Darnold’s Doubters Have Deceased

The barometer for Sam Darnold at the start of this season wasn’t hot, especially once JJ McCarthy was ruled out for his rookie season.

You can’t blame pundits when Darnold’s tenures with New York and Carolina resulted in a combined 21-34 record.

While Darnold had D.J. Moore during his stint in Carolina, his weapon of choice with the Jets was briefly, an aging Demaryius Thomas (RIP) and primarily Robbie Chosen, who is now searching for an NFL team.

The talent surrounding Darnold isn’t much to praise, but the issue is more on an organization’s end. Todd Bowels, Adam Gase, Matt Rhule, and interim Steve Wilks do not have great backgrounds, except for Bowels now who is leading Derek Carr in New Orleans.

Darnold is putting the league on notice, but where did this breakout come from?

California Dreamin’

After his stint with the Panthers, Darnold spent one season as the backup for Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers. Going from an Adam Gase/Dowell Loggains; Matt Rhule/Sean Ryan HC/OC & QB coach group to a Kyle Shanahan, Brian Griese and Klint Kubiak group has paid dividends.

Darnold only appeared in the final regular-season game as the starter for the Niners in a 20-21 loss to the neighboring LA Rams, but after that, he hasn’t looked back.

Headed Up Nort’

Darnold is now under the direction of head coach Kevin O’Connell and OC Wes Phillips. O’Connell was a Super Bowl Champion as an OC with the Rams in the 2021-22 season, finishing in the top five in passing offense for that year. Phillips also comes from that same championship team as a tight end & passing game coordinator.

Except for the season-ending injury to Kirk Cousins last year, KOC has kept the Vikings hot and has picked up right where he left off, as in his first season posting a 13-4 record. This is the direction Darnold has needed.

Can Darnold Stay Hot?

As we near the quarter mark of the NFL season, Darnold leads the league in TD passes at 11, only eight away from tying his career high with 13 games to go.

His main weapon, Justin Jefferson is at the top of the league with four TD receptions and is also top five in yardage with 358 yards. Additionally, with Aaron Jones being an exceptional receiving running back and TJ Hockenson eventually coming back, the offense will continue to open up.

Whatever happens the rest of the way, you gotta feel happy for a QB who was able to survive through a New York Jets (dis)organization.