Vikings Film Room: Do they have a major problem with QB Sam Darnold?
The Minnesota Vikings squeaked out a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday afternoon by a score of 12-7. If you only looked at the box score, you would think the Vikings smoked the Jaguars, but a lack of execution prevented them from scoring more than 12 points. One of the biggest factors in the […]
The Minnesota Vikings squeaked out a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday afternoon by a score of 12-7. If you only looked at the box score, you would think the Vikings smoked the Jaguars, but a lack of execution prevented them from scoring more than 12 points.
One of the biggest factors in the game was quarterback Sam Darnold. Despite completing 24-38 for 241 yards, Darnold threw three interceptions that could have been five prevented the Vikings from scoring a touchdown and went 0-5 in red zone situations.
Throwing that many interceptions is bad, but were they the result of bad process, poor throws or something else? I took a look at the tape to get the answers.
Sam Darnold's first interception
This is a quick-game play to get some easy yards. A five-yard in route to Justin Jefferson. T.J. Hockenson clears space with a slant route and that leaves Jefferson isolated on a cornerback. It's a matchup he should be able to win easily.
When you play a lot of cover-2 and cover-2 man like the Jaguars do, the cornerbacks can get really physical with you. That can prevent you from releasing quickly off the line of scrimmage and prevent gaining separation. These two elements are something that Jefferson thrives on.
Being that all the contact is within five yards, cornerback Tyson Campbell is well within his rights to get physical with Jefferson. The ball was even placed properly, but I don't love the decision to throw it here because of the contact. The problem is, Darnold has nowhere else to go with the ball other than a check down on the opposite side and he's got linemen in his face.
Is it bad process? Not particularly, just a poor outcome.
Sam Darnold's second interception
This is one that will be really frustrating for a multitude of reasons. First off, Darnold is given a really nice pocket to work with. Ideally, they want to get this ball to Jefferson on the dig route for a touchdown, but it's not there initially.
However, Jefferson does work to get open, taking a step forward before breaking back outside. Darnold throws the ball low and away from Jefferson, leading me to believe this could have been a miscommunication where Darnold thought he was going to keep coming forward.
This is one that stinks to have happen, especially if Darnold believes Jefferson is going to break this one back outside. However, if it's truly a miscommunication, then it's a good learning experience and can be fixed moving forward.
Sam Darnold's (almost) third interception
This is a really frustrating one for the Vikings, but it doesn't end up hurting them, as Andre Cisco drops a tipped ball interception.
The Vikings are intentionally trying to attack the zone between the safeties playing cover-2 and the linebackers. If you can get a receiver into that area, it will consistently generate explosive plays. They get that here with Jordan Addison, but issues in the pocket are what cause this to be a miss.
Ed Ingram gets pushed back into Darnold by Arik Armstead and it prevents him from stepping into the throw. When a quarterback can't step up, it causes issues, mainly the ball sailing over the head of Addison. Throwing the ball with all arm often makes the balls sail.
Sam Darnold's actual (but almost fourth) third interception
This one is simple. Jefferson is running a sail route trying to attack the front pylon. When you run toward the sideline in this manner, you have to throw the ball in one of two places
- Front pylon
- Back pylon
Darnold makes the mistake of throwing it behind Jefferson and it's an easy pick. You can't make that kind of mistake. His placement needs massive improvement.
Sam Darnold's (almost) fifth interception
This is a play that head coach Kevin O'Connell likes to generate with Addison. He's scored numerous touchdowns on deep posts in his short career and they nearly had another explosive here, but Darnold can't place the ball properly.
This ball needs to be placed out in front of Addison and he throws it toward his back shoulder, which gets intercepted relatively easily. This is not a good ball from Darnold and he doesn't have a poor pocket excuse to fall back on.
Was Darnold bad on Sunday?
Well, that question depends on how you want to interpret it. Darnold had really good process throughout the game in identifying the right player to throw the ball to. However, his accuracy and placement needs major improvement moving forward.
As a coaching staff, fixing the placement and working on some of those things is far easier than fixing decision-making. They will go back to the drawing board and try to get those issues fixed, but this is a part of the roller coaster you have with Darnold. You'll have some variance, but the good decision-making is something that will hopefully carry through the rest of the season.
