However, at the grassroots level, the Vikings won the way they intended to all season.

“This goes way back when you’re getting ready for your first opportunity and you go to a football game and you really see what these players have done really long before training camp started, but in the last month and a half or so that has been building up to this moment. I’m really proud of our team,” O’Connell said.

Darnold completed 13 of his 14 passes in the first half, including all seven of his throws on a 99-yard touchdown drive that was the Vikings’ longest since 2008 and gave them a 14-3 lead in the second quarter. His 44-yard pass to Justin Jefferson on that drive came when two defenders were covering the receiver. “That’s going to happen a lot of the time this season,” Jefferson said. “He has to understand that even if I’m going to do a one-two, I’m still free and I’m going to make that play.”

When the Vikings faced a fourth-and-2 at the end of the drive, O’Connell showed no hesitation in keeping the offense on the field. Darnold threw a 3-yard dart to Jefferson on a quick slant to Deonte Banks.

“I think especially down there in the red zone, especially on the perimeter where we scored, it’s always important for me to continue to make quick, decisive decisions in the red zone,” Darnold said. “I think I’ve been able to do that for the most part, but I still have a lot of room for improvement.”

Darnold, who completed 19 of 24 passes for 208 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, picked up his first win at MetLife Stadium since his last start with the Jets in 2020. He wasn’t the only one who left the game feeling like he had proven something.