Vikings Pro Bowler Gets Honest About Confidence Level in Sam Darnold

Getty Sam Darnold #14 of the Minnesota Vikings looks on against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Sam Darnold threw three interceptions versus the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 10.

It was Darnold’s second straight week with multiple picks. The Minnesota Vikings still notched a 12-7 victory. However, Darnold’s showing fueled outside concerns about the seventh-year veteran regressing.

Vikings running back Aaron Jones appeared on “Up & Adams” and host Kay Adams asked about the 2020 Pro Bowler having “100%” belief in Darnold coming into the season.

Jones took it a step further.

“110% [confident in Darnold],” Jones told Adams on November 11. “We ride with Sam. He’s what’s gotten us here so far, and we’re going to continue to stick by his side. We know he’s a great quarterback. He could touch any blade of grass on the field that he wants throwing that ball, and you just have some games like that.”

“That’s what teammates are there for, to pick each other up,” Jones said. “That’s what our defense was there for, to hold them to seven the whole game so we could win off of field goals, and our special did their did their thing as well. So we all got Sam back. We all 100% – I guess, well, 110%, like I said – believe in him. And he’s gonna show you guys. He’s used to kind of I guess the narrative that’s about to come out or be spun or whatever wants to be said about him. He’s used to that.

“We’re not going to pay any attention to that. Going to keep picking our guy up, … patting our guy on the back, and, yeah, help him lead. And he’s the right guy here.”

Aaron Jones on Talks in Vikings Huddle With Sam Darnold After Turnovers

Darnold has completed 68.6% of his passes for 2,141 yards with 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions through nine games in 2024. He failed to throw a touchdown pass versus Jacksonville, completing 63.2% of his passes for 241 yards.

Adams asked what the conversations are like in the offensive huddle on a day like Darnold had in Week 10.

“Just, ‘Stick with it,” Jones said. “‘We’re right there, we’re doing great things, we’re moving the ball. They haven’t stopped us yet, we stopped ourselves.’ Whether it’s penalties or turnovers. But just, ‘Stick with it.’ We got each other’s back, and it was just constant communication when we touch the sideline from offense to defensive players communicating in the bypassing or the offensive communicating amongst each other.”

The good news for Darnold in the Vikings is that he absorbed one cake versus Jacksonville.

That marked the second time this season Darnold was not sacked multiple times. It was the first since Week 1 versus the New York Giants. Weeks 9 and 10 also marked his first games with multiple interceptions, underscoring Jones’ unaltered stance.

Aaron Jones Reacts to Cam Bynum’s Viral Interception Celebration

Despite Darnold’s multitude of giveaways, it was an interception from Jaguars quarterback Mac Jones – who was filling in for the injured Trevor Lawrence – that effectively ended the game.

Vikings safety Camryn Bynum picked Jones off and proceeded to do a celebration that mimicked Rachael “Raygun” Gunn, a PhD and “Breaking researcher” whose routines went viral during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.

“I didn’t [know what Bynum was doing],” Jones said. “This is like the second, maybe the second or third time that he’s done something, … and I’m like, ‘What is he doing?’ And then later on I get on X, and I see … the side-by-side video, and I’m like, ‘Oh, my gosh! He went crazy. He definitely has the best celebrations.

“It does [matter]. He brings a lot of energy to the team. He’s a great guy to be around, fun, and he picks everybody up. I know you see those guys can’t wait to get down there and celebrate with him or see what he’s going to do. I’m sure some of them know what he’s going to do, and the other ones are waiting like, ‘Okay, what’s about to happen?’ And the rest of us on the sideline are just waiting. And he has a saying – ‘It’s a movie’. So we always waiting to watch the movie.”

Bynum is on an expiring contract and could be a top free agent at the safety spot in 2025.

Gunn said on “The Jimmy and Nath Show” on November 5 that her Olympian days are over. Breakdancing is not part of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles anyway, per The Washington Post’s Matt Bonesteel in August, a decision made before Gunn’s rise to notoriety.