Can Sam Darnold Protect Kevin O’Connell’s Turnover Record?
When the Minnesota Vikings take the field for Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season, all signs point to doing so with Sam Darnold under center. He is the short-term veteran option, but the franchise certainly sees a way for him to make it work. If he’s going to succeed, he will need to protect Kevin O’Connell’s record.
Can Sam Darnold Protect Kevin O’Connell’s Turnover Record?
Having been uttered in halftime and postgame comments, O’Connell isn’t afraid of using “the franchise is the football” saying. Maybe that’s cliche, but he doesn’t miss when holding onto it, either. Minnesota is a perfect 17-0 in games where they have broken even or won the turnover battle. That is flipped on its head, to the tune of a 3-14 record, when things don’t go their way.
No one controls an offense more than the starting quarterback, and Darnold’s taking of the football will be responsibility numero uno. Through 66 career games, Darnold has thrown 63 touchdowns with 56 interceptions. A near-even ratio is certainly not what you’d hope for from your starting quarterback. Even more ugly, Darnold has fumbled 38 times while recovering just 13 of them.
Similar to the reasoning behind Darnold’s potential success, a better group around him will impact that. An offensive line that doesn’t have him taking big hits and wide receivers that can get separation while hauling in passes all add up to better results. Right now, though, all of this is hypothetical. None of it matters until Darnold can prove it on the field.
Like Darnold, new running back Aaron Jones will also need to protect the football. He has coughed it up more than twice just two times in a season during his career. That includes an ugly five fumbles during the 2022 season for the Green Bay Packers, but he has often been careful with the football.
Two key cogs of the Vikings’ offense will be tasked with producing while protecting. If they can do that, then O’Connell should feel like he has a realistic shot at continuing to uphold his level of perfection.
The more games Minnesota can play to that standard, the more likely they are to exceed their preseason projections.
Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes weekly for Twins Daily. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.
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