NFL’s “Biggest Surprise” … Was a Vikings Player
A “where were you when” moment for Minnesota Vikings fans sweating the 2nd halves of football games for the last half-decade, the purple team finally trounced an opponent on Sunday.
NFL’s “Biggest Surprise”… Was a Vikings Player
The Vikings stomped the New York Giants, 28-6, a Week 1 triumph right before the team’s schedule bends perilously per opponent difficulty.
And according to The Athletic, an outfit that defined the NFL’s biggest surprises from Week 1, QB1 Sam Darnold took the cake.
“Each offseason, it’s easy to imagine this scenario: A talented QB who’s started for some dismal teams is finally set up for success. It doesn’t usually happen. Exception? Darnold was awesome in Minnesota’s 28-6 rout of the Giants on the road,” The Athletic’s Chris Branch wrote.
Darnold accounted for 208 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception — en route to the league’s best Pro Football Focus grade among quarterbacks and the top EPA+CPOE mark. The veteran signal-caller was that damn good in New Jersey, where he had previously started 20 games.
Branch continued, “New York is bad, but Darnold dropped dimes all over the field. If he can play this way with any consistency (and if Justin Jefferson can stay healthy), the NFC North is going to be a delight.”
Darnold joined the Vikings in March as a “bridge quarterback,” while Minnesota drafted Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy six weeks later. But after an unfortunate meniscus tear one month ago, the bridge part of Darnold’s job description led to a pounding of the Giants.
Branch added, “Sam Darnold, we respect your game.”
Darnold personally said about his performance following the Week 1 triumph: “I think for me it was coming out here and just playing my game. Playing one play at a time. Just playing with confidence. I think that’s the biggest thing. We’ve got a great offense, a great system. If I just play all the time and do all the things I need to do to execute, we’ll be all right.”
Head coach Kevin O’Connell said about his team, on the whole: “I’m proud of our team. There was some early adversity — a lot of self-inflicted [hurt], some football we’ve gotta clean up from a penalty standpoint. I hated putting the ball on the ground early with how much we emphasize it. But of all [people], I can promise you, Vikings fans, C.J. Ham is — there’s nobody I trust more on this football team than him. And didn’t even think twice about that moving forward; I knew we would respond defensively.”
Sadly, the Vikings’ road over the next six weeks will be no easier — they play the San Francisco 49ers, Houston Texans, Green Bay Packers, New York Jets, Detroit Lions, and Los Angeles Rams before November.
For a week, however, Darnold is evidently the most surprising character in the business.
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Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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