Pre-Minnesota Sam Darnold might’ve lost after fumbling away the Vikings’ first possession on Sunday at Tennessee. But after the Titans kicked a field goal, 2024 Sam Darnold answered with a perfect dig-route touchdown pass. And as a result, the Vikings are 8-2, only one game behind the NFC’s best team.
Darnold, who entered leading the league in turnovers, rebounded from the fumble and fired a 47-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Addison. The quarterback stood in the pocket with his back to a corner blitz, Addison turned on his afterburners and the Vikings didn’t trail again.
“Yeah, I think you know, no matter if it’s a dagger throw or another type of route coming into a window against a zone defense,” said Darnold, who was 20 of 32 for 246 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. “It’s always just kind of feeling that space and feeling very confident in being able to rip it. And so, that’s just kind of what I felt on that play and J did the rest.”
Darnold did much of the rest, too, with his arm and his legs. His 1-yard touchdown midway through the second quarter marked his first rushing score in a Vikings uniform. He also completed passes to nine players, including Addison (three catches for 61 yards) and Justin Jefferson (six for 81). Jefferson now has 6,811 career receiving yards and surpassed Torry Holt (6,784) for the most ever by a player ever over his first five NFL seasons. It took a committee to beat the Titans (2-8).
“Everybody had a little hand in this one,” said Jefferson, who hauled in a 31-yard strike early in the second quarter. “Just getting plays here and there. No defense is just going to give us anything. Every single play, every single drive, we got to come out and execute our plays. We don’t know who the ball is going to go to. It really doesn’t matter. As long as we’re going out there and extending those drives and putting points on the board, that’s all that really matters.”
Defense mattered, too. The Vikings allowed a season-low 33 rushing yards and limited a third straight opponent to 13 points or less. And All-Pro safety Harrison Smith, who grew up in Tennessee, left his home state with an interception.
The Vikings (8-2) are in a three-way fight in the league’s best division, the NFC North. Detroit (9-1) and Green Bay (7-3) both won on Sunday. Minnesota needs a win at Chicago (4-6) next week to assure it can stay in second place. Tennessee travels to Houston on Sunday.
For more information on the Vikings and Titans, visit the Minnesota and Tennessee team pages at ProFootballPost.com.
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