Sam

Darnold

This marks Darnold’s fifth game of 2024 with at least three touchdown passes. He was erratic at times against the Seahawks and struggled under pressure — taking a couple big hits while standing strong in the pocket — but Darnold targeted Justin Jefferson early and often, connecting for two scores with J-Jeff, including the game winner. Darnold also hit Jordan Addison for a touchdown in the red zone. Darnold in Week 17 will go against a Green Bay defense that gave up 275 yards and three touchdowns to Darnold in Week 4. He’ll be a top-12 fantasy option.

The interception was forgivable as it happened on a fourth-down go and actually gained the Vikings some field position. Darnold threaded a good throw here or there, and the Vikings converted a lot of early third-and-longs on a deep-zone heavy Bears defense. For the most part, it was actually Chicago’s pass rush subduing him as Darnold took two sacks while right tackle Brian O’Neill spent the game shuttling back-and-forth between the locker room with an apparent knee injury. Justin Jefferson cost him (and Jefferson) a second likely touchdown with a drop near the five-yard-line in the second quarter. Darnold didn’t exactly light the world on fire, but he at least managed to mostly keep the Vikings out of harm’s way in a game where they were only up 13-0 until the end of the third quarter. A game against a surging Seahawks defense, but one that possibly will be trying to back an extremely rough-looking Sam Howell, will confusingly keep Darnold near the QB1 line for Week 16.

According to Seifert, sources have told the team is “more open-minded about their 2025 plans than many realize” in regards to Darnold and the possibility of bringing him back. Darnold has experience a career resurgence with the Vikings, throwing for 3299-28-10 on the season while inserting himself in the MVP conversation. Darnold won’t win the MVP, but he has already set himself for a handsome pay day next offseason. The Vikings have rookie J.J. McCarthy waiting in the wings, which has led many to believe Darnold would be allowed to walk next offseason, but that may not entirely be the case. With three weeks left in the regular season and the playoffs ahead of them, the Vikings still have plenty of time left to assess their future with/without Darnold. Regardless of where he lands, it will be an interesting offseason for the former No. 3 overall pick.

It almost goes without saying that both the yards and scores were new career highs, though you can never be too sure with how well Darnold has been playing in Minnesota. Facing a revved up Falcons pass rush, Darnold focused on the basics: Relentlessly targeting Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. Those top-two wideouts combined for 15/265/5 of Darnold’s production. Not too shabby. The biggest strikes were 49 and 52-yard touchdown passes where Addison and Jefferson, respectively, either took advantage of a coverage bust or put the nearest defender in a blender. Darnold has now gone four straight games without a pick. He’s still taking too many sacks, but he’s also rising above shaky pass protection. In a word, he’s been a star. The Bears are a stiffer Week 15 test, but it’s become impossible to leave Darnold outside the fantasy top 12 even with bye weeks over.

Darnold signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Vikings in the offseason. The Vikings went on to take J.J. McCarthy in the first round, making Darnold a bridge quarterback. McCarthy suffered a season-ending injury in August and Darnold has played remarkably well as the starter, but the Vikings aren’t sold just yet. An early exit in the playoffs could be all they need to move on from Darnold in favor of the younger, higher-upside McCarthy. However, at 10-2, the Vikings are still fighting for a first-round bye and could at least be favored in the Wild Card Round. A deep playoff run would make it nearly impossible to move on from Darnold, even with a first-round pick waiting in the wings.

Shaky in the first half and under nearly constant duress against a Cardinals front seven that rarely pressures the passer, Darnold turned things around in the second half and threw two touchdowns in a furious fourth quarter comeback win. He moved well outside the pocket and made plays out of structure as the Vikings abandoned the run in the second half and centered the offense around Justin Jefferson for the first time in a while. Sunday marks his ninth game of the season with at least two touchdowns in the balanced Minnesota offense. Darnold will be an excellent fantasy option in Week 14 against a Falcons defense that does not pressure the QB and can be beaten down the field.

Jones is actually starting out on the practice squad, but it’s probably a roster gymnastics formality. He will be on the 53-man roster soon enough. Jones will look to rehabilitate his NFL career with quarterback-centric head coach Kevin O’Connell, who has helped Sam Darnold get back on track in 2024 after floundering for years in Carolina and San Francisco. Jones, who last week asked for his release from the Giants after being benched for Tommy DeVito, will likely serve as Darnold’s backup for the remainder of the season. Inaccurate and unwilling to push the ball downfield during his time in New York, Jones, 27, was 28th out of 35 qualifying quarterbacks in drop back EPA before being benched by head coach Brian Daboll in Week 12. He’s all but locked in to a career backup role.

An Aaron Jones goal line fumble on the opening drive foreshadowed a shaky four quarters for the Vikings. The highs were high and included completions of 45 and 69 yards to Jordan Addison. The lows, on the other hand, were equally as frustrating. Minnesota had a 40-yard touchdown to Justin Jefferson called back by offensive pass interference. The Vikings eventually settled for a field goal. The lead looked insurmountable at the time but vanished in just two minutes thanks to a quick touchdown, the first successful onside kick of the year, and a field goal. Darnold briefly appeared to be choking the game away with a catastrophic sack on Minnesota’s first offensive snap in overtime. The journeyman recovered admirably with six straight completions to set up a game-winning field goal. Darnold also appeared to roll his ankle late in the game. He limped off the field for a handful of plays but eventually took over and looked fine. He will likely have his practice reps limited this week as a precaution. Darnold remains near the top of the QB2 ranks for Week 13 versus the Cardinals.

Darnold was on the injury report with a hand injury last week and a foot issue this time around, though neither injury has been a legimtiat4e threat to his gameday availability. The Vikings may continue to limit his practice reps down the stretch as they prepare for a playoff run. Good to go for Week 12, Darnold is on the QB1/2 border for a low-scoring affair with the Bears.

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Darnold is “tracking to play Sunday against the Bears.” The Vikings’ QB1 was listed as limited on Wednesday due to the injury, but whatever he’s dealing with appears to be minor. Fantasy managers banking on Darnold in Sunday’s game against the Bears should expect to see him on the field barring any setbacks. He’ll be a mid to high-end QB2 if available.