Sunday, October 6 will be a revenge game for Sam Darnold in the Minnesota Vikings versus New York Jets game.
Ahead of the matchup he had a chance to dunk on the Jets when asked, “Do you feel the Jets failed you in any way?”
“Uhm nah I think I had a lot of opportunities in New York and I always felt like I could have played better there,” Darnold responded.
Many National Pundits Had the Blame Flipped in the Darnold-Jets Situation
Darnold, 27, originally entered the NFL as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft.
The former USC Product only lasted three years in New York before they hit the eject button. During that period, Darnold showed flashes with 45 touchdowns to 39 interceptions, he completed 59.8% of his passes, and threw for 8,097 passing yards.
During the 2021 offseason, the Jets fired Adam Gase and replaced him with Robert Saleh. That left the Jets with an all-important decision: do we keep Darnold and trade the No. 2 overall pick in that draft class? Or do we trade Darnold and start fresh with a brand-new rookie quarterback?
The Jets chose the latter and the rest is history. One of the big criticisms of the Jets from their tenure with Darnold is they didn’t do enough to help him. The franchise also didn’t have a great track record of developing young quarterbacks.
Over the next three years in other places, Darnold once again showed flashes but lacked consistency. However, this offseason he signed a one-year $10 million contract with the Vikings and everything is starting to click.
Jets Are Going to Have Their Hands Full With Darnold and the Vikings
Darnold leads the National Football League in passing touchdowns (11), has had the longest passing touchdown of the season (97 yards), and has the highest quarterback rating in the league (118.9), per ESPN.
It seems Darnold has found the perfect situation. He has one of the best offensive play callers in the league as his head coach (Kevin O’Connell) and he is throwing to a bevy of talented weapons at the skill positions.
Justin Jefferson is having another amazing start to his season with 20 receptions for 358 receiving yards and four touchdowns. The second leading receiver on the Vikings this season is actually their running back Aaron Jones.
He is a dynamic weapon that has dominated both on the ground and through the air.
Although the most impressive stat from the Vikings is the lack of adversity they have faced so far this season. Through the first month of the season, Minnesota has only trailed for three minutes and 26 seconds.
“They are the only team under 27 minutes of trailing time,” Rich Eisen revealed on “The Rich Eisen Show” through the first four weeks of the season.
The Vikings are 4-0, people have called them the best team in the NFL, and they have dominated their first four opponents. In Week 1 they beat a bad New York Giants team and people questioned the validity of that victory.
The following three weeks the Purple People Eaters took out the San Francisco 49ers, the Houston Texans, and the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau. No one is questioning the strength of schedule anymore.
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Vikings’ Sam Darnold Had Surprising Remarks About Jets Tenure