For Sam Darnold, Vikings defense: Odds are good but goods are odd

The odds are good but the goods are odd. Sam Darnold is walking a historical tightrope as the Vikings (7-2) approach their final eight games. He’s won seven of his first nine despite committing 13 turnovers. As a result, he’s now a card-carrying member of an eccentric quarterback club.

Like many of those prior quarterbacks, Darnold has an excellent defense to bail him out. But one factor will likely determine whether Minnesota goes the way of Jay Cutler and the 2012 Bears, which continued a vicious cycle of quarterback-leadership turnover in Chicago, or the way of those Hall of Famers. Darnold needs to stop giving away the football, beginning with Sunday’s game against the Titans (2-7) at Nissan Stadium (1 p.m. ET, CBS).

“The turnovers are a concern, certainly,” said offensive coordinator Wes Phillips on Tuesday. “It’s not something we brush over. Everyone will tell you, across the league, each turnover has its own story and that’s 100-percent true. We try to coach him on each individual one, the decision, whether it’s feet and eyes, location, all those types of things. Or, whether it’s sometimes out of your control, or sometimes other people around you can do a better job.”

Out of his control or not, Darnold leads the NFL with 13 turnovers. His 10 interceptions are tied with Geno Smith and Jordan Love for the league lead. But great defenses can be a quarterback’s best friend, too. Just ask Patrick Mahomes and Jared Goff, who each have nine interceptions but are own the best records in their conferences thanks to outstanding coordinators. And Kevin O’Connell said after last week’s 12-7 win at Jacksonville his confidence in Darnold has never wavered.

Phillips, whose dad Wade was the defensive coordinator in Denver when Peyton Manning completed the worst season of his career en route to a Super Bowl 50 victory, also has a great defense on his sideline. But how much pressure can Brian Flores and that defense take before losing a critical game to Arizona, Green Bay or Detroit, all of whom await the Vikings?

“There’s times when a quarterback doesn’t get to finish his arm on the throw and the ball doesn’t usually go where he intends it to go,” Wes Phillips said. “There’s a lot of factors there but we’re just going to keep coaching and keep trying to make sure we’re getting to the plays that we’re rock solid on what the intent is from our standpoint, from Kevin’s standpoint when he calls the play, so that Sam is on the same page and hopefully we can set it up in a way that we get the guys open for him.”

Minnesota’s defense is allowing 17.4 points per game, third in the NFL. Tennessee’s defense, however, is also stout. Darnold will face a unit that ranks second in the NFL in yards allowed (273.6 per game) and first against the pass (156.7). The Titans also rank fourth in the league in third-down percentage, 32.1 percent.

For more information on the Vikings and Titans, visit the Minnesota and Tennessee team pages at ProFootballPost.com.