Colin Cowherd Trumpets The Sam Darnold MVP Case
Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
“They know what they have in Minnesota: What they have is an MVP-level quarterback. It’s not just a great story, that was September and October. In November, it was ‘Do we have a great player?’ Now it’s, ‘Do we have the MVP?'”
That’s Colin Cowherd on Monday’s “The Herd,” heaping praise on Sam Darnold. Go back to a time machine and show this clip to someone this time last season, and they’ll not only think it was some artificial intelligence deepfake, but they’d say that AI was too crummy to know that Darnold could never be in the MVP conversation.
Ha ha.
"I've been mocked, ridiculed and laughed at. It hurt my feelings… Why is Sam Darnold not in the MVP discussion?"
— @ColinCowherd would like an apology pic.twitter.com/34WJBf5AK4
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) December 30, 2024
In reality, Cowherd — who has long been a believer in Darnold — is saying the thing that Minnesota Vikings fans have been grappling with for the last several weeks. This unassuming dude might actually be the MVP. Since a rough two-game stretch in early November, Darnold has bounced back with 18 touchdowns (second in the NFL to just Jared Goff) and just two interceptions, with the Vikings winning all seven games.
Cowherd is taking notice, and his insistence that Darnold has “a little bit of Andrew Luck” in him isn’t looking like such a cold take anymore. “[Darnold’s] tough, relentless, like a linebacker playing quarterback,” declared the radio host. “And they’re asking him to make big-boy throws. He leads the NFL with 60 completions over 20 yards. Those are [Tom] Brady and [Patrick Mahomes] throws. No dink-and-dunk here. 70% completion rate [with] 26 TDs and three picks in the red zone. He’s the league’s most efficient quarterback now.
“And in the second half of the last 7 games: 1,000 yards and a passer rating of 114. Why is he not in the MVP discussion? Helloooooo! Look at all the numbers!”
We’ll do Colin one better. Look at how Darnold has done against the best teams in the NFL. The Vikings have played five teams that have already clinched playoff spots going into Week 17: the Green Bay Packers (twice), Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Rams, and Houston Texans. In those five games, Darnold has shone the brightest. We’re talking 266.4 yards per game, completing 72.8% of his passes, and racking up 13 touchdowns against two picks.
If the Atlanta Falcons make the playoffs next week, that TD-to-INT ratio goes up to 18-to-2 in six games.
While others might remain skeptical, Darnold has Cowherd’s trust, in large part, because of how much Kevin O’Connell trusts him.
“When you watch him play, do you know what you notice? How much his coach trusts him… Look at what they ask him to do,” explains Cowherd. “Darnold has been so absolutely spectuacular. They lost [Christian Darrisaw] earlier this year, arguably the first or second-best left tackle in the league. Have they lost since? It’s not like this is a great defense. Green Bay’s got better personnel. So does half the league. Way to go, Sammy.”
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