A Smarter Sam Darnold Lifted Vikings To Victory
Credit: Andrew Nelles via Imagn Images
The Minnesota Vikings completed their sweep of the AFC South, dispatching the Tennessee Titans handily in a 23-13 victory. Vikings fans might have been looking for a bigger win in terms of score, but Minnesota played in a way where they were much more comfortable in their win than these past two games against the Indianapolis Colts and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
For one, they held their first halftime lead (16-3) since Week 5’s match with the New York Jets. But more importantly, both sides of the ball were efficient, rather than Minnesota relying solely on their defense to carry their team. There are things to nitpick about this game — Will Levis was too successful when throwing downfield — but the Vikings should be more than happy by playing 60 minutes without the outcome being in much doubt.
What else can we learn from today’s game?
Sam Darnold Smartens Up
Sam Darnold was on top of the football world in the first quarter of the season, and he fell back to earth in the rudest possible fashion in the past two weeks. With three turnovers in each of his past two games, fan morale in The Darnold hit a low.
The QB may have been a victim of his own confidence. The more success he has, the more he feels he can make any throw at any time. Darnold has a big, talented arm, true, but the challenge now is to play within himself and pick his spots rather than forcing ill-advised passes to Justin Jefferson.
What a move by Sam Darnold for the 1st down 😮💨
📺: #MINvsTEN on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/NeyAfGA0pe— NFL (@NFL) November 17, 2024
We saw that on Sunday, as Darnold’s response to collapsing pockets was to find the space to find the right play. Sometimes it was via tucking the ball and scrambling, and sometimes it was simply buying time to scan the field and find the right play. Either way, he didn’t force things, and played just his third interception-free game this season.
Darnold’s arm can get him far if necessary, but Kevin O’Connell has to view Darnold as a Game Manager Plus. The Vikings have to deploy the big arm strategically and find that balance between letting their QB take shots without going into full gun-slinger mode.
Not that it was enough to make it a flawless game for Darnold…
Ball Security Still Minnesota’s Biggest Issue
Credit to Minnesota: They didn’t let their early-game mistake keep them down for long. But every Vikes fan in the state thought the same thing on Minnesota’s third play of the game: Here we go again.
Finders keepers @GrindSimmons94
📺: Watch #MINvsTEN on @NFLonCBS stream on NFL+ pic.twitter.com/ugsVT9lzz8
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) November 17, 2024
Yup, it was another early turnover, with Darnold botching the handoff to Aaron Jones. The Titans got their only three points of the first half on the following drive, thanks to a huge third-down sack by Patrick Jones II. The Vikings immediately responded with a quick-strike touchdown, and it was all Minnesota for the rest of the half.
Still, Minnesota’s difficulties in protecting the football threatened to send them to yet another slow start, and Jones put another ball on the ground (though, one he recovered) in the third quarter. We’re not talking about another three-turnover disaster, but the Vikings need to start playing clean games now that they’re getting out of the AFC South portion of their schedule.
Minnesota’s Killer Instinct Was Back
The Vikings haven’t put an opponent away in a victory since the Houston Texans back in Week 3. The most memorable part of that game wasn’t any of Darnold’s touchdowns. It was the very end of the game, when Theo Jackson broke up a C.J. Stroud pass to stop the Texans on 4th & Goal from the three-yard line.
It exemplified the “Eff You” attitude the Vikings brought early in the season. We don’t care if we’re up by 27, we’re still not letting you score. It’s the difference between winning a game handily, and crushing your opponents’ spirits.
Minnesota didn’t run up the score, but they still showed that attitude once more, snuffing out Tennessee any time they got life back in them. First, there was Jordan Addison‘s response touchdown, but it goes beyond that. The next Minnesota drive saw them chew over eight minutes off the clock, going 16 plays and 89 yards. When Levis hit a 98-yard home run to make it 16-10, the Vikings came right back to punch in another touchdown.
After the offense started to sputter, the defense showed their killer instinct in the fourth quarter. The Vikings forced two turnovers in the fourth quarter, followed by an interception on a last-minute desperation shot from Levis, with future Hall of Famer Harrison Smith putting the game on ice.
.@harrismith22 called GAME
📺: @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/VSF6rVsbC2
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) November 17, 2024
The Vikings got the benefit of several penalties, but good teams take full advantage of the breaks that go their way. Two of their touchdowns immediately followed Titans penalties, refusing to settle for three points. After another deep-strike touchdown from Levis was wiped out, the Vikings forced Tennessee to kick a field goal instead. Tennessee played a deeply undisciplined game, but the Vikings made them pay full freight for nearly all their mistakes.
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