The highs and lows of Sam Darnold were on full display on Sunday night against the Colts, as the Vikings' quarterback turned in a strong performance on the stat sheet — 28 of 34, 290 yards, 3 touchdowns — but mixed in two rough interceptions and a few sacks where he held onto the ball too long. Despite the mixed bag, head coach Kevin O'Connell made it clear that he hasn't lost any confidence in his quarterback moving forward.
"28 of 34 speaks to his ability to flat-out throw the pill," O'Connell said. "This guy can throw the football, and (I) love every aspect of what he's doing within our offense right now. I'm sure Sam will be hard on himself about those two interceptions, but I'm gonna stay aggressive with him, because I do think my confidence in him, which is genuine, is real, it is a winning edge for us moving forward."
Darnold's arm talent has been on display all season. He's completing nearly 70 percent of his passes, he's fourth in the NFL in QB rating (107.8, trailing only Lamar Jackson, Jared Goff, Joe Burrow) and he's tied for fourth with 17 touchdowns through the air. His rapport with Justin Jefferson, the league's leading receiver, has been obvious, but Darnold connected with nine different receivers against the Colts, including Jordan Addison, Jalen Nailor, and Josh Oliver for scores.
The Vikings just need to find a way to help Darnold limit some of the negatives. He's thrown seven interceptions and has the fourth-worst sack rate in the league. Some of those sacks are on the offensive line, but some are on him for not getting rid of the ball quickly enough.
The turnovers that make you scratch your head have been an unfortunate part of Darnold's game since he was the No. 3 overall pick in 2018. Decision-making was a big reason why his tenures with the Jets and Panthers didn't go to plan. To some extent, even now that he's thriving in O'Connell's offense with all of the Vikings' weapons around him, that might just be something you sign up for when Darnold is your quarterback.
The first interception was his worst decision and throw of the season so far. Rolling to his left, he tried to make a play and find T.J. Hockenson in the end zone, but the ball went directly to Colts LB Zaire Franklin. If he hadn't picked it off, CB Nick Cross probably would've. Darnold needed to either take the underneath crosser to Addison right away, try to dump it off to Nailor, or if anything, put it up high where only Hockenson could have a chance.
"Thought I had a throw to T.J. in the back of the end zone," Darnold said. "Just gotta get it over that backer. Just didn't make a good throw. Just gotta be careful when I'm down there, knowing that we have points, especially early in the game."
"I want him to be aggressive on those scrambles because he's a very talented thrower," O'Connell said.
On the second interception, Darnold tried to find Jefferson on one of the in-breaking routes they've had so much success with, but Cross was there to make the play. Replay showed that he had Addison streaking open downfield for a potential big gain — and Cam Akers was also wide open as his checkdown in the flat as well. "Just a bad decision," he said.
"He's aggressive on those dagger throws and he throws them about as well as anybody I've ever been around," O'Connell said. "It's one of his favorite throws. First and ten, want to stay aggressive as a playcaller. Thought the protection was phenomenal on that play. As great as he feels about ripping those dagger cuts, sometimes the defense can make you say no, check the ball down, and move on."
The important thing on Sunday night was that Darnold shook off the picks, shook off his fumble that was returned for a touchdown, and just kept playing. And outside of those errors, he was quite good, especially in the second half. The Vikings want to keep utilizing his arm talent and pushing the ball downfield, while also searching for a balance where he's able to take fewer sacks and ideally take better care of the football. That's all part of the puzzle they're working on every week.
"I think Sam has demonstrated the ability to make some really high-level throws, to show some of the ability to climb in the pocket, to use his legs, use his athleticism when we need it," O'Connell said on Monday. "Six incompletions last night. Two of them went to the other team. We gotta make sure those things don't happen. But so many examples of explosives, so many examples of him taking completions. ... I thought he threw the ball great, I thought he commanded the offense at a really high level."
