Getty Sam Darnold #14 of the Minnesota Vikings.
Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell will not waver in his plans with quarterback Sam Darnold despite a three-turnover game in Week 9.
Addressing Darnold’s aggressiveness that resulted in a pair of interceptions and a fumble that made a 21-13 win over the Indianapolis Colts much closer than it should have been, O’Connell had a seven-word statement on the path moving forward.
“I’m going to stay aggressive with him,” O’Connell said, per The Star Tribune. “My trust in Sam is something that I think is going to be a winning edge for our football team.”
O’Connell Rides Highs and Lows of Sam Darnold’s Arm
GettyHead Coach Kevin O’Connell and quarterback Sam Darnold #14 of the Minnesota Vikings.
O’Connell isn’t wrong about his trust in Darnold’s arm.
Through nine weeks, Darnold has completed the fifth-most big-time throws (14), a metric by Pro Football Focus (PFF) that awards quarterbacks for quality throws downfield or in tight windows.
However, Darnold’s seven interceptions are the seventh-most in the league, and he’s on pace to tie a career-high 15 picks.
For O’Connell, that’s the toll of exploiting an elite cast of pass-catchers that includes the league’s receiving yards leader, Justin Jefferson.
Darnold’s second interception came on a dagger route across the middle of the field, where he and Jefferson have done their best work. The concept puts defenders in a high-low dilemma, and against the Colts, Darnold should have checked down to Josh Oliver.
O’Connell has no reservations about Darnold’s miscue.
“Sam’s aggressive on those dagger throws, and he throws them about as well as anybody I ever been around,” O’Connell said. “Sometimes the defense can make you say no and check the ball down.”
Doesn’t get much easier for Nick Cross. He and Jaylon Jones had Justin Jefferson double covered but Sam Darnold had tunnel vision and underthrows the forced pass attempt right into Cross’ hands for the interception.
Vikings Offense Sees Season Highs Despite Darnold’s Miscues
GettySam Darnold #14 of the Minnesota Vikings.
Despite the three turnovers, Darnold led the Vikings offense to their most efficient game of the season.
O’Connell distilled his play calls down after back-to-back losses coming out of the bye, and it paid dividends.
After ranking last in plays run per game (56.7) and time of possession, Minnesota set season highs in plays (71), first downs (29), total yards (415) and time of possession (36:54) in Week 9 against Indianapolis.
The Vikings limited pre-snap penalties and played with a more consistent tempo in the offense. It led to Darnold attempting a season-high 34 pass attempts, and outside of his turnovers, he was deadeye accurate, completing 28 throws for a season-high 82.4% completion percentage.
While O’Connell is among the best play designers in the NFL, the shift to letting his skill players just play, and win, proved to be the difference in Week 9.
“Sam has done so many really high-level good things, especially throwing the football for us,” O’Connell said last week, per ESPN. “We’ve all got to remember sometimes that it is his first year starting [in Minnesota], and we tried to prepare him as best we could, and there’s still going to be some times in games where the urgency of just playing a lot of football comes into play. I think he’s done a really good job improving on that as he goes through a process of preparation.
“But there’s some other times where part of the bigger picture, the orchestrating of our offense, [is], ‘Can we make it a little easier on him? Can we make it easier on the guys around him to have clarity?'”
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Vikings Coach Has 7 Words After Sam Darnold’s 3-Turnover Performance