Kevin O’Connell Sends Strong Message on Sam Darnold Amid 2-Game Skid

Getty Sam Darnold #14 of the Minnesota Vikings warms up versus the Los Angeles Rams.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold completed 76.9% of his passes for 499 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception in Weeks 7 and 8. The Vikings lost both outings.

The first loss was to their NFC North rival Detroit Lions. The second to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday Night Football.

Despite the results, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell is standing by his hand-picked QB.

“I thought Sam played well,” O’Connell told reporters after the game on October 24. “We’re continuing to grow as an offense with Sam playing quarterback. I think he was really sharp throwing the football. There were some nice plays between him and Justin [Jefferson]. Just didn’t do enough.

“But as far as Sam Darnold, [he] continues to play at a really high level. We’ll keep coaching up not only Sam, but everybody around him in that huddle. And we’ll get better and better.”

The game was still in the balance when Darnold was sacked in the end zone for a safety.

Rams pass rusher Byron Young grabbed Darnold’s facemask to get the stop. Officials admitting postgame they did not see the facemask, per ESPN’s Kevin Seifert. Young put his hands on his helmet after making the play, seemingly expecting a flag that never came.

Darnold downplayed it, saying better execution before would have avoided the situation entirely.

He also spoke about his relationship with O’Connell – who had expressed his faith that the QB was ready to advance in his career before the season – after the game.

“I have great chemistry with KO, obviously – with all the coaches,” Darnold said during his postgame presser. “All the players in that locker room are great dudes, first and foremost. Really good players as well. So like I said, man, we have a really good team. We just got to continue to do the little things right and if we do that we’ll be all right.”

Kevin O’Connell Harps on ‘Self-Inflicted’ Negative Plays

While O’Connell continued to back Darnold, he also harped on the negative plays that often stalled the offense’s drives.

He also noted the effectiveness of the Rams’ offense on the night.

“When it’s a game like this and their offense is making some plays, and sustaining drives, and kind of eating a lot of clock, it can it can feel like an awfully short game to you as an offense when you’re either scoring or going backwards; either self-inflicted or sacks,” O’Connell said. “So we’ve got to just try to find a way to mitigate that.”

O’Connell noted getting more from the run game among other things. But one valid criticism about Darnold, even before this contest, is that he holds the ball too long. Per NFL NextGen Stats, his 3.1-second mark in time to throw is the highest among all qualifying QBs.

With 3 sacks absorbed versus the Rams, Darnold has been taken down multiple times in all but one game – the season opener.

His 13.2% sack rate is also the highest among qualifiers, per Pro Football Reference.

Sam Darnold a Placeholder for Vikings

Despite Darnold’s hot start and O’Connell’s continued faith in him, he is a placeholder for the Vikings.

Rookie J.J. McCarthy’s torn meniscus and subsequent surgery ended his season in Week 1 of the preseason. But McCarthy is expected to be healthy for next season and, as Darnold has shown, the Vikings’ offense is conducive to success.

McCarthy might have challenged Darnold at some point this season had he been healthy.

Instead, O’Connell is standing by Darnold. The alternatives are trading for a castoff QB mid-season as a rental or turning to one of Nick Mullens or Jaren Hall.

Hall and Mullens went 1-4 as starters in 2023. The lone win came in a game that Hall left in the first quarter after suffering a concussion, giving way to Joshua Dobbs. Dobbs is now with the San Francisco 49ers, backing up Brock Purdy as Darnold did in 2023.