The Minnesota Vikings are one win away from matching their 2016 start, and two wins away from matching their 6-0 marks in 2003 and 2009. They have gotten to 4-0 thanks in large part to journeyman free agent signing Sam Darnold.
Darnold enters Week 5 leading the NFL in touchdown passes (11), touchdown rate (10.4%), and passer rating (118.9), per Pro Football Reference.
His performance after a tumultuous start to his career has garnered attention from high places.
“You’ve got to give him credit,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told the “Good Morning Football” panel on October 1. “His determination to get back in there and say, ‘I can do this.’ And when you see someone try to overcome that, and try to build on the failures he may have had, that’s just something you take your hat off to.”
Darnold is tracking to set career highs in attempts, completions, passing yards, touchdowns, and yards per attempt among other categories. The former No. 3 overall pick of the 2018 draft by the New York Jets, he has also played for the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers.
Sam Darnold Could Be Example for Former Jets QB
Darnold is one of several quarterbacks thriving in 2024 with a different team than the one that drafted them, including another former Jet in Geno Smith, now of the Seattle Seahawks.
Smith was a second-round pick by the Jets in 2013.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield falls under the same category, was Darnold’s teammate on the Panthers in 2022, and someone Darnold has been compared to in free agency during the 2024 offseason.
Darnold’s playmakers have aided in his breakout. Justin Jefferson ranks 13th in yards after catch, per The 33rd Team.
Running back Aaron Jones ranks eighth in rushing yards and seventh in rushing success rate.
Darnold’s journey could serve as a Mayfield-esque example for Denver Broncos reserve quarterback Zach Wilson, who replaced Darnold in New York in 2021. The Broncos acquired Wilson in a trade with the Jets over the offseason. Wilson is slated to hit free agency in 2025.
The Vikings will play host to the Jets in Week 5, giving Darnold a chance to exact revenge against his old team. The Jets could be entering with starting QB Aaron Rodgers at less than 100%.
Rodgers is dealing with some “wear and tear” after the Jets’ 10-9 loss to the Broncos in Week 4.
Vikings to Face Hobbled Aaron Rodgers vs Jets in Sam Darnold Revenge Game
“I’m feeling a little banged up. Took some shots, knee’s a little swollen. But just kind of wear and tear. Week 4. I’m hoping that we can all have a little perspective here. That seemed like an outlier game,” Rodgers said on the “Pat McAfee Show” on October 1.
“Denver has a real solid defense. But you know, the weather and their defense and our lack of execution made us – pretty bad combination there and only put up 9 points.
The Vikings’ defense might want to dial back its aggressiveness versus Rodgers.
The Broncos blitzed him on 49% of his dropbacks in Week 4, per Pro Football Focus. Rodgers completed 61.9% of his passes in those instances. The Vikings blitzed Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love on 51.8% of his dropbacks.
Love, Rodgers’ former understudy, completed 66.7% of his throws when the Vikings sent more than four players to the quarterback.
Darnold is 1-0 versus the Jets in his career.
He completed 68.6% of his passes for 279 yards and 1 touchdown in a 19-16 victory against them while he was with the Panthers in 2021. His hot start bodes well for a potential 2-0 mark versus his former team after Week 5.
