Minnesota Vikings Coach Kevin O'Connell Emotional Comments On Quarterback Sam Darnold

Quarterback Sam Darnold led the Minnesota Vikings to a 23-17 upset win over his former team, the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell was emotional afterwards talking about the former USC Trojans quarterback.

Kendell Hollowell | Sep 16, 2024

Sep 15, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) and head coach Kevin O'Connell talk before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images / Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

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It has been quite the journey for Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold to get to this point in his career. The former No. 3 overall pick out of the USC Trojans football program has experienced the lowest of lows, but now on his fourth NFL team, Darnold has found a career resurgence in Minnesota and coach with the ultimate confidence in him.

Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell was emotional talking about his quarterback after Sundays 23-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers.

“The amount of work that goes into that position on your quarterback journey when everybody decides that you cannot play — we always believed in him,” O’Connell said. “It felt awesome to watch him go do that thing. I’m really proud of Sam Darnold.”

Darnold finished 17 of 26 for 268 yards, two touchdowns and one interception against his former teams in the Niners, where he spent the 2023 season as the backup quarterback. It is the first time since December 2019 Darnold has thrown multiple touchdown passes in consecutive weeks. Darnold is trending upwards in the 2024 NFL season and has been a big fantasy football pick up.

The former USC Trojans quarterback connected with star receiver Justin Jefferson in the second quarter for a 97-yard touchdown. Darnold, from the shadow of his end zone stepped up into the pocket and hit Jefferson in-stride who got behind two defenders to give the Vikings a 10-0 lead. It was the second longest play in Vikings history.

“As pretty of throw I’ve seen, especially in those circumstances,” O’Connell said of Darnold's pass.

Halfway through the third quarter, after a San Francisco 49ers' Brock Purdy interception, Darnold found a wide-open Jalen Nailor to extend the Vikings lead to 20-7.

In the fourth, Darnold orchestrated a 14-play drive that took 6:42 seconds off the clock to set up a Will Reichard field goal that put the Vikings up two scores. The drive included two key third down completions from Darnold, one to Brandon Powell and one beautiful back shoulder throw to Nailor. More impressively, Darnold led the drive against the defending NFC champions without his starting receivers, Jefferson and Jordan Addison.

Sep 15, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) throws a pass against the San Francisco 49ers during the first quarter U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

“That is big-time QB play,” O’Connell said. “For all those folks out there that want some examples of it, I think we've got two weeks of some pretty tangible examples of some quarterback from Sam Darnold, I’m really proud of him.”

The Vikings are 2-0 for the first since 2016 and are the only team in the NFC North without a loss. Minnesota will host the Houston Texans on Sunday, September 22nd in the battle of undefeated teams.

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Published Sep 16, 2024

KENDELL HOLLOWELL

Kendell Hollowell, a Southern California native has been been covering collegiate athletics since 2020 via radio and digital journalism. His experience includes covering programs such as the USC Trojans, Vanderbilt Commodores and Alabama Crimson Tide. Kendell He also works in TV production for the NFL Network. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kendell was a collegiate athlete on the University of Wyoming and Adams State football team. He is committed to bringing in-depth insight and analysis for USC athletics.