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Minnesota’s Sam Darnold is just the third quarterback in NFL history to reach 3,500 passing yards, 29 TD passes and a 100-plus passer rating in his first 14 games with a team.Photograph: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
Before this season, Sam Darnold’s strongest contribution to the NFL canon was “seeing ghosts”.
Darnold was one of several quarterbacks selected early in the first round to wash out with the New York Jets. After leaving Florham Park, he bounced between backup and bridge-starter roles in Carolina and San Francisco before winding up in Minnesota. Now he’s leading one of the hottest teams in the NFL. As injuries and attrition continue to knee-cap the Lions, the Vikings are making a late surge for the No 1 seed in the NFC – and potentially home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
It’s easy to look at Minnesota’s success and to point in every direction other than Darnold. You can rattle off a list of Brian Flores’s wackadoo defense, Justin Jefferson, a solid offensive line and Kevin O’Connell’s offensive system before you hit on the quarterback who is making it all sing. But the reality is that Darnold has played like a top-10 quarterback this season. Despite his breakout year, though, it’s unclear where he will be playing next season.
Darnold was brought to Minnesota to be a bridge to the next generation. The Vikings picked up the veteran on a one-year, $10m deal before selecting JJ McCarthy No 10 overall in the latest draft. But McCarthy’s preseason injury gave Darnold a chance to make the team his own, and through 15 weeks he’s produced at a historic rate. Darnold is just the third quarterback in NFL history to reach 3,500 passing yards, 29 TD passes and a 100-plus passer rating in his first 14 games with a team.
Dig below the bloopers, and the promise of what Darnold could become was there in New York, Carolina and San Francisco: A strong-armed quarterback who could spray the ball all over the field. But could anyone have…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/sam-darnold-career-season-means-090011435.html
Author : The Guardian
Publish date : 2024-12-19 09:00:00
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