Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell is a maestro, and Sam Darnold is his perfect backup instrument

Minnesota Vikings head coach and offensive play-designer Kevin O’Connell is not any stranger to constructing his emergency quarterback system on the fly out of spit and baling wire. In 2023, O’Connell had Kirk Cousins within the first half of the season, and all was nicely. Then Cousins suffered a torn Achilles in Week 8 towards the Inexperienced Bay Packers, and his season was over.

O’Connell then needed to piece it along with Joshua Dobbs, Nick Mullens, and Jaren Corridor. The Vikings misplaced six of their final seven video games, and thru the Vikings have been assured in deciding on Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy with the tenth general decide within the 2024 draft – even buying and selling up to take action – in addition they needed a greater reply at backup quarterback if something occurred to McCarthy.

When McCarthy suffered a torn meniscus within the preseason, the choice to signal Sam Darnold to a one-year, $10 million contract with $8.75 million this offseason got here into clear focus.

Darnold will not be enjoying for his future because the Vikings’ beginning quarterback; he’s enjoying for his NFL future general. Darnold, the third general decide within the 2018 draft out of USC, fell out of favor with the New York Jets, the workforce that drafted him, after which wandered the earth with the Carolina Panthers in 2021 and 2022, and as Brock Purdy’s backup with the San Francisco 49ers in 2023.

In opposition to the New York Giants final Sunday, Darnold had probably the greatest video games of his NFL profession as a pure passer. The stats have been first rate – 19 completions in 24 makes an attempt for 208 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, a passer score of 113.2, and a Passing EPA of +2.4 – however the true story right here was how seamlessly Darnold match into O’Connell’s ideas, and the way Darnold had clearly engendered perception from his coaches and teammates.

Specifically, there have been three explosive performs from Darnold that O’Connell needed to debate post-game.

“I assumed there have been a pair,” O’Connell stated when requested which Darnold throws impressed him probably the most. “I assumed the seam ball to Josh Oliver from below heart, making an attempt to benefit from a glance, making an attempt to see if [he] may manufacture a straightforward throw however an explosive throw with that play, and he simply completely drilled it.”

That throw got here with 5:26 left within the first quarter. The Vikings have been in 21 personnel with a full backfield on first-and-10 from the Giants’ 27-yard line. Justin Jefferson was within the left slot, and he was clearly the main target for Bug Blue’s Cowl-2 protection.

On the snap, the Vikings went 4 verts with Jordan Addison, Jefferson, Oliver, and fullback C.J. Ham all displacing New York’s protection with downfield routes. The Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers love to check defenses by throwing a number of vertical ideas out of heavy appears, and O’Connell’s model was fairly candy as nicely. Darnold exploited the deep deal with Jefferson to Oliver’s different facet, and the hole in intermediate protection when rookie linebacker Darius Muasau stayed beneath to cowl halfback Aaron Jones’ launch route.

ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky broke this play down very nicely.

The Vikings discovered themselves pinned at their very own 1-yard line with 13:39 left within the first half when security Dane Belton downed Jamie Gillan’s 39-yard punt there. If O’Connell didn’t have faith in his quarterback, the concept right here would have been to throw in need of the sticks in a secure trend, and run the ball down the Giants’ collective throat. As an alternative, with second-and-12 from his personal 10-yard line with 11:41 left within the first half, O’Connell known as a deep bottom nook route for Jefferson, and Darnold nailed the throw.

“I assumed on the 99-yard drive, which I do know it’s been some time since we did that, I simply thought that throw to Justin was exceptional,” O’Connell stated. “To have the ability to lean on the quarterback in that second to activate your greatest participant and for his belief and simply loads of time on job with these two opening up. That’s a very big-time play in that second to essentially set the stage for us to go down the sector and are available away with seven when the workforce will get you backed up 99 yards like that, so I simply thought there have been examples of that all through the sport.”

O’Connell later received into the main points of simply what made that throw so particular.

“It’s simply the texture. It’s simply the understanding of Justin is exclusive, how he can do issues at full pace and alter path and have whole physique management with the quarterback loads of instances. It may possibly additionally throw the quarterback off so far as, ‘Hey, the place’s he taking this? What sort of angle is he popping out of?’ We’re close to the shadow of our personal finish zone at that second. Obtained nice safety and threw an absolute strike. It’s one thing that I noticed Justin’s face after that drive after we completed it. I believe he felt fairly darn good about who’s throwing him the soccer.”

As he ought to have. Jefferson stated post-game that this play hadn’t fairly come collectively in observe by the week, nevertheless it was all good within the second.

“We’ve been engaged on that. We actually simply labored on that play just a few days in the past and we didn’t join on that play, so simply speaking with one another and making an attempt to make it possible for we’re on the identical web page that I’m in the correct spot and that he’s throwing it to the correct spot. All the things that we’ve talked about occurred precisely on the market on that play and it was a superbly thrown ball. It was a beautiful begin of our drive getting that vitality up on that 99-yard drive.”

That play got here out of no-huddle as nicely, so it’s not as if there was further time to consider it. And if you wish to understand how a lot confidence O’Connell had in his quarterback, take into account the fourth-down throw to Jefferson for the landing. The Vikings have been up 7-3 at this level, and it wasn’t as if the Giants have been going to match factors with anyone with Daniel Jones as their quarterback. O’Connell clearly needed his quarterback to really feel the exhilaration of placing a pointy level on the top of that drive. This time, O’Connell had his different receivers flowing away from Jefferson because the bottom iso receiver, and it was pitch-and-catch as cornerback Deonte Banks tried to maintain tempo.

O’Connell additionally introduced up the 21-yard landing go to receiver Jalen Nailor as consultant of Darnold’s means to take the center of an ever-expanding and adjusting playbook to the sector. The Giants have been making an attempt to bracket Jefferson and Addison earlier within the recreation to attempt to mitigate the harm, and this was O’Connell’s response.

O’Connell sophisticated the concept of bracketing by throwing a frontside Ranges idea towards the Giants’ Cowl-1. The outcome was not solely a wide-open Nailor, but additionally a wide-open tight finish on the bottom within the particular person of Johnny Mundt.

“You are concerned generally about sending completely different motions and issues and the noise and silent cadence and getting it snapped,” O’Connell stated. “However then, that goes proper together with form of simply the efficiency Sam had that will be actually one thing we are able to construct off of.”

First regular-season recreation together with his new workforce, all types of force-fed ideas from one of many NFL’s greatest offensive minds, and the previous draft bust seemed as if he’d been on this offense his complete profession.

O’Connell had some nice issues to say not solely about Darnold, however how quarterback progress might be unpredictable usually.

“A number of the people I get to talk to very often they know I’ve talked lots concerning the quarterback journey. Quarterbacks in our league don’t get to regulate loads of that journey they usually’re anticipated to carry out in some instances instantly. I’ve simply all the time actually preferred the best way Sam carries himself. He’s a proficient participant and he could make big-time throws, each throw we’re going to ask him to make he’s greater than able to doing that. After which he’s an awesome instance of what this final month and a half have actually been like, making ready in a method that can present up on a Sunday.

“There’s loads of issues that Sam will in all probability are available in right here and say he can do higher, however I can inform you beginning 12 for 12 [Darnold completed his first 12 passes] and having the presence to assist overcome that early adversity comes instantly from the quarterback place. And that’s in all probability why his teammates considered him as a captain and nearly unanimously voted him one. I simply can’t say sufficient about what he was capable of do and the way excited I’m to construct on his efficiency immediately and shifting ahead.”

As for Darnold, he’s simply getting began in his new surroundings.

“I believe for me it was simply popping out right here and like I maintain saying, I believe simply enjoying my recreation,” he stated after the win. “Taking part in one play at a time however once more, simply enjoying with confidence. I believe that’s the largest factor, as a result of we’ve received an awesome offense. We’ve received an awesome system. If I simply play on time and do all of the issues I have to do to execute, we’ll be alright.”

Thus far, so good. The Vikings subsequent face the 49ers, Darnold’s workforce final season, so we’ll see what he has in his quiver to beat that stout protection. In a bigger sense, we could also be seeing a type of quarterback rehabilitation tales wherein the participant’s bodily presents are completely matched with the man calling the sport.