Inside The Vikings

Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell 'always believed' in Sam Darnold

O'Connell was 'really proud' of his quarterback after Sunday's win over the 49ers.

Nolan O'Hara

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) throws a pass against the San Francisco 49ers during the first quarter U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Sept. 15, 2024.
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) throws a pass against the San Francisco 49ers during the first quarter U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Sept. 15, 2024. / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
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The narrative surrounding Sam Darnold was that he was a bust. 

Darnold, who was selected No. 3 overall by the New York Jets in the 2018 NFL draft, wasn’t able to catch on in New York, or in Carolina with the Panthers. He spent last season as the backup to Brock Purdy with the San Francisco 49ers before signing a one-year deal with the Vikings this offseason. For many outside observers, the expectations for Darnold in Minnesota weren’t very high.

But after two weeks, that narrative appears to be changing — not that Darnold cares about narratives anyway. Darnold impressed in a Week 1 win over the New York Giants, and on Sunday, he completed 17-of-26 passes for 268 yards, two touchdowns and a pick in a 23-17 victory over his former team, a 49ers group universally considered among the best in the league.

“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, and awesome to go watch him go do that thing, so really proud of Sam Darnold,” said Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell, while appearing to get a bit emotional. 

Darnold’s performance featured some memorable moments, most notable among them a 97-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson that gave the Vikings a 10-0 lead in the second quarter.

“The 97-yarder was one of the prettiest throws I’ve seen,” O’Connell said. 

Darnold delivered a perfect ball to Jefferson at midfield, and the star receiver did the rest, weaving through the 49ers secondary on his way to the end zone. What was Darnold's view of the score?

“I’m just watching him run around,” he said. 

Darnold also delivered when the pressure was on late in the game.

The Vikings had the ball with a 20-14 lead in the fourth quarter, but against a team like the 49ers, that's not a comfortable advantage. And by then, Darnold was without his top target in Jefferson, who exited the game due to a quad injury. Jordan Addison was ruled out before the game due to an ankle injury, and T.J. Hockenson is yet to make his season debut after tearing his ACL and MCL last year.

So what did Darnold do? He hit Brandon Powell for an 11-yard gain on third-and-7 and fired a 26-yard dart to Jalen Nailor on third-and-8, ultimately taking 6 minutes and 46 seconds off the clock on a 14-play, 62-yard drive that was capped with a 27-yard field goal from rookie Will Reichard to make it 23-14.

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

In those two weeks, Darnold has thrown for 476 yards, four touchdowns and two picks while completing 72 percent of his passes. More importantly, the 27-year-old has led the Vikings to two wins.

“I think the biggest thing for us is just continuing to take it one day at a time, and we’ll keep stacking really, really good days on top of good days and we’ll see where it goes from there,” Darnold said. 

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Nolan O'Hara

NOLAN O'HARA

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