Stephen A. Smith gets it very wrong while criticizing Sam Darnold

Smith argued there's too much praise for a quarterback who hasn't thrown for 300 yards since Nov. 24. The issue is Darnold has. Twice since then.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold passes against Green Bay Packers in the second quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Dec. 29, 2024. / Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Stephen A. Smith still isn’t sold on Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold. But not for any real reason.

Literally not for any real reason. Smith's recent criticism of Darnold required factual inaccuracies.

ON ESPN’s First Take on Thursday, Smith, host Molly Qerim and analysts Booger McFarland and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo were discussing which team they had more faith in between the Vikings and Detroit Lions, who face off on Sunday night in a game that will decide the top seed in the NFC. That’s when Smith took aim at Darnold for something he's already done.

“He deserves credit,” Smith said of Darnold. “We know he’s had a stellar season, et cetera, et cetera. The man hasn’t thrown for 300 yards since Nov. 24 against Chicago. I’m just throwing it out there. I mean, we acting like — let’s not act like this is the second coming of Dan Marino. ... I'm just saying, can we pump the brakes?"

"We're talking about Sam Darnold...The man hasn’t thrown for 300 yards since November 24th against Chicago...Let’s not act like this is the second coming of Dan Marino." - Stephen A. Smith
🤔 pic.twitter.com/bWaw0QUqjl

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 2, 2025

Perhaps Darnold is not the second coming of Dan Marino, but he has in fact thrown for 300 yards as recently as, well, this week. Darnold threw for 377 yards in Sunday's win over the Green Bay Packers. Maybe Smith was trying to say that was the first time he's thrown for 300 yards since the Nov. 24 win over the Bears? Except that wouldn't be accurate either. Darnold also threw for 347 yards — not to mention five touchdown passes — in the win over the Atlanta Falcons on Dec. 8.

Darnold will have another opportunity to prove Smith wrong on Sunday Night Football in what'll be the biggest regular-season game in recent memory against the Lions. Kickoff at Ford Field in Detroit Sunday night is scheduled for 7:20 p.m.