The hype surrounding quarterback Sam Darnold continues to grow.
After leading the Minnesota Vikings to a 42-21 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium, Darnold has been named NFC Offensive Player of the Week.
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The stats spoke for themselves as Darnold completed 22 of 28 pass attempts for 347 yards and five touchdowns. It was a historic performance as Darnold became the first Vikings quarterback to pass for five touchdowns since gunslinging quarterback Daunte Culpepper did it against the New Orleans Saints on Oct. 17, 2004.
Not that Darnold was ready to celebrate himself. He emphasized that there was a lot of room for improvement, even if the box score might not have suggested it.
“I’m my No. 1 critic, just being able to look at the film and understand how I can get better,” he said. “That’s kind of the biggest thing for me. I’ll continue to do that.”
As hard as Darnold can be on himself, however, there were a couple of plays from the most recent game that couldn’t have been better, perfectly encapsulating his continued ascension.
On the 49-yard touchdown pass before halftime, Darnold managed to push the ball downfield to Jordan Addison despite heavy pressure in his face.
On the 52-yard touchdown pass after halftime, Darnold somehow avoided a sack at the point of attack, scrambled around to buy extra time, then calmly delivered a ball to Justin Jefferson.
“He’s playing fantastic for us,” head coach Kevin O’Connell said. “Just hoping we can continue supporting him.”
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It can’t be overstated how impressive Darnold has been this season.
Not only has he exceeded expectations since signing a one-year, $10 million contract with the Vikings in free agency, he has looked like a face of the franchise, completing 264 of 386 passes for 3,299 yards and 28 touchdowns, while still elevating everybody those around him.
“There’s more of a comfort level with each week,” offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said. “We certainly feel good about where he’s at right now.”
Though this is the first time Darnold has been named NFC Offensive Player of the Week in his career, he was once named AFC Offensive Player of the Week during his tenure with the New York Jets.
The last time the Vikings had a signal caller win NFC Offensive Player of the Week came last season when journeyman quarterback Josh Dobbs earned the honor. As memorable as that ride was with Dobbs leading the charge, Darnold is playing the position at a completely different level.
Now the goal for Darnold is to keep the ball rolling with the Vikings set to host the Chicago Bears on Monday night at U.S. Bank Stadium. They can clinch a playoff spot with a win.
“We have a really good opponent coming in here,” Darnold said. “It feels like we just played them, because obviously we did a few weeks ago (a 30-27 overtime victory at Soldier Field). They have a really good defense and a really good scheme. We have a really, really tough challenge in front of us.”
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