Sunday's Vikings-Falcons game was billed as Kirk Cousins' reunion in Minnesota. But Sam Darnold stole the show.
In a runaway 42-21 Vikings win, Darnold generated a career-high five touchdown passes and a 157.9 passer rating. He became the fourth QB (seventh instance) in Vikings history with five-plus passing TDs in a game, joining Daunte Culpepper (three games in 2004), Tommy Kramer (1982 and 1986) and Joe Kapp (1969). Darnold's 157.9 passer rating is the highest in a game in Minnesota history (min. 15 pass attempts).
The normally reserved quarterback was even seen whirling a towel to amp up the crowd late in the big home win.
"I just felt the buzz. That was pure passion, pure joy, man," Darnold said, via The Associated Press.
Darnold dive-bombed Atlanta, splashing 347 yards worth of big plays while completing 22 of 28 pass attempts with the five touchdowns.
Leading 14-10 entering the second half, Darnold was perfect in the final two quarters. He was particularly brilliant in the fourth quarter, as the Vikings turned a 21-21 game into a blowout. Minnesota scored touchdowns on its final four possessions and didn't punt. Darnold generated a perfect 158.3 passer rating in the second half (250 yards, 3 TDs).
"It just felt like it was one of those days to keep the gas pedal down," said coach Kevin O'Connell.
Mashing the gas pedal led to big play after big play for Darnold. The Vikings generated six pass plays of 20-plus yards. The biggest was an improv play from Darnold, who avoided multiple rushers to find Justin Jefferson deep for a walk-in 52-yard scoring bomb.
Sunday marked the team's first 40-plus point outing of O'Connell's tenure.
Darnold's turnaround is a feather in the coach's hat, proof that his offense is as QB-friendly as they come, and he instills confidence in a talented but lost-in-the-woods signal-caller.
Darnold has 11 games with a 100-plus passer rating in 2024, becoming the fourth player (fifth instance) to do so in a team's first 13 games since 1950 (Aaron Rodgers in 2020, 2011; Carson Palmer in 2005; Peyton Manning in 2004).
After a three-interception game in Week 10 against Jacksonville, Darnold has calmly turned things back around. In the past four weeks, he has 11 touchdowns to zero interceptions. The growth over that span impressed O'Connell.
"What it was, in my opinion, was an incredible growth moment for him to just come back the next week and start stacking some things that are kind of leading into a layered kind of success type approach, which is what happened to a lot of quarterbacks in this league, especially the ones that their trajectory over the course of a season or their career is pointing sky high," O'Connell said. "This day will be something he can build off of -- I truly do believe that. And our offense, there's a lot of things we'll be able to highlight, about who we want to be about as a football team that will show up on tape."
Rattling off six consecutive wins, the Vikings sit at 11-2, nipping at the Lions' heels for the top spot in the NFC North, and a potential No. 1 seed. If Darnold continues to execute at an impressive level, Minnesota will be a tough out come January.
