Four games into his tenure with the franchise, Sam Darnold is off to a great start as a member of the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings brought in the former top-five draft pick earlier this year to help replace Kirk Cousins, and so far, Darnold is already doing things that the team's previous starting quarterback was never able to do during his time in purple and gold.
Not only was Cousins unable to ever lead Minnesota to a 4-0 start like Darnold has this season, but the Vikings' current signal-caller is also the first quarterback in franchise history to post a passer rating of at least 100 in each of the team’s first four games to start a season.
As good as Cousins was for Minnesota, he never accomplished that, and neither did Daunte Culpepper, Fran Tarkenton, Brett Favre, Randall Cunningham, or Tommy Kramer.
In the first half of their win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Darnold and the Vikings looked unstoppable. Minnesota jumped out to a 28-0 lead in the middle of the second quarter, and the team's fourth victory of the season seemed as close to a guarantee as it could get.
But then the Packers were able to climb all the way back and cut the Vikings' lead to just six points in the fourth quarter, thanks in part to Darnold throwing an interception and fumbling the ball to Green Bay's defense.
After those two turnovers, some quarterbacks might have become more conservative with their approach on the field, but not Darnold. Instead, the veteran quarterback led Minnesota on a seven-play, 55-yard drive that ended with rookie kicker Will Reichard converting a field goal to put the team back up by two scores and seal the win.
The Vikings have only played four games, but we've already been able to learn so much about Darnold and what he's capable of. It's fair to say we haven't even seen the absolute best from him this season, and he's still led Minnesota to wins in each of their first four games.
Next up for Darnold is a matchup against the New York Jets, who drafted the quarterback with the No. 3 pick in 2018. Think he'll be motivated to get a win?
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