A different Sam Darnold? Vikings’ rematch with Lions has quarterback playing at the top of his game

Sam Darnold heads to Detroit riding the wave of a breakout season with the Vikings, whose hopes of capturing the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs for the first time since 1998 rest on his continued comfort and efficiency in a highly potent offense under coach Kevin O’Connell.

O’Connell said Wednesday he has seen an increasingly comfortable and confident Darnold, who has formed the two longest winning streaks of his seven-year NFL career this season: the current nine-game win streak and the five-game win streak to begin the season.

“Just experience,” O’Connell said of his quarterback. “Both the experience of the success he had leading into that [first Lions] game itself [on Oct. 20] and then as we’ve moved forward throughout the season. There were some moments throughout the year where I thought there was some real growth from him; post-Jacksonville and what he’s really done since then. … Ascending in his comfort in the plans every week, his routine digesting the plans.

“You can tell a guy what it’s going to be like and you can tell a guy a lot of things,” O’Connell added, “but only the player is responsible for getting himself to where Sam has gotten himself to, which the team has a lot of confidence in him. Probably a good question for Sam, but I would imagine he’s got a lot of confidence in himself.”

Since throwing three interceptions in the 12-7 victory over the Jaguars on Nov. 10, Darnold has tossed 18 touchdowns to two interceptions over the past seven games.

So, Sam, are you more confident seeing the Lions this time around?

“I’ll say this: it’s fun,” Darnold said. “That’s really all it is. Just having a ton of fun playing football right now. Again, whatever happened last week and the week before that, it doesn’t matter right now. All that matters is this game and this opportunity, and that’s all I’m thinking about.”

The Lions are all anybody will talk about at TCO Performance Center in Eagan, where the football side of the building isn’t entertaining questions about the future at quarterback. The more games won by Darnold, the more questions are asked about his standing as a pending free agent currently teammates with 10th overall pick J.J. McCarthy, who continues to rehab a season-ending knee injury.

“It would go totally against how I’ve coached the team to be spending any time, for me right now, focusing on the answers to those questions,” O’Connell said. “Because I know that the things that mean a lot to me are getting Sam ready to play, getting our team ready to play each and every week.”

Darnold’s routine, the minute-by-minute tedious minutiae from weekly massages to post-practice footwork and film time, is something the 27-year-old quarterback and his coaches continue to reference regarding his sudden emergence as a winning NFL starter.

“Might be an exaggeration,” O’Connell said, “I think I know exactly where he is right now.”

Sunday against the Packers, for the sixth time in 16 games, Darnold threw at least three touchdown passes. He threw a trio of scores in each victory over Green Bay this season.

He had tossed three touchdowns in only four of 56 starts before signing in Minnesota.

Darnold pointed to his stop in San Francisco, where he backed up Brock Purdy last season, got a chance to breathe, and reset his process in how he prepares for games.

“Last year was a huge part for that for me, just being able to figure out my routine and figure out what the best study habits are,” Darnold said. “Being a backup quarterback, that’s the best way to learn what the best way is to study. … [Bringing] those study habits to what we do now has been a huge key for me.”

Coaches credited Darnold’s study habits for helping the Vikings offense give up only one sack against Green Bay. There have been games, including the Dec. 1 victory vs. the Cardinals when Darnold took five sacks, when blitzes caught their protection plans off guard. They have seen growth from Darnold having better command of the presnap adjustments needed.

“Well, you better know the protections first and foremost,” offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said. “You’ve got to know who they can bring where they’re not going to be blocked.

“You got maybe a second play that I’m getting to, and then I still have to motion a guy, and I got to make sure I’m good with the protection. It takes a lot of study on the front end to make it look simpler when they get out there and play.”

The Lions defense, while injury-ravaged, remains aggressive under coordinator Aaron Glenn, as they send blitzers at the third-highest rate (33%) in the league, per Pro Football Reference. And they will be doing so under the earsplitting noise at Ford Field, where Lions fans haven’t seen a game of this magnitude in some time.

The Vikings had a good test run during their Dec. 22 victory at Seattle.

“I was kind of thinking maybe it’s not going to be as loud,” center Garrett Bradbury said, “but there were some plays we couldn’t hear anything. … It’s a confidence builder, you feel good about it. I think we had one false start and they had four. That’s huge, you build off of that.”

All season, Darnold has thrived against the blitz, with a league-high 145.2 passer rating against five or more pass rushers, per Sports Info Solutions.

“I just feel like getting lost in the routine is the best way to do things,” Darnold said, “and I feel like I’ve really done that this year, and I’m just going to continue to stick with my routine and keep it that way.”