minnesota’s initial possession in the third quarter, starred in his first full game this season with three receptions for 72 yards plus the receiving and rushing touchdowns.

He’s the fourth wide receiver to record a rushing and receiving TD in the same game this season, joining dynamic Packers playmaker Jayden Reed, Tennessee’s Calvin Ridley and Kansas City’s Xavier Worthy.

“That’s what I wanted, that’s what I was going for, two plus,” Addison said. “I’d say today was a success.”

Then Darnold got a smidge greedy.

Darnold was intercepted by Packers safety Xavier McKinney at Green Bay’s 2-yard line on a second-down pass intended for running back Aaron Jones, Sr., from the 20. The throw tailed off as McKinney undercut it.

It appeared McKinney bobbled possession as he fell out of bounds on the replay review, but the call stood.

The offense sputtered on its next two drives, as well, because of setbacks. Jones was tackled for a loss, and Darnold suffered his first of two sacks on the day. Later, Blake Brandel was flagged for a false start.

It got progressively worse.

After the Packers drew within 14 points, Darnold scooted for 2 yards and was tackled awkwardly by outside linebacker Rashan Gary. On the ensuing play, he coughed up the ball on a blind-side blitz by Nixon.

All the Vikings needed was a deep breath – a sequence to reclaim momentum.

Darnold recovered and delivered.

Immediately, he found Jefferson streaking across the field for 17 yards. Then tight end Josh Oliver for 8 on a screen; Jefferson, again, on a 27-yard catch-and-run and Jones for 8 to the Packers 10.

It was poetry in motion. A play-calling masterclass. O’Connell was in his bag, and Darnold was dialed.

“We got the man-to-man beater, and it was a great call by KO,” Jefferson explained the drive-fueling pickup for 17. “We got the man-to-man, which we wanted, and it was great execution by everybody.

“It feels great for him to give us just that opportunity to go and make a play,” Jefferson added about O’Connell’s belief in the offense. “We know the guys that we have in our room, and even the running backs room. We have tremendous talent all around the field, so whenever the ball is in the air and he’s going to [whichever] weapon that we have out there on that field, we’re going to come down with that ball regardless. It’s just all about … great play calling by the coaches and great execution by the players.”

The sequence positioned Vikings rookie kicker Will Reichard to nail his first career field goal outdoors. He stayed a perfect 6-for-6 on the year with a 33-yarder that gave Minnesota a little breathing room, 31-22.

“Our attacking schemes, on offense, defense, special teams, and then the players we’ve got, it’s a really good formula for success in this league, but at the end of the day we believe in each other more than anyone else believes in us,” Darnold shared the basis of his confidence. “It’s a really good formula.”

Green Bay squandered its next two drives – or rather Byron Murphy terminated them, first picking off Packers QB Jordan Love and then on the following series punching the ball free on a Tucker Kraft catch.

The latter takeaway nearly led to knocking out Green Bay in front of its home crowd.

On third-and-12 with 4:08 to go, Jets one-upped his touchdown catch with a toe-dragging reception for 13 that had to be overturned to a completion because, frankly, it looked too impossible to execute in real time. Addison followed with an 18-yarder that set up the Vikings in the red zone with three minutes left.

“That was unbelievable,” Darnold chimed in on Jets’ catch. “One of the better catches I’ve ever seen.”

O’Connell proceeded to call No. 33. The former Packer Jones fought for a chance to do a Lambeau Leap with fans in Purple to no avail on three consecutive rushes. The Vikings were stuffed on fourth-and-1 during a sweep by Nailor.

“I can’t really make those decisions based upon the ‘Oh no, what could happen-type thing,’ I’m gonna be aggressive and always smart, and I thought we had a chance to convert with the play that I called,” said O’Connell standing on his decision to hand off to Nailor. “They made a play and stopped us.”

Fortunately, Minnesota’s fast start – shoot, its 28 first-half points represented its most since posting that many Nov. 12, 2017, at Washington – and clutch ball movement was just enough to fend off Green Bay.

“I feel like we’re playing very well, but we’re still learning [about] each other. We have a lot of new guys that [are] playing out there on the field this year,” Jefferson said. “Sam is still getting used to all of us, and we’re still getting used to him as well. I feel like it’s going to all come together.”