The Minnesota Vikings welcomed their NFC North rivals, the Green Bay Packers, to Minneapolis for a highly anticipated Week 17 NFL showdown.
Both teams were battling for playoff positioning. A win for the Vikings would have set them up to potentially clinch the NFC’s No. 1 seed in Week 18, while the Packers aimed to solidify their hold on the sixth seed in the conference.
The Minnesota Vikings’ social media team had head coach Kevin O’Connell mic’d up during the game. Late in the contest, O’Connell delivered a message to quarterback Sam Darnold before calling a play over the headset.
“Alright, Sam, hey, step away for a sec,” O’Connell said. “Hey, so you’re playing your absolute (expletive) off. Work smart right here. Walk into this huddle and tell them it’s about execution, and let’s put these guys away right now, all right? Physicality. Ball security. Finish. Keep making great decisions, man. You’re balling. I’m so freaking proud of you, man.”
Fans quickly headed to the comment section to praise O’Connell.
“Sign KOC to a lifetime extension right now!” one fan said.
“KOC coach of the year! SKOL,” another wrote.
“This guy…. I was motivated just hearing that,” added a fan.
“Not a Vikings fan but this guy is really making it hard not being a fan,” one said. “Absolutely spectacular coach.”
“COTY,” said another.
“LEADER!” added a fan.
The Vikings improved to 14-2 on the season after defeating the Packers 27-25. Now, they’ll head into a Week 18 matchup with the Detroit Lions, who also sit at 14-2. The winner will earn the NFC’s No. 1 seed and a bye in the Wild Card round, while the other will fall to the No. 5 seed.
