Analysis: In Darnold’s big year, resist any urges to yelp, ‘Same old Sam!’

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.

But …

“He maybe just pulled the string on the throw a little bit,” Phillips said. “If you’re going to make that attempt, it really has to be high enough, firm enough that if T.J.’s not catching it, tapping his feet in the back of the end zone, then nobody’s catching it.”

Instead, the ball was thrown low and weak to a spot where only one of two Colts could have caught it.

“Just didn’t make a good throw,” Darnold said. “Just got to be careful.”

“Same old Sam!” some might have yelped.

Let’s try harder to resist that natural urge.

Why?

Because …

• Darnold is 6-2. He has never been better than 4-4 in the four previous seasons in which he has started at least eight games. If he beats Jacksonville (2-7) on Sunday, he will match his career high for victories (7-6 with the Jets in 2019). He started 3-5, 4-4 and 0-8 with the Jets and 4-4 with the Carolina Panthers in 2022.

• Darnold is completing 69.5% of his passes. His completion percentages through eight games previously: 55.2, 63.9, 59.3 and 60.8.

• Darnold’s passer rating is 107.8. His passer ratings through eight games previously: 74.5, 82.1, 67.3 and 76.8.

• Darnold is on pace to complete 329 of 474 passes for 4,038 yards and 36 touchdowns with a 107.8 passer rating. Darnold’s current career season highs: 273 completions, 61.9% accuracy, 3,024 yards, 19 touchdowns (two more than he has right now) and an 84.3 passer rating.

Yeah, but what about his seven interceptions, which are seventh worst in the NFL and have him on pace to tie his career high of 15 for the season?

Not all interceptions are a crime against humanity. Some are a part of doing business between a cannon-armed QB and an elite set of targets that includes the league’s best, Justin Jefferson.

Darnold’s second interception Sunday came when he launched a ball on a deep dagger route that he and Jefferson have been torching defenses with all season. The way the Colts played for the deep throw left tight end Josh Oliver wide open underneath for what would have been the better decision.

“Sam’s aggressive on those dagger throws, and he throws them about as well as anybody I ever been around,” O’Connell said. “Sometimes the defense can make you say no and check the ball down.”

That wasn’t O’Connell putting up a stop-it sign.

“I’m going to stay aggressive with him,” O’Connell said. “My trust in Sam is something that I think is going to be a winning edge for our football team.”

Here are some numbers through eight games to back that up:

Completions of 20 or more yards: 33.

Balls thrown deep among those 33 completions: 25.

Completions of 20 or more yards to Jefferson: 15.

Balls thrown deep among those 15 completions to Jefferson: 14.

So, yeah, the Colts game was sloppy. Darnold threw his sixth and seventh interceptions.

But he also had seven completions of 20 or more yards. Jefferson caught five of them on deep throws for a combined 128 yards.

Just food for thought the next time any of us (guilty as charged, your honor) get another urge to yelp, “Same old Sam!”