Sam Darnold named NFC offensive player of the week after 5-TD game

It's the second weekly award for Darnold in his career and his first since 2019.

Dec 8, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) celebrates running back Aaron Jones' (33) touchdown run against the Atlanta Falcons during the fourth quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold has been named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week after throwing for 347 yards and 5 touchdowns in Sunday's 42-21 win over the Falcons.

NFC Players of the Week! (Week 14)@__lobo99 | @bryan_bresee pic.twitter.com/rVwCo4pSir

— NFL (@NFL) December 11, 2024

There was some stiff competition this week, including Rams WR Puka Nacua (178 yards, 2 TDs), Seahawks RB Zach Charbonnet (193 yards, 2 TDs), and Darnold's teammate Jordan Addison (133 yards, 3 TDs), but when you throw five touchdowns and just six incompletions in a game, that's hard to top.

Darnold was 22 of 28 against Atlanta, averaging 15.8 yards per completion. He finished with a near-perfect passer rating of 157.9 (the maximum is 158.3). It was the best game of his career and the culmination of what has been an outstanding breakout season.

This is the second OPOW award of Darnold's seven-year career and his first since Week 6 of the 2019 season, when he was in his second year with the Jets. He's the first Vikings player to win the award this year. The last Minnesota offensive player of the week was Josh Dobbs in Week 9 last season after his incredible Vikings debut against the Falcons. Darnold was previously named NFC offensive player of the month in September.

Darnold has been better than just about anyone expected this season. Heading into Week 15, he's thrown for 3,299 yards (6th in the NFL) and 28 touchdowns (T-3rd), with a 108.1 passer rating (3rd). He does have 10 interceptions, but he's now gone four consecutive games without one. Darnold has already broken the Vikings' single-season record with 11 games with a passer rating above 100 — and there are four left to play.

Sunday was Darnold's magnum opus. He deserves to be back in the MVP conversation, and if he keeps playing like this, the Vikings will enter the playoffs as legitimate Super Bowl contenders.

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