The 13-2 Minnesota Vikings will head into Christmas realizing they might in the end declare the NFC’s No. 1 playoff seed thanks largely to the play of veteran quarterback Sam Darnold.
Shortly after the Vikings earned a 27-24 victory on the Seattle Seahawks (8-7) on Sunday, Minnesota head coach Kevin O’Connell despatched considerably of a message to those that are doubting Darnold’s capacity to win the largest video games on the largest levels.
“When individuals have determined that you would be able to’t play of their personal minds, generally as an alternative of it being a product of a man deserving the credit score for enjoying actually good soccer, it’s all the time simply, ‘When’s it going to go the opposite manner?’ I don’t suppose that’s honest,” O’Connell mentioned about Darnold whereas talking with Albert Breer of Sports activities Illustrated. “I don’t suppose that’s honest to him.”
The New York Jets initially made Darnold the third general decide of the 2018 NFL Draft, however he did not develop into a savior for that franchise earlier than he accomplished a forgettable stint with the Carolina Panthers and earlier than he spent a lot of the 2023 season as a backup with the San Francisco 49ers. Whereas Darnold wasn’t positive this previous spring if he’d start the continued marketing campaign as Minnesota’s starter, O’Connell had no different selection however to go to the 27-year-old after rookie J.J. McCarthy suffered a torn meniscus in August.
In response to ESPN stats, Darnold ranks fourth within the NFL with a 105.4 passer score, thirteenth with a 62.0 adjusted QBR, sixth with 3,776 passing yards and fifth with 32 touchdowns by means of the air on the season. Moreover, he is proven he could make the kind of clutch performs that would end in Minnesota being a troublesome out in the course of the playoffs.
