In Sam Darnold’s worst game with the Vikings, he still was good enough for his team to beat the New York Jets 23-17.
In Darnold’s two losses with the Vikings, he still completed 76.9% of his passes, averaged 9.6 yards per attempt, turned the ball over just once and posted a higher passer rating (117.4) than he has in his six victories (105.0).
In other words, the Vikings are doing exactly what coach Kevin O’Connell predicted they could do with Darnold as many of us (guilty as charged, your honor) rolled our eyes.
The Vikings have used their schemes and their playcalling and their plethora of offensive weaponry and their good-enough pass protection to transform the disappointing third overall pick of the Jets in 2018 into the kind of guy the Jets will be shopping for as Aaron Rodgers’ successor as early as 2025.
The Vikings are getting maximum return on Darnold. So, naturally, many of us are using this unexpected twist to ask for more! Expect more! Demand perfection from the guy we couldn’t have respected less as a quarterbacking punchline 9½ weeks ago.
In Week 9, Darnold threw two interceptions on a sloppy Sunday night in which the fans booed the offense off the field at halftime of a 21-13 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
The first interception was a red-zone head-scratcher to end the Vikings’ first possession. Flushed from the pocket when his left guard literally got run over, Darnold scrambled left and …
“Saw T.J. [Hockenson] kind of streaking across the back of the end zone there,” offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said Tuesday.