The first week of the Sam Darnold era for the Minnesota Vikings couldn’t have gone much better. After some pressure in the first quarter, Darnold settled in quite nicely behind the Vikings offensive line and looked comfortable throughout the majority of the game.
He was poised and was able to show command of the offense on the way to a 28-6 victory and a stat line of 208 yards with two touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 113.2
Going beyond the raw stats, Darnold led the entire NFL in Completion Percentage Over Expected (CPOE) and was third in the league in Expected Points Added per play (EPA/Play). That tells the tale of a quarterback who is in complete command of the offense, something rarely said about Darnold over the course of his career. However, as good as those metrics are, they came against one of the worst teams in the league, the New York Giants.
This week, we’ll learn a lot about Darnold and the Vikings’ offense as they see a significant step up in competition from the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers.
Minnesota is going to have its hands full trying to guard Nick Bosa and make plays over the middle against Fred Warner and company. This game, in particular, will tell the team and fans a lot about how much Darnold can be trusted going forward.
If Darnold is able to put together another clean, efficient performance and stay poised while doing so, fans might be able to take a deep breath. This would make us start to believe some of the talk that has been floated around this offseason regarding Darnold and his potential in this offense.
However, if Darnold struggles, it may be just as likely that he turns back into the quarterback he’s been throughout his career, and it will become another long season for the Vikings and their fans.
Either way, we’re going to know a lot more about Darnold and the course of the 2024 season for the Vikings after next week.