Sunday wasn’t Sam Darnold’s best day as the Vikings quarterback, but his struggles didn’t cause head coach Kevin O’Connell to consider making a change under center.
Darnold was 24-of-38 for 241 yards and three interceptions while failing to lead the Vikings to a touchdown in their 12-7 win over the Jaguars. Two of Darnold’s interceptions came in the red zone and the team had three other trips into the area that ended with field goals, which isn’t a great recipe for success in the NFL but it also wasn’t anything that shook O’Connell.
O’Connell said it would be “craziness” not to have 100 percent confidence in Darnold despite any struggles on Sunday and he said he never thought about turning to Nick Mullens in Jacksonville.
“Not one,” O’Connell said in his postgame press conference. “Not one all day long. In fact, I was looking at it as a great opportunity to see growth and continue to move the team. We’re going to check back on this moment and use it the right way, and Sam is going to be better off for it. I truly do believe that.”
O’Connell said he hopes that Darnold will use this as a “healthy win” that allows him to improve on the future by cleaning up what didn’t go right for him on Sunday. Next week’s trip to Tennessee will provide a chance to see how that process is playing out.
