Sam Darnold’s Minnesota Vikings debut was virtually flawless.
Darnold had yet to find a home in the NFL, playing for four teams in his seven NFL seasons until this year. His chemistry with Kevin O’Connell and this Vikings offense in his debut looked spectacular. Darnold finished with 208 passing yards on 19 of 24 accuracy, with two touchdowns and one interception. That put Darnold in elite territory with a passer rating of 113.2. His Week 1 performance landed him in elite company, just ahead of QB Patrick Mahomes in the Week 1 QBR ratings.
If we look behind the numbers, Darnold had an even better day. One of his incompletions was a throwaway, another hit the hands of the normally sure-handed Justin Jefferson, and another came due to a whiff by right tackle Brian O’Neill. Additionally, his pick was not what I would call a no-fault pick. I believe that not all interceptions should be categorized in the same way. If a QB throws a perfect ball, only to have the ball go through a receiver’s hands, deflect off the WR’s helmet, and then sail up into the air for an interception, is that the QB’s fault? Clearly no.
Sometimes, a QB risks an interception to give his team a chance. For example, a hail-mary attempt in which the QB throws the ball up, knowing there is a good chance it will count against him statistically. Fortunately for Vikings fans, Daniel Jones provided a clear example of an “own-fault” interception, a bad decision by the QB that led to Andrew Van Ginkel‘s amazing pick-six.
On the other hand, New York’s bull-rushing D-lineman Dexter Lawrence altered Darnold’s throwing motion on his interception. As a result of Minnesota’s poor pass protection and Lawrence’s great play, Lawrence deflected Darnold’s pass up into the air, and Darius Muasau picked it. Those two interceptions are not the same, nor, in my opinion, should they be counted as such statistically.
I would put Daniel Jones’ stat line as 22 of 42, 186 yards, 0 TDs, two own-fault INTs, 0 no-fault INTs, and Darnold’s line at 19 of 24, 208 yards, two TDs, 0 own-fault INTs, and one no-fault INT.
Darnold had already had a great day. His 113.2 passer rating would have been Minnesota’s third-best QB performance of the 2023 season. Remove the no-fault INT, and Sam’s passer rating in Week 1 goes up to 130.56. It’s early, but this was a tremendous performance that was amongst the best QB/OC performances we have seen in years.
Here’s the interception:
The Giants rush four and then drop into Cover 3. Darnold waits and sees Trent Sherfield about to become open on a dig route underneath the deep safety. If not for the great play by Lawrence, this is another chunk play by Darnold.
Darnold and O’Connell were locked in on Sunday, mixing up a solid run game and adding in effective play-action and nakeds to keep New York’s defense on their toes. Darnold displayed a great deal of athleticism, picking up a first down on a QB sneak and making some nice plays with his feet.
Dexter Lawrence is a tough matchup for any OL, and he applies pressure again. However, Darnold finds a way to squeeze through this time and change a play that would have been a sack into a decent gain.
Darnold was at his best on the Vikings’ 99-yard drive in the second quarter, making three impressive throws on the drive, which started with another showcase of Darnold’s mobility:
In the clip above, the Vikings face an Under front and an almost eight-man box. O’Connell calls up a swipe-action false-key by C.J. Ham to show run, freezing Giants LB Darius Muasau for just enough time to free Ty Chandler in the flat. Darnold flash-fakes, buys some time with his feet, and puts the ball on the money, allowing Chandler to pick up the first down and get the Vikings out of trouble.
On the same drive, Darnold made one of his best throws of the day:
The Giants bring four and end up in Cover 1, or man-free, and J.J. puts a sweet little nod move on Giants DB Deonte Banks just before breaking on his flag route, gaining a few yards of separation. The pocket is clean, and Darnold throws an absolute dime.
That drive culminated with another great play-design by O’Connell and tremendous execution by Darnold:
The Giants are in man-to-man again, and the Vikings come out with Jefferson lined up in the backfield. He motions out, Darnold looks his way, and Jalen Nailor, for just enough time, convinces his man that he will be blocking him. It’s an impressive play by Darnold because Dexter Lawrence is applying pressure again, and all 340 lbs. of him is barreling toward him. Darnold stays poised and delivers on target to Nailor. That put the cap on an impressive 99-yard touchdown for the Vikings, which halted any momentum the Giants had built.
Coming into the season, fans may not have had much faith in Sam Darnold, and reasonably so, considering how he’d fared thus far in his career. O’Connell wasn’t afraid to show how much faith he has in his QB, deciding to eschew an easy FG on fourth-and-goal and trusting Darnold to throw a pinpoint pass to Jefferson on his slant.
One game does not a season make, as the saying goes. However, if one were looking for optimism surrounding Minnesota’s offense, Week 1 gave plenty of reasons to believe. Aaron Jones and Ty Chandler looked like a quality RB duo. Ham played his role perfectly, often serving as the third-down tailback in passing situations. He spread the ball out to multiple positions as multiple wide receivers. Running backs and tight ends all had catches. Those wondering if O’Connell would morph into a “ground and pound” OC had their answer in a balanced attack of 24 pass attempts to go with 26 running plays.
In short, there was a lot to like from Minnesota’s offense on Sunday. The defense the Vikings will face against the San Francisco 49ers this coming weekend will prove a much stiffer challenge, but Darnold is already off to an impeccable start.
