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Quarterback Sam Darnold of the Minnesota Vikings.
The Minnesota Vikings have won 13 of their 15 games this season, which is a historic number for both quarterback Sam Darnold and head coach Kevin O’Connell.
Minnesota defeated the Seattle Seahawks 27-24 in thrilling fashion, as Darnold hit wide receiver Justin Jefferson for a 39-yard go-ahead touchdown with just 30 seconds to play. The quarterback finished the day 22-of-35 passing for 246 yards and 3 TDs. Those numbers offered a significant boost to Darnold’s already impressive production on the year, during which he has now thrown for 3,776 yards, 32 TDs and 11 INTs.
His statistics have Darnold residing at the very top of second-tier NFL Most Valuable Player candidates with the likes of quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Jared Goff as well as running back Saquon Barkley. In other years, Darnold’s stats and his team’s success might have him closer to the award, though it appears to remain a two-man race between quarterback Lamar Jackson and frontrunner Josh Allen.
Still, Darnold is making history this season in ways that neither Allen or Jackson ever has — in part because neither player has ever switched teams in their respective professional careers. Darnold, however, has played for four franchises across his seven-year career and became just the third QB ever to win 13 or more games in his first campaign with a new team.
The only two signal callers to accomplish that feat before Darnold did so on Sunday are Peyton Manning with the Denver Broncos (13-3) in 2012 and the late Steve McNair (13-3) with the Baltimore Ravens in 2006.
Sam Darnold Can Stand Alone With 1 More Vikings Win
GettyQuarterback Sam Darnold of the Minnesota Vikings.
Both men are former MVPs, as McNair claimed the honor once in 2003, which he shared with Manning as a co-MVPs. Manning also captured the award in 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2013.
Darnold is almost certainly not going to win MVP this season, though he is just one victory away from become the winningest QB during his first year after changing teams in league history — and the Vikings have all the incentive imaginable to pursue that mark.
The Philadelphia Eagles fell late to the Washington Commanders on Sunday, dropping to 12-3 on the year. Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions rolled over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field to move to 13-2 and remain tied with the Vikings for first place in both the NFC North Division and the conference as a whole.
The Lions currently own the tiebreak over the Vikings after besting them by 2 points in Minnesota back in October. However, the teams play one another in Detroit in Week 18 (Jan. 5), and if the Vikings can hold court at U.S. Bank Stadium against the Green Bay Packers next weekend, they will control their own destiny as far as claiming the No. 1 seed in the NFC and a bye week through the first round of the playoffs.
Kevin O’Connell Makes Vikings Head Coaching History With Win Over Seahawks
GettyMinnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell.
O’Connell also made history Sunday with the team’s 13th victory of the season.
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated pointed out on December 15 what a win over the Seahawks would mean for O’Connell with regards to the history of the Vikings franchise.
“Tonight, Kevin O’Connell got to 12 wins for the second time in three years — becoming just the second coach to hit 12 wins twice in franchise history,” Breer wrote. “Bud Grant was first. And if Minnesota wins next week, [O’Connell will] become the first Vikings coach ever to have multiple 13-win seasons.”
Not only did O’Connell hit that mark, he did so in just his third year as Vikings head coach.
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
