The Minnesota Vikings pulled off the home upset against the San Francisco 49ers by a final score of 23-17. With the win, Minnesota improved to 2-0 on the season. San Francisco dropped to 1-1 with the loss. The 49ers are falling apart with injuries.
As for the Vikings, Sam Darnold started his second game of the season. He completed 65.4% of his passes for 268 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. It will be interesting to see if Darnold keeps it up in Week 3 against the Houston Texans.
Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Kevin O’Connell Wants People To Turn the Page on Sam Darnold
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell spoke to the media on Monday the day after the win against the San Francisco 49ers. O’Connell is one of the reasons why Darnold has looked good for the first two games of the season. He was the backup quarterback for Brock Purdy in San Francisco last season under head coach Kyle Shanahan.
O’Connell said about Darnold:
“I don’t really have a lot of interest in talking about the past with Sam Darnold. I think we all need to just start being totally present and when he plays well like he has, we just talk about a guy playing the position at a high level and we move on.”
Darnold has played with different teams in the past. He was the third overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft for the New York Jets. Sam Darnold played college football with the USC Trojans. He also played with the Carolina Panthers in the NFL and there has been hit-or-miss success.
The Vikings Drafted J.J. McCarthy In the 2024 NFL Draft
At one point this offseason, rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy competed with Sam Darnold for the starting quarterback job until he suffered an injury. McCarthy was the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Michigan. He is 21 years old. J.J. McCarthy helped Michigan win a National Title last season in college football against the Washington Huskies.
With J.J. McCarthy not in the picture, this will be Sam Darnold’s team for the 2024 season, unless he gets hurt. There will be a time when McCarthy does play down the road for the Vikings. However, now is the time for the Minnesota fanbase to enjoy Darnold’s success and that includes head coach Kevin O’Connell.
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