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If there was any debate left, it ended in a shower of cheers and water — on the shoulders of teammates and celebrated by the Minnesota Vikings’ social media account — in full view of head coach Kevin O’Connell, who looked on with a smile as he watched Sam Darnold get hoisted into the air.
The Vikings have their quarterback. A week from now, they may have the NFC’s No. 1 playoff seed, too.
After a rousing 27-25 win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, which gave Darnold his 14th win as a starter this season — more than any quarterback in a single season in Vikings history and the most ever by an NFL QB in his first year with a team — the debate about his future has likely ended. As the locker room door closed behind him Sunday, the closing argument for his future as a Viking locked into place, too. Waiting inside, his teammates screamed in celebration and sprayed him with water, lifting him up as the locker room sung in unison as Darnold smiled and raised his hands up into a little groove.
The team’s X account framed a video of the moment with a statement that says it all: “THAT’S OUR FREAKING QUARTERBACK”.
This is what a galvanized locker room looks like, stepping behind a starting QB who continues to put in work worthy of MVP consideration through 16 games: 4,153 passing yards, 35 touchdown passes versus 12 interceptions, a 68 percent completion rate and a 14-2 record that has delivered the Vikings to the doorstep of the NFC’s No. 1 seed and home-field advantage through the conference title game. It’s the kind of thing a team would celebrate, even if it comes one week before facing the Detroit Lions in a game that will decide that top seed.
“A lotta water bottles — a lot of water,” Darnold said of the postgame scene in Minneapolis. “It was mayhem. I think I blacked out when Aaron Jones grabbed me and lifted me up. I didn’t know what to do with my hands in that situation, Ricky Bobby style. It was an interesting moment but a fun…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/vikings-are-officially-sam-darnolds-team-and-on-sunday-vs-the-lions-he-can-take-over-the-entire-nfc-062532835.html
Author : Yahoo Sports
Publish date : 2024-12-30 06:25:00
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