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Kevin Seifert, ESPN Staff WriterNov 17, 2024, 07:24 PM ET
- Kevin Seifert is a staff writer who covers the Minnesota Vikings and the NFL at ESPN. Kevin has covered the NFL for over 20 years, joining ESPN in 2008. He was previously a beat reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Washington Times. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia. You can follow him via Twitter @SeifertESPN.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The day began with a mistake, the kind that has plagued Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold as he hit a midseason slump this month. What should have been a simple pitch to tailback Aaron Jones went awry on the Vikings’ third offensive play, resulting in a fumble that the Tennessee Titans recovered and converted into a field goal to take an early lead Sunday at Nissan Stadium.
On this day, however, Darnold managed to steady himself and the Vikings’ offense. He led the team to a touchdown on its next possession, a 47-yard strike to receiver Jordan Addison, and went on to account for two more touchdowns in a 23-13 victory. Most importantly, Darnold did not commit another turnover after recording six over the Vikings’ previous two games. It was an encouraging turnaround for the most important player on a team that is tied for the second-best record in the NFC at 8-2 and in strong position for a playoff berth.
“He shaped back like we knew he could,” Addison said, “and led his way to victory.”
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The Vikings followed their 5-0 start with consecutive losses to the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams. In the ensuing two games, Darnold fell into a run of turnovers that included five interceptions and a fumble that was returned for a touchdown. The Vikings were fortunate to have played the Indianapolis Colts (5-6) and Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9) in those games, and at 2-7 entering Sunday’s game, the Titans weren’t much more competitive.
But Darnold managed to produce his bounce-back game against a Titans defense that pressured him on 14 of his 37 dropbacks, the second-most times he has been under duress in a game this season. He ran a season-high eight times, recording a first down three times and a 1-yard touchdown plunge on a fourth. And on the occasions he stayed in the pocket, he completed a season-high six passes while under duress for 127 yards and both of his touchdown passes.
“It speaks to where he’s at right now,” coach Kevin O’Connell said. “Really proud of the way he played. How he played in those moments was a huge indicator of a guy that had put the work in, and was confident and was just going out there and doing his job, and also overcoming some things around him to go out and make some plays.”
Darnold now has 19 touchdown passes this season, tying a career high he set in 2019 in 13 starts with the New York Jets. He is also averaging more passing yards per game (238.7) than he did in any of his previous six NFL seasons.
O’Connell was effusive in publicly supporting Darnold after his three-interception game last week against the Jaguars. Sunday, in a speech to players and coaches after the game, he gave Darnold a game ball. Darnold, O’Connell said, “went to work this week,” a reference to an improvement in the decision-making that led to some of his mistakes earlier this month.
“He just keeps grinding away getting better leading our offense,” O’Connell added.
Said Darnold: “We had the early mistake with the fumble. But I felt like we bounced back really well from that.”
