Sam Darnold for MVP.
Sounds crazy, right? It really isn’t. Darnold has the Minnesota Vikings at 4-0. He leads the NFL in touchdown passes with 11 to go along with 932 passing yards and 8.8 yards per attempt, showing his knack for the big play.
Darnold wasn’t flawless in the Vikings’ impressive road victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, throwing one pick and losing a fumble in the second half, but he threw three touchdown passes. Darnold, who came into the season with a career completion percentage under 60%, is completing 68.9% of his passes this season with a passer rating of 118.9 when his previous career best was 92.6 in six starts for Carolina in 2022.
It helps that he has Justin Jefferson, the best pure receiver in the game, and a great offensive mind in Kevin O’Connell calling plays, but give Darnold credit for resurrecting his career. He was a former high first-round pick of the Jets, flopped there, was just OK for the Panthers and then served as a backup for the 49ers. He came into this season as a stop-gap; the plan was for him to keep the seat warm until first-round pick J.J. McCarthy was ready to play.
When McCarthy got hurt in training camp, it was Darnold’s job and he’s made the most of it. Where would the Vikings be without him?
…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-week-5-power-rankings-mvp-candidate-sam-darnold-has-vikings-rolling-texans-buccaneers-move-into-top-5/
Author : Pete Prisco
Publish date : 2024-10-01 09:00:34
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
