The offense looked sleepy. Fans were restless. The whole vibe inside U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday felt like a slow trudge toward an inevitable conclusion.
Scoggins: He’s Savior Sam Darnold now, in the latest iteration of the Vikings quarterback
For 2½ quarters, Sam Darnold was a flawed QB, as he has been known to be. His work after that? Is career-changing too strong a term?
The Minnesota Star Tribune
December 2, 2024 at 2:23AM
Frustration boiled over in the third quarter after the Vikings went three-and-out on another punchless series. Fans let loose a full-throated blast of boos.
A touchdown by the Arizona Cardinals on the ensuing possession left the Vikings staring up at a 13-point deficit and showing no signs of something dramatic in the offing.
Sam Darnold had the answer. He turned into Savior Sammy, and everything changed as if the Vikings quarterback flipped on a light switch and yelled, OK, Everybody Wake Up!
Darnold completed an 18-yard pass. Then a 15-yard pass. Then a touchdown pass.
Unsettled for 2½ quarters, Darnold started threading bullet passes into the tiniest windows.
He squeezed a pass between two defenders to Justin Jefferson 30 yards downfield. He lofted a pass over a leaping linebacker to Jordan Addison for 17 yards.
He was a dead-on marksman to give his team life and then a cool customer when pressed into a touchdown-or-bust predicament.
Darnold calmly piloted a game-winning drive over the closing minutes to pull off a 23-22 victory that became the latest show of resilience by a Vikings team that continues to stack wins in large part because their quarterback keeps scripting a new narrative about his career.
“He’s a baller,” veteran safety Harrison Smith said. “He can make stuff happen when he needs to.”
The Vikings desperately needed that from Darnold after a forgettable first half. The offense managed a measly 87 yards on its first six possessions.
The list of issues was lengthy. Nothing went right. Credit the Cardinals for executing a game plan that made the Vikings look perplexed.
“Good teams find a way to win that game,” Vikings guard Dalton Risner said.
It started with one successful play, which led to another successful play, which led to more success. The offense picked up the tempo as Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell became, in his words, “pretty aggressive” with his play calls.
“I thought we kind of needed to do whatever we could, maybe risk-reward more on some plays for some chunks,” he said.
Darnold took it from there. In the final three possessions, he completed 12 of 17 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns.
The Vikings scored points on all three possessions.
“Sam did a great job in trusting to throw that ball into those [tight] windows,” Jefferson said.
Darnold’s poise in stressful moments contradicts the reputation he brought to Minnesota as a flawed quarterback who is prone to turnovers. He was clutch Sunday when his team needed nothing less to avoid a buzzkill defeat.
“That first half wasn’t our brand of football,” Darnold said.
Their brand is baked in resilience more than sheer dominance. The Vikings are finding ways to win on days when they struggle to produce their best.
Darnold’s career rehabilitation has become a fascinating story plot in a season that already has far exceeded expectations. Darnold continues to make the case for himself as a viable starter and more than just a bridge to someone else, wherever that might be next season.
He posted a passer rating above 100 for the 10th time this season. Only two quarterbacks in Vikings history have accomplished that statistical feat: Daunte Culpepper in 2000 and Brett Favre in 2009.
“I’m just going to continue to do my job every single day and just going to keep it that simple,” Darnold said when asked if he’s learned anything about himself this season.
That stay-in-the-present approach has served him well. His rash of turnovers in early November was concerning, but he vowed to correct it and now has gone back-to-back games without a turnover.
The Cardinals left the door open for Darnold with untimely penalties and conservative game management by coach Jonathan Gannon to play for a field goal late in the fourth.
The Vikings trailed 22-16 when they took possession at their 30 with 3 minutes, 20 seconds left.
Darnold made it look textbook in a sequence that included a 12-yard completion to Jefferson fourth-and-5 and a touchdown pass to Aaron Jones.
“My confidence level in him is sky-high to play the game however we need to play it,” O’Connell said.
They needed him to be Savior Sam this time. On a day that began so sleepy, he provided a jolt that reinforced how special this season is starting to feel. For the quarterback and the team.
A pass from Sam Darnold to Aaron Jones with 1:13 left put Minnesota ahead for the first time, and the 10-2 Vikings won their fifth game in a row, beating Arizona on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
