The Minnesota Vikings are heading into Week 3 against the Houston Texans with growing expectations. Locally, people are excited over Sam Darnold’s resurgence and the defense’s play. Nationally, however, some outlets are riding the hype wave while others attempt to pump the brakes.
The worldwide leader in sports is one of those outlets looking to pump the brakes.
In a recent article, ESPN’s Dan Graziano discussed the overreactions surrounding the NFL coming out of Week 2. For the Vikings, he thinks folks are reading into their 2-0 start too much.
“[The Vikings] have a long way to go with a still-young quarterback who has never had sustained success. The Vikings’ upcoming schedule is an absolute gauntlet… there’s just too much working against them for me to predict them as a playoff team, even after the 2-0 start.”
Graziano makes a good point about Darnold. He has never had sustained success in his career. These past two weeks are arguably the best of his career thus far. The Vikings have been used to reclamation projects throughout their history, from Randall Cunningham to Case Keenum, and they maximize quarterback play.
However, how much more juice is left for Kevin O’Connell to squeeze out of his quarterback?