Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold didn’t let an ESPN cameraman get a rise out of him after a prying line of questioning that came after practice following a 3-0 start to the season.
Darnold and the Vikings proved their hot start was no fluke by dismantling the AFC contender Houston Texans 34-7 in Week 3. Becoming the fourth quarterback in franchise history to win three straight games to start a season, Darnold has resurfaced in the national spotlight since his days playing on struggling New York Jets and Carolina Panthers teams.
After a September 26 practice, an ESPN cameraman prefaced that his questions for Darnold were from a script before bringing up doubts about Darnold’s ability.
The Vikings quarterback addressed the question respectfully, but when asked for a message to “those doubters,” Darnold did not give the cameras an emotional response.
The exchange was odd given ESPN could have asked NFL Nation beat reporter Kevin Seifert to ask the question and pull the footage from the news conference but instead sent a cameraman to mildly antagonize Darnold.
Here’s the exchange, per FOX 9 News’ Jeff Wald:
Many people doubted your ability to lead this team and be a successful quarterback in Minnesota. What would you attribute this resurgence in Minnesota to?
Sam Darnold: I think it’s just about right when I got in here, just making sure I take it one day at a time and just to continue to trust the process. From when I got here in the spring to when I went home for a few weeks and continuing to study and continuing to learn the offense and learn the system and learn how KO [Kevin O’Connell] wants to call games. It was just all the reps combined and really going from there.
What would you say to those doubters?
SD: Um, I don’t have anything for those guys. Let’s move on from there.
Darnold’s response didn’t make for good TV, but it shows he focused solely on what’s happening in Minnesota.
Vikings Coach Kevin O’Connell Gets Emotional About Sam Darnold
Following a Week 2 win over the San Francisco 49ers, who Darnold was a backup for last season, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell was choked up when addressing Darnold’s doubters.
“The amount of work that goes into that position on your quarterback journey when everybody decides that you cannot play — we always believed in him,” O’Connell said in his postgame news conference.
“It felt awesome to watch him go do that thing. I’m really proud of Sam Darnold.”
Pretenders No More: Vikings Must Prove They Can Stay Atop NFL
The Vikings have climbed to the top of national power rankings through three weeks but must now prove they can maintain that success.
The climb is easier when teams have a reason to overlook you, say, because of your quarterback.
But with Darnold leading the league with eight touchdowns and boasting the second-highest passer rating (117.3), every team is going to give the Vikings their best shot moving forward.
O’Connell and Brian Flores have outclassed every coaching staff they’ve faced so far this season, but winning on the whiteboard is a difficult task for 17 games a season. The Vikings have trailed just 3 minutes, 26 seconds this entire season.
The Vikings have handled the little adversity they’ve seen so far this season, but how Darnold responds to playing from behind, needing a game-winning drive, will be the true test of this team’s mettle.
