The stage is set. If the Vikings beat the Lions next week in Detroit, they will earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.

That’s a formality after the Vikings held on for dear life in a 27-25 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium. Though it looked like it might be a blowout for the Vikings, the game got extremely tense down the stretch as the Packers put up 15 points in the final frame to make it close.

In the end, coach Kevin O’Connell leaned on quarterback Sam Darnold, who stepped up for the Vikings like he has time and again this season. On the final drive, Darnold connected with star receiver Justin Jefferson and running back Cam Akers on consecutive pass plays that put the game on ice.

“That was a hard fought NFC North game,” O’Connell said. “The football team we played against was playing as well as anybody in the league.”

The win ensured the Vikings (14-2) will travel to play the Lions (13-2) next week with a chance to win the NFC North and a chance to make sure the road to the Super Bowl in the NFC goes through the Twin Cities.

“I think it’s major,” linebacker Blake Cashman said of the prospect of having home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. “Our opponents feel that. We’ve got to take care of next week first. That would give us a great opportunity and a leg up on our opponents.”

As for this week, the Vikings couldn’t have drawn up a better start to game against the Packers.

With the home crowd looking for a reason to get excited, the Vikings immediately provided it when defensive tackle Jerry Tillery jarred the ball loose from Green Bay running back Josh Jacobs, and safety Cam Bynum raced in for the fumble recovery.

It went down as a missed opportunity, however, as the Vikings were forced to punt. After another stop from the defense, the offense stalled out once again and a 57-yard field goal attempt from kicker Will Reichard came up short.

That gave the Packers good field position, and while it briefly looked like they were going to take control, they ended up settling for a 22-yard field goal from kicker Brandon McManus to make it 3-0.

The response from Darnold came shortly after that. A possession that started with running back Aaron Jones gashing his former team on the ground ended with Darnold finding receiver Jalen Nailor wide open for a 31-yard touchdown that made it 7-3 in favor of the Vikings.

“I had a post route and I saw the far safety wasn’t there,” Nailor said. “I just took off running as fast as I could and Sam found me.”

On the next drive for the Packers, they opted to get aggressive near the red zone, and quarterback Jordan Love threw incomplete on fourth down for a turnover on downs. A pair of field goals from Reichard helped the Vikings go into halftime with a 13-3 lead.

On the opening drive out of halftime, Darnold helped the Vikings make a statement, marching right down the field and capping it off with a 18-yard touchdown pass to receiver Jordan Addison to make it 20-3.

Just when it looked like the Vikings were going to run away with a convincing win, the Packers punched back as cornerback Carrington Valentine dropped into coverage and intercepted a pass. A few plays later, Jacobs powered his way into the end zone to help the Packers cut the deficit to 20-10.

Some players would have folded after throwing an interception at such a pivotal moment. That’s simply not how Darnold is wired. He walked into the huddle unfazed by his mistake, then respond like he has time and time again this season.

After a couple of completions to take the edge off, Darnold delivered a perfectly placed ball to Addison for a big gain, then finished the job by finding running back Akers for a 9-yard touchdown that made it 27-10.

After a missed field goal from Reichard left the door cracked open, Love immediately led a scoring a drive that helped the Packers cut the deficit to 27-18. To make things even more interesting, the Packers forced a punt, and Love led another scoring drive to cut the deficit to 27-25.

As the Vikings attempted to bleed the clock dry in the final minutes, instead of running into a loaded box, they put the ball in Darnold’s hands and told him to go to work.

“I know that KO is going to be aggressive,” Darnold said. “Whenever he does call a pass in that situation, I’m always prepared for it, and I feel like our guys did a really good job of executing that.”

The final drive featured Darnold completing passes to to fullback C.J. Ham, Jefferson and Akers. That final throw of the game from Darnold was lob over the outstretched arm of a defender that Akers hauled in with his fingertips.

“That ball felt like it was in the air for absolutely ever,” O’Connell said with a laugh. “He threw a lot of balls tonight and that one probably stressed me out the most.”

How did Darnold perceive it?

“Not my best effort on that,” Darnold said with a laugh. “I’m just happy that Cam was able to come away with that and kind of seal the deal for us.”

After a few knees from Darnold, the Vikings locked in a crucial date with the Lions next week.

“Now we get to go on the road and have a chance to compete,” O’Connell said. ” That’s all we ask for. We’ve got to go to their place and roll it out there for 60 minutes. We’re going to put our work in this week and try to find a way to go 1-0 this week.”