Darnold’s change at the Vikings: The failed top talent suddenly amazes the NFL

Darnold’s change with the Vikings
The failed top talent suddenly stuns the NFL

By Heiko Oldörp
September 26, 2024, 9:45 p.m

Sam Darnold was once supposed to lead the New York Jets out of their ongoing crisis. But the quarterback failed there as well as subsequently with the Carolina Panthers. After a year on the bench in San Francisco, he is now playing for the Minnesota Vikings – and has been outstanding so far.

The tension was palpable at the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. Nervous and questioning looks and uncertainty could be heard at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis when quarterback Sam Darnold was run over by visiting defender Danielle Hunter at their own 30-yard line in the third quarter of the home game against the Houston Texans.

Darnold’s left knee was immediately obvious to everyone. He limped towards the Vikings bench, missed two offensive actions, but was then able to finish the party. But what does that mean when adrenaline and endorphins, in the rush of the third win in the third game of the season, may just numb the pain in your knee for a short time? Minnesota dominated the highly rated guests with a clear 34:7 win, literally overran them and Darnold won the quarterback duel against CJ Stroud. He had thrown four touchdowns, building his tally after three games to eight touchdowns – a league record. Who wouldn’t be intoxicated with happiness?

Three wins with multiple touchdowns each

Still, question marks remained. How serious is the injury really? Is Darnold at risk of being out for a longer period of time? He is one of the main reasons for the Vikings’ sensational 3-0 start to the season. He was the first starting quarterback in franchise history to win three opening games and score multiple touchdowns in each game. A magnetic resonance imaging scan on Monday should provide answers – and ultimately provides the all-clear. Darnold suffered a bone bruise, but the ligaments are undamaged. His appearance on Sunday in the game against division rival Green Bay Packers does not appear to be in danger. Coach Kevin O’Connell spoke of “really good, positive news.”

His reaction shows what status this Samuel Richard Darnold now has. How important he has become for the Vikings. O’Connell emphasizes that he “had a lot of fun training Darnold.” It wasn’t initially clear what role the quarterback was supposed to fill in Minnesota when he signed for a year at the beginning of March. Darnold had finally become a vagabond, the Vikings his fourth club since 2020. And he had the reputation of a failure.

The New York Jets selected him third overall among all talent in 2018. He should be the quarterback who leads the club, which has been disappointing for ages, out of the crisis. He made history in his debut on September 10, 2018 against the Detroit Lions. At 21 years old, Darnold was the youngest starting quarterback in the league since the NFL and the American Football League merged in 1970.

Never get jets up to altitude

His first pass was an interception and resulted in a Lions touchdown. Darnold’s debut was nevertheless a successful one. The Jets won 48:17, the young quarterback scored two touchdowns and gained 198 yards with his passes. Pilot Darnold never got the jets to the right altitude – and not even close to the higher spheres he had hoped for. His balance after three years in New York: 13 wins, 25 defeats. The subsequent chapter, Carolina Panthers, hardly reads any better. 17 games, eight wins, nine losses as a starter. A move to San Francisco followed – and a season as a backup with the 49ers. The Californians were in the Super Bowl, but Darnold had no part in it.

Another new beginning in the spring. In Minnesota he was supposed to duel with JJ McCarthy, drafted tenth overall, for the starting job. But the rookie tore a meniscus in his right knee in the first preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders and will miss the entire season. But the question must now be asked whether the talented McCarthy would have even gotten past a Sam Darnold in his current form? Darnold’s stats: three games, three wins, eight touchdowns, two interceptions. 53 of 78 passes arrived, gained 657 yards of space. Sports Illustrated wrote of a “rapid rise” and described Darnold’s performances so far as “one of the most unexpected storylines in the early weeks of the season.”

Like a glove that fits your hand perfectly

Richard Sherman was even clearer: “Sam Darnold plays like an MVP-caliber quarterback,” praised the former star safety in his podcast of the same name. After this sentence, Sherman, who won the Super Bowl with Seattle in 2014, apologized because he had to clear his throat briefly and then repeat: “Sam Darnold plays like an MVP quarterback.” He was like a glove that fits the hand perfectly said Sherman.

Longtime quarterback Matt Ryan sees Darnold as a “decisive” playmaker who makes “convincing decisions” and throws the football “very accurately.” Ryan’s words certainly carry weight. He played in the NFL for 15 years, played in the Super Bowl with the Atlanta Falcons in 2017 and now works as an analyst for the TV station “CBS”. Darnold, Ryan emphasizes, “muddled through” – and he gives him respect for that. Of course, it helps that Darnold has Justin Jefferson, one of the best wide receivers in the league, as his starting point in Minnesota. And that he has a running back at his disposal in Aaron Jones, who, according to Sherman, was “criminally undervalued” by the Green Bay Packers.

Darnold doesn’t deny that his career has been a roller coaster ride so far. And he emphasizes that it was “family and close friends” who built him back up through disappointments and didn’t let him take off when he was successful. Although Darnold has been in the league since 2018 and has experienced a lot since then, there will be a first for him on Sunday: He will play at Lambeau Field, home of the Packers, for the first time.

A good feeling in Minnesota from the first day

He’s happy, so is Darnold. The atmosphere, the history, the entire environment – ​​he wants to feel all of that. His knee feels “solid.” Darnold says all this with palpable conviction. He appears calm, calm, self-confident. Three years ago he started his first season in Carolina with three wins. He was asked on Wednesday whether there were any parallels. “Different situation,” he answered briefly – and immediately answered the topic: “I’m just excited about where our team is currently and the direction we’re going in.”

Why look back when the present is so wonderful? “He had a good feeling in Minnesota from day one,” says Darnold. His goal was to give his all every day, to take small, continuous steps, to “trust the workflow.” Nothing has changed in this attitude. What did he want to say to his doubters? To all those who thought his career was over. And that he doesn’t have what it takes to be a starting quarterback in this league. He has “nothing to say to them at all,” says Darnold. “No, nothing really.”