Kirk who?
Let’s have a round of applause for Sam Darnold, the accidental star for the Minnesota Vikings who drove that point home on Sunday to upstage Kirk Cousins’ return to U.S. Bank Stadium by lighting up the place with five touchdown passes.
While Cousins threw two more interceptions to run his NFL high to 15 picks this season, Darnold was nothing short of flawless – and plenty spectacular – in igniting a 42-21 romp against the Atlanta Falcons that extended Minnesota’s winning streak to six games.
When it was over, after Darnold passed for a career-high 347 yards, and after Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison left tracks as the first players in Vikings history to both collect 100 receiving yards with at least two touchdowns, the typically stoic quarterback was even moved to let his hair down. Darnold waved a towel as fans chanted, “MVP!”
Maybe he wanted to pinch himself, too. MVP? When Darnold went to training camp, that was hardly the projection. The table was set instead for the Vikings to roll with first-round rookie J.J. McCarthy, picked 10th overall. But McCarthy suffered a season-ending knee injury in his preseason debut.
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Now Darnold, playing on a one-year contract and with his fourth NFL team in seven seasons, is one of the NFL’s biggest comeback stories while the Vikings (11-2) keep demonstrating that they are more than merely a pleasant surprise.
It’s no wonder he broke from character and acknowledged the crowd by way of the towel. Talk about being in the right place at the right time.
“I just felt the buzz,” Darnold said during his postgame news conference. “And that was pure passion. Pure joy, man. The way we were able to finish that game off. Even our defense there at the end getting that huge stop. It was a fun game to be a part of.”
Darnold had such a blast that he threw four passes that generated nearly 200 yards – scoring strikes of 49 and 52 yards, plus a 42-yard completion that led to a TD and a deep shot that drew a 47-yard pass interference penalty to set up another TD. Addison finished with eight catches for 133 yards and three TDs; Jefferson caught seven passes for 132 yards with two TDs.
Although the game was tied at 21 as the fourth quarter began, the blowout took form after the mistake-prone Falcons (6-7) committed two turnovers in the final quarter and the Vikings went 98 yards on their last TD drive.
“I think we grew up a lot today,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell declared.
Yet for all the exploits that fuel intrigue for what could go down in the playoffs with the Vikings, the presence of the struggling Cousins – the four games with a touchdown pass marks the longest-such streak of his career as a starter, coinciding with the four-game losing streak that cost Atlanta its first-place status in the NFC South – served as a reminder of the twists and turns of the NFL marketplace.
The Vikings let the 36-year-old Cousins walk as a free agent last offseason without offering a long-term deal, poised to secure their quarterback of the future in the draft. McCarthy, who led Michigan to a national championship last season, is certainly pegged for that role. Yet while McCarthy rehabs from a pair of surgeries to repair a torn meniscus, Darnold’s phenomenal play this season – he’s tied for third in the NFL with 28 touchdown passes and has also produced career bests with 3,299 passing yards and a 108.1 passer rating — also changes the equation.
Would the Vikings let Darnold walk, too?
Shoot, if you’re Darnold, who entered the NFL from USC in 2018 as the third pick overall, you’re probably not so eager to run away from this. Not after it fell part with the Jets, followed by stop-gap stints with the Panthers and 49ers. To this point, though, the Vikings haven’t had talks with Darnold’s agents about an extension, according to multiple reports.
So, we’ll see if this can be more than a one-year stop-gap bridge. With the market of anticipation surely heating up, much could hinge on how willing the Vikings will be to offer a term longer than the type of year-to-year deal arrangement that Cousins wouldn’t go for, which led to Darnold coming aboard for a one-year, $10 million contract.
Darnold has obviously increased his value on always-needy NFL quarterback market, even if it comes at the risk not finding a situation as quarterback-friendly as the Vikings’ scenario, which includes a progressive coach who connects with quarterbacks and star receivers who can, well, bring out the best in a quarterback.
After finally landing in such a position with the Vikings, Darnold’s desires will be tested, too, when the money is weighed against the football fit.
In any event, Darnold’s connection to Jefferson for a 52-yard touchdown late in the third quarter on Sunday was a moment that defined his present flow. With the Vikings leading, 14-13, the Falcons sent safety Justin Simmons on a looping blitz up the middle on a third-and-8 call. Simmons charged up the middle to force Darnold the to scramble off-script to his left to avoid a sack, before stepping up and the pocket and throwing as he bolted to his right.
Jefferson waved as he streaked past blown coverage in the middle of the field.
“I did see him wave his arm,” Darnold said. “That’s probably one of the first signs as a quarterback, that I should probably throw this to him. It was a great play by him.”
And if it wasn’t Jefferson, it was Addison. Darnold found the second-year pro on a 49-yard TD and a 42-yard completion that set up one of the short TD passes. He was also throwing to Addison on the 47-yard pass interference penalty that set up a TD.
“Obviously, if teams want to push a little bit of coverage over to ‘Jets,’ “ Darnold said, referring to Jefferson, “we’ve got another guy to be able to make ‘em pay.”
Not to mention having the perfect quarterback, too.