Vikings' Sam Darnold: Ragged finish to season Monday
Rotowire
Darnold completed 25 of 40 passes for 245 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the Vikings' 27-9 wild-card loss to the Rams on Monday night. He also rushed four times for 19 yards and lost a fumble.
While his final stat line looks serviceable enough, it belies the uneven nature of Darnold's season-ending performance and the amount of duress he frequently found himself under from a Rams defense that collected a whopping nine sacks against him for a net loss of 82 yards. Darnold couldn't facilitate anything more than a 64-yard effort -- that total belonging to T.J. Hockenson -- for his pass catchers, and although he targeted the duo of Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison a combined 16 times, that only yielded a modest 8-87-0 line. Darnold's fumble, which came with just over four and a half minutes remaining in the first half, also had disastrous consequences, as it was scooped up and returned 57 yards for a touchdown by Jared Verse to extend Los Angeles' lead to two scores at the time. Darnold rightfully received plenty of credit for the Vikings' standout regular season by putting together a career-best 2024 campaign in which he completed 361 of 545 passes for 4,319 yards with a 35:12 TD:INT and added a 67-212-1 rushing line, all across 17 games. However, he looked like a different quarterback in back-to-back lopsided losses to the Lions and Rams to close out Minnesota's season, and with unrestricted free agency looming for him at the start of the new league year, the topic of Darnold's future will be one of great intrigue considering the presence of 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy (knee) on Minnesota's roster.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: Dismal numbers in blowout loss
Rotowire
Darnold completed just 18 of 41 pass attempts for 166 yards with no touchdowns or turnovers while rushing for 10 yards on three carries in Sunday's 31-9 loss to Detroit.
Darnold picked the worst time to revert to his New York Jets form in Sunday's battle between juggernauts for both the NFC North crown and the No. 1 seed in the conference. His offensive line did him no favors while star wideout Justin Jefferson committed multiple drops, so the quarterback's horrid stat line can't be entirely placed on his shoulders. It is worth noting that Darnold had his ankle rolled up on by a teammate late in the contest, but he did not miss any game action after getting up gingerly. Minnesota's signal-caller will have to rally quickly to get his offense back to previous levels as the No. 5 seed Vikings prepare to visit the Rams in the wild-card round of the playoffs next Monday.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: QBs to Start
Rotowire
Darnold has the chance to lead the Vikings to the NFC North title and the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a win at Detroit. He's playing great coming into Week 18 with at least 23.6 Fantasy points in six of his past seven games. And while he only scored 18.3 Fantasy points against the Lions in Week 7, this Detroit defense is banged up and should struggle to stop Minnesota's passing game. Three quarterbacks in a row have scored at least 26.8 Fantasy points against the Lions, and Darnold should have a big performance in Week 18.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: Huge performance against Packers
Rotowire
Darnold completed 33 of 43 passes for 377 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in Sunday's 27-25 win over the Packers.
The Vikings' offense failed to record points on its first two drives, but Darnold then proceeded to lead the team on four scoring drives across their next five possessions. He had a number of impressive throws, highlighted by 31 and 18-yard touchdown strikes to Jalen Nailor and Jordan Addison, respectively. Darnold recorded five completions of at least 20 yards while racking up his highest yardage total of the season, and he now has at least three touchdowns in three of his last four games.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: QBs to Start
Rotowire
Darnold went into Seattle in Week 16 and passed for 246 yards and three touchdowns and scored 28.9 Fantasy points. He's now scored at least 23.6 Fantasy points in five of his past six games, and I'm expecting him to have another solid outing in this NFC North showdown with the Packers in Week 17. He scored 26.5 Fantasy points at Green Bay in Week 4, and he should be considered a No. 1 Fantasy quarterback again in the rematch.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: QBs to Start
Rotowire
Darnold only scored 13.2 Fantasy points in Week 15 against Chicago, but Justin Jefferson dropped an easy touchdown that would have boosted both their stats. Prior to Week 15, Darnold had scored at least 23.6 Fantasy points in four games in a row, and he should get back on track in Week 16 at Seattle. Five quarterbacks in the past seven games against the Seahawks have scored at least 20.4 Fantasy points, and Darnold remains a solid No. 1 quarterback in all leagues.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: Career-best day in win
Rotowire
Darnold completed 22 of 28 passes for 347 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions and added four rushes for seven yards in the Vikings' 42-21 win over the Falcons on Sunday.
Darnold and the Vikings punted after seven plays on their first drive, but the offensive showcase began on Minnesota's second possession in the form of a 49-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Addison. Darnold encountered little resistance the rest of the way while accumulating single-game career highs in passing yards and touchdowns, hitting Justin Jefferson (12 yards, 52 yards) and Addison (11 yards, six yards) for his other four scoring tosses. Darnold now has multiple touchdown-pass tallies without an interception in four straight games, as well as a pair of 300-yard efforts in the last three contests. The veteran quarterback's resurgent season's next chapter unfolds at home against the Bears in a Week 15 Monday night matchup Dec. 16.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: QBs to Start
Rotowire
Darnold continues to prove himself as a solid Fantasy quarterback on a weekly basis, and he scored at least 23.6 Fantasy points in three games in a row. I like him as a top-five Fantasy quarterback in this matchup with the Falcons, who are No. 8 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks. Five of the past six quarterbacks against Atlanta have scored at least 21.8 Fantasy points, and Darnold should have the chance for another quality stat line in Week 14.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: Top DFS Play
Rotowire
Darnold has six passing touchdowns and zero interceptions in his last three games against the Cardinals, Bears, and Titans. This week, he's at home against a Falcons defense that allows more Fantasy points to opposing defenses than each of Darnold's past three matchups. This is my favorite game on the slate to stack.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: Leads big comeback Sunday
Rotowire
Darnold completed 21 of 31 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday's 23-22 win over the Cardinals. He added 22 rushing yards on four carries.
The Vikings were in a 19-6 hole late in the third quarter as Darnold struggled to find time in the pocket, but the QB led an impressive late comeback, hitting Johnny Mundt for a four-yard score just before the end of the third and then connecting with Aaron Jones on a five-yard TD with only 1:13 left in the fourth. It's the fifth time in the last six games that Darnold has tossed multiple TDs, a stretch in which he's posted an 11:5 TD:INT. He'll look to keep rolling, and keep the Vikings on track for the playoffs, in Week 14 against the Falcons.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: Bust Alert (Start/Sit)
Rotowire
It's hard to bench Darnold, given what he's done lately, but this is a tough matchup against the Cardinals. Darnold has scored at least 22.2 Fantasy points in four of his past five games, and he's been exceptional the past two weeks against the Titans and Bears with a combined 52.7 points. But Arizona has also been exceptional against opposing quarterbacks of late, as Justin Herbert, Tua Tagovailoa, Caleb Williams, Aaron Rodgers, and Geno Smith have all scored 16.7 Fantasy points or less in five games in a row. Josh Allen, Jayden Daniels, and Jordan Love are the only quarterbacks with more than 20 Fantasy points against the Cardinals this season, including matchups with Matthew Stafford, Jared Goff, and Brock Purdy. I would only start Darnold in Superflex and two-quarterback leagues in Week 13.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: Picks apart Bears with deep balls
Rotowire
Darnold completed 22 of 34 passes for 330 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions in Sunday's 30-27 overtime win against the Bears.
Darnold crushed the Bears with deep pass attempts, as he tallied three completions of at least 40 yards and seven of at least 20. That led to his first 300-yard passing game of the season, though he was aided by overtime to get there. Darnold also tacked on passing scores from two and five yards away, marking his fourth multi-touchdown effort in six games since Minnesota's bye. After a brief shaky stretch, Darnold has returned to form as a solid fantasy contributor.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: Dealing with foot issue
Rotowire
Darnold was a limited participant in practice Wednesday due to a foot injury.
Darnold kicked off last week as a limited participant due to a right hand injury but followed up with a full session one day later, allowing him to suit up this past Sunday at Tennessee. He's tending to a new health concern this week, though, meaning his status will be watched as the weekend approaches to see if he's in any danger of being sidelined Sunday in Chicago.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: Looks healthy with three TDs
Rotowire
Darnold (right hand) completed 20 of 32 pass attempts for 246 yards and two touchdowns while adding 18 rushing yards and a third score (one fumble) off of eight carries in Sunday's 23-13 win over Tennessee.
Darnold was dealing with a minor injury to his throwing hand coming out of his worst performance of the season against the Jaguars last week. The veteran signal-caller bounced back fully from the three-pick outing with three touchdowns in Minnesota's eighth win of the year. Now healthy, Darnold makes for a fine fantasy play against the flailing Bears next Sunday.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: Full practice Thursday
Rotowire
Darnold (right hand) practiced fully Thursday.
One day removed from being limited due to an injury to his throwing hand Wednesday, Darnold was able to handle every practice rep, paving the way for him to continue to direct the Vikings offense. On Sunday, he'll be taking on a Titans defense that has given up the second-fewest yards per attempt (6.21) to opposing quarterbacks on the campaign.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: QBs to Start
Rotowire
Darnold had a disastrous game in Week 10 at Jacksonville with just 6.4 Fantasy points, which snapped a two-game streak where he scored at least 22.2 points. He had 241 passing yards and three interceptions against the Jaguars, and it's just the second time this season he failed to throw a touchdown. He'll rebound this week against the Titans, and three of the past four quarterbacks against Tennessee have scored at least 21.7 Fantasy points. I'll go back to Darnold as a No. 1 quarterback in all leagues.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: Disastrous effort in win
Rotowire
Darnold completed 24 of 38 passes for 241 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions in Sunday's 12-7 win over the Jaguars.
Darnold turned in his worst performance of the season by any measure, highlighted by three interceptions -- all of which came when he targeted Justin Jefferson. After throwing only five picks across his first seven starts of the campaign, Darnold now has five in his last two contests. The Vikings won both games despite his efforts, so Darnold should have a comfortable hold on the starting job, though he'll need a better showing in Week 11 against the Titans for fantasy managers to continue to have faith in his ability to deliver production.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: QBs to Start
Rotowire
Darnold comes into Week 10 having scored at least 22.2 Fantasy points in each of his past two games, and he should stay hot against the Jaguars in this matchup. Jacksonville is No. 1 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks, and six of the past seven quarterbacks against the Jaguars have scored at least 24.8 Fantasy points. Darnold has top-five upside in Week 10.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: Throws three TDs on SNF
Rotowire
Darnold completed 28 of 34 pass attempts for 290 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions while rushing four times for 14 yards and surrendering a fumble in Sunday's 21-13 win over the Colts.
Darnold completed his third game with at least three touchdowns this season. It came at the cost of three turnovers (two picks, one fumble), but the overall results were positive from a fantasy perspective. Darnold is now up to 1,900 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions through eight starts with Minnesota this season. The 2018 first-round pick continues to surpass expectations in his new digs as the Vikings prepare to take on the Jaguars next Sunday.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: Clean performance in Week 8 loss
Rotowire
Darnold completed 18 of 25 passes for 240 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions and rushed three times for six yards in the Vikings' 30-20 loss to the Rams on Thursday night.
Darnold's final numbers were acceptable from a fantasy perspective, but he also wasthe subject of a controversial play that essentially sealed the Vikings' defeat. Lined up in shotgun formation at his own five-yard line with 1:36 remaining, Darnold struggled to find an open man and then was brought down in the end zone by the Rams' Byron Young, although the second-year edge rusher clearly appeared to pull the quarterback's face mask in the process of generating a safety. Nevertheless, there was no flag on the play, and Darnold never had a chance to get the ball back. The 2018 third overall pick did post his fifth multi-touchdown game of the season courtesy of five- and 10-yard first-quarter scoring tosses to the unlikely duo of Josh Oliver and Trent Sherfield. Darnold also facilitated another 100-yard performance for Justin Jefferson, but following consecutive losses, the onus will be on the veteran signal-caller to capitalize on a favorable Week 9 home matchup against the Colts on Sunday night, Nov. 3.