EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The roller-coaster ride for the Minnesota Vikings with Sam Darnold at quarterback has reached a midseason dip, with no space or time to step off.
Minimize the impact of the bumps over the next two months, and they ought to have no trouble zipping into the playoffs. But Darnold’s recent rash of turnovers has sent the Vikings down a dangerous track.
For all they did well Sunday in defeating Jacksonville 12-7 to maintain the second-best record in the NFC at 7-2, the Vikings entered the new week with a significant issue to dissect and improve: Darnold’s interceptions. He threw three against the Jaguars and has five in the last two games.
“I just think there’s times his confidence in guys is maximum to take some chances on some of those close plays,” coach Kevin O’Connell said.
The third overall pick in the 2018 draft is on his fourth NFL team largely because of a career-long trend of being careless with the ball at critical times. All three of his passes that were picked off had their own story, but there were two common threads: Darnold was trying to throw to Justin Jefferson with the Vikings deep in Jaguars territory.
“As space shrinks, you have to anticipate and put the ball in a place where you want to, or you’ve got to protect the football and progress the rhythm, and he knows that. We’ll go back to just emphasizing those things,” O’Connell said.
Jefferson was tightly covered on a slant route on the first pick. The second interception was badly underthrown in the middle of the end zone. The third pick started with the most hope, but instead of putting the ball toward the front pylon where the worst-case scenario was out of bounds or to the back corner where the defense couldn’t have touched it, Darnold left his throw hanging in between at the goal line.
Those three decisions tainted an otherwise dominant afternoon during which the Vikings had a 402-143 advantage in total yards. O’Connell, though, didn’t waver Monday when asked if he thought Darnold needed a confidence boost.
“On the flight home, spending some time talking to him, he’s in a great head space. He’s ready to go to work,” O’Connell said. “He’s ready to really diagnose exactly the what and the why of what that took place and how he can be better.”
What’s working
The entire defense was awarded a game ball by O’Connell during his postgame locker room speech. The Vikings added two interceptions to their league-leading total (15) and registered all three of their NFL-most takeaways (20) in the fourth quarter. The return of inside linebacker Blake Cashman after a three-game absence due to a turf toe injury provided a big boost. He had a sack and two quarterback hits, the last of which on Mac Jones preceded Cam Bynum’s interception just in front of the goal line with 1:52 left.
What needs help
The red-zone offense didn’t appear to be a problem before Sunday, but failing to score a touchdown on all five trips inside the 20-yard line sent the Vikings tumbling from seventh best in the NFL (64%) to a tie for 19th (53%). According to Sportradar, only Patrick Mahomes (18) and Dak Prescott (14) have more red zone turnovers than Darnold (13) since he entered the league in 2018. Mahomes (104) and Prescott (90) have played in many more games than Darnold (75).
Stock up
TE T.J. Hockenson had eight receptions for 72 yards on nine targets, giving Darnold a reliable option underneath the coverage that wasn’t always there over the first half of the season. Fellow TE Josh Oliver also had four catches for 52 yards on six targets.
Stock down
Darnold on the whole has been as good of a bridge from Kirk Cousins to J.J. McCarthy as the Vikings could have found, but his strong start has been tarnished by the turnovers the last two weeks. He’s tied with Jordan Love and Geno Smith for the most interceptions in the NFL.
Injury report
RB Aaron Jones took a direct hit to the ribs and spent much of the second half in the medical tent and inside for X-rays, but he returned in the fourth quarter and declared afterward he’ll be fine to play this week. O’Connell said Monday Jones would likely be limited in practice. Darnold hurt his throwing hand on one play, when he made a diving attempt at a tackle after an interception late in the third quarter, but he stayed in the game and said he wasn’t worried about the injury.
Key number
42:19 — The possession time for the Vikings was the most in the NFL in a non-overtime game since Dec. 30, 2018, when Philadelphia beat Washington 24-0 and had the ball for 43:19, according to Sportradar.
Up next
The Vikings face two more young quarterbacks on struggling offenses in their next two games at Tennessee and Chicago, setting up defensive coordinator Brian Flores for more play-calling success. The Titans (2-7) have only six takeaways, including three interceptions, this season. The Bears (4-5) have been a bit more opportunistic with 16 forced turnovers, tied for seventh most in the league. They have eight interceptions.
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Dave Campbell, The Associated Press