Heavy on Vikings The father of Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison insulted QB Sam Darnold following an interception he threw against the Indianapolis Colts.
The Minnesota Vikings offense no longer looks like the juggernaut it appeared across the first month of the season, and some cracks in the fabric of the team are beginning to show.
Things didn’t get better following the team’s victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night, November 3. Quarterback Sam Darnold threw for 290 yards and all 3 TDs as the Vikings bested Indy by a score of 21-13. However, he also tossed 2 INTs, lost a fumble for three turnovers total on the night and missed some open opportunities down the field.
Darnold missed an open Jordan Addison on his second interception. The second-year wide receiver’s father took issue with the QB’s mistake, and then took to X to criticize him mercilessly for it.
“Even Stevie Wonder could see Jordan Addison is open on Sam Darnold’s interception!!! 🤷♂️” Rolando Addison Sr. posted to his account, per Sports Illustrated on Instagram.
Addison finished the game with 5 catches for 42 yards and 1 TD as well as a single rush attempt for 9 yards on the ground.
Sam Darnold Turning Football Over, Taking More Sacks in Recent Weeks
GettyQuarterback Sam Darnold of the Minnesota Vikings.
Darnold was an MVP candidate through the first month of the season, but his turnover numbers have skyrocketed since then.
The quarterback has accounted for four interceptions over the past four games along with two lost fumbles, totaling 6 turnovers across that stretch. His completion percentage has been above 60% in every game except one (Week 5 against the New York Jets in London, where he completed just north of 45% of his passes) and north of 70% on five occasions.
However, Darnold is also taking a fair number of sacks. Opposing defenses have sacked Darnold 25 times on the season, equaling more than 3 per game on average, and that number has gone up over the last four contests. Darnold is taking nearly 4 sacks per game over the last month, part of which has to do with his go-to spin move to try and escape pressure.
“Those spin-away sacks have been an issue all year,” Alec Lewis of The Athletic posted to X during the Vikings’ game against the Colts Sunday night.
Sacks will continue to be a problem as left tackle Christian Darrisaw is out for the year with a knee injury and underwent surgery today to repair the torn ligaments in that joint.
Jordan Addison Finally Beginning to Return to Rookie Form
GettyWide receiver Jordan Addison of the Minnesota Vikings.
In somewhat opposite fashion, Addison started off the year slowly and has come on over time — culminating with perhaps his best performance of the season against the Colts.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell called Addison’s diving touchdown grab that started with only his left hand on the football “the catch of the year” to this point in the season. Outward praise came the receiver’s way as well, not only for the TD grab, but for how he played generally in a big win over Indianapolis that stopped Minnesota’s two-game losing streak from becoming a three-game slide.
“Jordan Addison hasn’t looked like himself for much of the year,” Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic wrote on X. “The electricity was back in his game against the Colts, a reminder of what he is capable of on the field.”
Addison finished his rookie campaign with 70 catches for 911 yards and 10 TDs. If he can get back to playing like he did most of last year, the Vikings will have a chance to return to elite offensive status, even minus Darrisaw on the offensive line.
Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group's family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible
