The Minnesota Vikings have something 'special' brewing with Sam Darnold

Kevin O'Connell, Brian Flores and their reborn quarterback have a formula that can work. Also inside: Malik Nabers is the face of the Giants, Bryce Young on "timeout," 49ers bellyflop.

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For one paralyzing moment, with three minutes left in the third quarter, the demonic presence that has haunted this franchise for years appeared to return. These Minnesota Vikings were in the midst of humiliating a team with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations when Sam Darnold threw to his right and was chopped down from behind by ex-Viking Danielle Hunter. The quarterback’s body jerked back with his left knee hinging at an awkward angle.

Darnold stood up, began to limp, then dropped to his rear.

Darnold stood up again, took 4 ½ shuffle steps, then leaned forward in pain.

Collective hearts in the stadium dropped.

This grim sight undoubtedly conjured the images of soul-crushing moments past. Blair Walsh’s 27-yard playoff shank. Brett Favre’s NFC Championship interception. Gary Anderson’s only missed kick in 1998. Throw in the Herschel Walker trade… Nathan Poole’s fourth-and-24 miracle… Teddy Bridgewater’s severed knee… an NFC title blowout loss in Philly… the Love Boat saga… those four Super Bowl losses for good measure and multiple generations have all felt the same pain.

Right when Sam Darnold was going full Kurt Warner three games in, this just had to happen.  

But then, a strange thing happened. After missing one play, Darnold returned. The 66,843 packed inside U.S. Bank Stadium gave him a roaring standing ovation and Darnold picked up exactly where he left off.

A 21-7 lead ballooned to a 34-7 butchering of the Houston Texans.

Hope reset in seconds.

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When the deed was done, head coach Kevin O’Connell paced the euphoric home locker room with a football in his hand and verbalized what everyone in this room was feeling.

“When adversity hits, we’re going to figure it out together,” O’Connell said. “It feels real to me, fellas. It feels real. You guys know I wouldn’t lie to you. I started out in training camp saying I would never, ever lie to you guys. And I can tell you right now, we are capable of absolutely anything that is out in front of us right now. We are capable of stacking it all together, leaning in with one another. Special, special shit is going to happen to this football team.”

He’d know. He won a ring with the Los Angeles Rams three years ago.

It’s not too soon to make a proclamation with this team.

Bewildering the San Francisco 49ers opened eyes but blasting the Texans confirms the 2024 Minnesota Vikings are a genuine threat in the NFC. The team just about everyone figured was at least two years away from sparring with the big boys is officially the contender that nobody saw coming. One week after confusing the offense that’s almost never confused — “Your scheme is crazy,” Brock Purdy told Brian Flores at midfield — the Vikings’ defensive coordinator socked it to an offense loaded with weapons. C.J. Stroud looked every bit as lost as Purdy. Meanwhile, on offense, Darnold is clawing his way into the (very) early MVP conversation. He’s up to 657 yards and eight touchdowns with only two picks, while completing 68 percent of his passes.

He'll get an X-ray on the knee Monday, but felt OK afterward. Maybe the Vikings, for once, dodged a bullet. They’re due.

One short month ago this was a team adding another tally to the torture column.

Of course J.J. McCarthy would tear his meniscus. Of course this team would lose its prized rookie quarterback exactly when this project out of the Michigan was making massive strides in practice. Go Long attended the team’s joint practices with the Cleveland Browns when McCarthy was officially placed on season-ending injured reserve. Figuring that expectations were tempered in the building — the vet (Kirk Cousins) gone, the retread (Darnold) in, the future (McCarthy) lost for the season — I asked safety Harrison Smith for his realistic expectations this season. The question was asked with a tongue-in-cheek qualifier that Smith probably is not penciling in a Super Bowl appearance. Honestly, it felt strange to get too excited about these Vikings.

Smith simply said it’s not smart to look too far ahead.

“Things change in this league,” he added. “Hourly.”

I agreed and pointed out that we saw that fact with the news today.  

Smiths’ eyes widened.

“What happened?”

He knew about McCarthy heading to IR but had the look of a man bracing for even more bad news to strike. It’s been like that for the Vikings. Smith has experienced more dizzying turbulence through 13 pro seasons in the Twin Cities than we can fathom, but he’s been proven 100-percent correct. The NFL changes on a dime. His words in mid-August already sound prophetic.

“Obviously, everyone has the same goal and then there’s going to be this ride that you go on every season,” Smith said, in this profile, icymi. “How do you respond to that ride? Good or bad? And it’s just a long game you’ve got to play. Everyone’s got to play on their own, but collectively as well. That’s the beauty of football. The physicality that’s added in. The pain. The love.

“There’s not really another sport I’ve been around that really gets to the human emotion and soul.”

The Vikings are responding to this “ride” better than anyone because the Vikings have a formula that’s working.

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We’ve covered everything #culture in Vikings Land. This team’s shift from Mike Zimmer to Kevin O’Connell is worthy of scholarly research. Under one coach, droves of players were miserable. Dreading the 6 a.m. alarm. Under the next? Rejuvenated. Everything that happens before those three hours on a Sunday matters — substantially. But put those three hours under a microscope and you’ll see that the Vikings may have the best blend of pure offensive and defensive innovators going in O’Connell and Flores.

These aren’t coaches following the latest trends. They’re creating what’s next.

On offense, as noted by QB whisperer Quincy Avery, this is a head coach who designs plays in ways defenses haven’t encountered. It’s subtle, too. Like running four vertical routes out of 21 personnel. Such a play may seem simple to the naked eye but when a wide receiver from the slot, a tight end on the other side and a running back motioned out wide are all moving upfield at different speeds, the Vikes effectively stress all levels of the defense. Even though O’Connell gets into the play with a funky formation to flummox the defense, the read itself is simple. Darnold can scan the field and pull the trigger without much thinking.

“It makes it easier on the quarterback because they’re seeing pictures that are familiar to them: ‘Oh, I’ve run this play, I’ve seen this triangle before. I know how to read this.’” Avery explained. “So they’re really comfortable, but the defense isn’t uncomfortable because you’re doing it out of a set or formation that you were not prepared for. He’s really great in the passing game that way. And they create some unique angles in the running game through their motions and their shifts.”

Life is not so peaceful for the opposing quarterback. Flores continues to leave them stumped.

He’s crowding the line of scrimmage with defenders, and those showing blitz wait until the last millisecond to show their hand. Some rush. Some drop. Often, it’s too late for the quarterback to adjust in pass protection and somebody rushes free. Nobody else in the NFL runs a scheme remotely close to this. After a full year under Flores, the Vikings used the offseason to target pieces that fit such an unorthodox scheme. Take Andrew Van Ginkel. The 29-year-old is a strange player tailormade for such a strange scheme because he’s a force of unpredictability. He can rush. He can hold the edge vs. the run. He can drop into coverage. Two weeks after a pick-six vs. the Giants, Van Ginkel ended this first half with a sack of Stroud. It’s hard to fathom why the Miami Dolphins didn’t try harder to re-sign him.  

The Vikings lost Hunter to the Texans at $24.5M per year, but gained Jonathan Greenard at nearly half the price ($13.7M).

Greenard sacked Stroud three times.

Deep into August, shortly after losing McCarthy, the Vikings continued to tweak by signing a man who wants to “be the best corner to have ever played in this era:” Stephon Gilmore. The five-time Pro Bowler played for Flores in New England and brings a play style that continues to age like wine. Three games in, the 34-year-old is playing like this defense’s missing piece. It’s hard to fathom why the Dallas Cowboys didn’t try harder to keep him.

Most promising, obviously, is Darnold. All of the scouts who loved him out of USC must be feeling vindicated.

He’s not dinking and dunking.

There were many throws to love.

• Start of the second half, off play action, the pocket begins to collapse. He hangs. And hangs. And hangs on before finally ripping a throw to the sideline to Jalen Nailor for 18 yards. This was the sort of muddy pocket that shifts many QBs into panic mode. They sense danger, and scram. Why should Darnold panic? He survived New York Jets quarterbacking hell and spent two years working for David Tepper. On this one-year deal in Minnesota, there’s no need for Darnold to stress. He’s been written off as a bust several times over. This is the House Money stage of his career.

• Or take the touchdown to Nailor in the back of the end zone. Houston’s Jimmie Ward is in tight coverage. The pass must be perfect, and it is.  

• Or the third-and-14 shortly after returning from his injury scare. Darnold climbs the pocket with authority and delivers a 13-yarder to Brandon Powell. This drive only ended due to a (rare) Justin Jefferson drop.

• Or the fourth of his four touchdown passes. On third and goal, he zings it to tight end Johnny Mundt between a trio of Texan defenders. Attempt this pass with any less velocity, any less accuracy and it’s likely picked.

For the third straight game, Darnold played like a pro who learned something from all his scars in this unforgiving league. The NFL can permanently wreck a young quarterback’s psyche. Not too long ago, the entire country had a laugh at Darnold’s expense when the MNF cameras captured him saying he was “seeing ghosts” against New England during Gilmore’s DPOY season. The Jets lost that game, 33-0, and fell to 1-5 with Darnold producing a nightmare stat line for the ages: 11 of 32 for 86 yards, four interceptions, 3.6 (!) passer rating.

As chronicled by Bob McGinn last week, new Jets GM Joe Douglas eventually decided to turn the page to BYU’s Zach Wilson.

Off Darnold went to Carolina and he most certainly remembers being in this 3-0 position before.

Things were looking up for his Panthers in 2021, then those Panthers lost 12 of their next 14. Turnovers plagued the quarterback then and turnovers could always doom him again. Maybe we shouldn’t get too carried away with ourselves. He takes chances but give me the player who takes chances vs. the one who pats the ball four times and throws it away. That’s the player with a chance to win in January.

This life in Minnesota is night-and-day more stable than anything Darnold experienced before. The NFC North is a three-horse race.

Count the reasons: The offensive playcalling. Flores’ defensive brain. The fact that the wideout who dropped that third-down pass just may be the best non-QB in the sport. The eventual return of both Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson. It should all give Minnesotans real belief.

O’Connell is right.

This feels real.

Identity, found

There was pushback. We all saw it. Joe Schoen didn’t want to pay Saquon Barkley top dollar, while others within the organization — most notably, the man who owns the New York Giants — were clearly scared about life post-Saquon. The owner’s nephew, Tim McDonnell, asked the GM point blank: “We lose Saquon, what’s our identity gonna be on offense?” Schoen didn’t miss a beat. He said the Giants aren’t paying Daniel Jones $40 million to hand the ball off.

Barkley walked to Philly.

The Giants drafted LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers.

Schoen’s hope was that this offense could now funnel through the sixth overall pick. The GM told us he saw Stefon Diggs and Steve Smith in the wideout. There’s no debate three weeks in that the Giants’ identity is to throw to Nabers early, often, deep and shallow. He gobbled up 18 targets in a crushing Week 2 loss at Washington. In a 21-15 win at Cleveland, Nabers was sensational again with eight catches for 78 yards and two touchdowns.

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For all the doomsday talk hovering around this franchise, Nabers alone warrants a burst of optimism.

At 21 years and 56 days of age, he became the youngest wide receiver ever to catch two touchdowns. This is only the beginning.

The Browns boast the league’s reigning No. 1 defense and there aren’t any surprises with this unit. They dare offenses to beat ‘em 1 on 1, and that’s exactly what Nabers did vs. Martin Emerson Jr. He stole one 28-yarder away from the corner. Soon after, on third and goal, he ran a corner route on Emerson and made a leaping, twisting grab. Emerson’s reaction to both catches is rich. On the first, he acts as if there’s no way Nabers got his feet down. The geometry didn’t compute in his head. On the second — which was actually more difficult — he only turns around and walks away, dismayed.

The argument that we’ve all seen enough from this quarterback is fair.

But Daniel Jones has also never had a receiver in the same stratosphere as Nabers. A singular talent like Nabers allows him to play fearlessly. In what sure felt like a must-win game, Brian Daboll had a smart gameplan for Jim Schwartz’s attacking defense. Deploying an array of screens, he used the the Browns’ aggressiveness against them… and Jones wisely took those 1-on-1 shots to Nabers. He’s going to take gambles he never could before. Nabers’ most impressive play was batting away a potential interception.

When Barkley detonates for 147 yards and two scores, as he did in Philly’s win Sunday, it can be hard to see the Giants’ logic. But not paying a running back premier dollar allowed for Schoen to pay up for linemen to protect Jones against such a frenzied pass rush, trade for (and pay) edge rusher Brian Burns to build a monster of their own on defense (New York had eight sacks and 17 QB hits on Sunday) and — best of all — recreate a modernized offense that’ll flow through an elite wide receiver.

“He’s made a lot of big plays for us,” Jones said, “and I’ve got a lot of trust in him going up and getting the ball and we need to continue to take advantage of his ability to make plays.”

Cleveland dared New York’s receivers to win 1 on 1. In the first half especially, they did.

“When we get man, we really like our matchups across the board,” Jones added. “We talk about Malik, but all the guys we put out there, we’re confident in those matchups and our guys. They have some good cover guys over there and a good defense. But man coverage, we like our matchups.”

The Giants now have a chance to build momentum this Thursday night against what’s been a wretched Dallas Cowboys defense. The last two weeks, both at home, Mike Zimmer’s unit has surrendered 72 points, 48 first downs and 888 yards, while creating all of one turnover. Don’t worry. I’m sure Zim will take one long hard look in the mirror and figure out where he’s making mistakes… ha! Fat chance. At this point, Zimmer’s complete refusal to take any shred of accountability is impressive. Miss this? The former Vikings head coach sat down with the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Marc Craig during Cowboys training camp for a must-read story.

When Craig asked the coach about Terence Newman’s strong criticism to us here at Go Long, Zimmer said he informed his longtime friend Newman that they were finished.

And, no. He didn’t speak to his Vikings team after he was let go.

“Hell no, they got me fired,” he said.

This complete lack of self-reflection makes Zimmer a perfect fit with Jerry Jones.

Have a hard time seeing the Cowboys’ defense molding into a juggernaut with a stubborn relic as their defensive coordinator.

No Huddle

• Matt LaFleur knew he’d need to open up the playbook for Malik Willis. Tennessee’s run defense would be a different challenge than that Colts sieve. Willis responded with a satisfying win against his former club: 202 passing yards, 73 rushing yards, two touchdowns. “What he’s been able to do is,” LaFleur said, “I’ve never seen something like this.” Most encouraging out of this 30-14 blowout, though, was the pass rush generating eight sacks from seven different players. The eight count is Green Bay’s most since totaling the same number vs. Chicago in January 2005. They’ll need the front to keep feasting with Sam Darnold and the Vikings up next.

• Someone send Kyle Shanahan boxes of Pedialyte. This team’s Super Bowl hangover is obvious. The San Francisco 49ers completely gave this game away to the Los Angeles Rams. Leading by seven points, a missed 55-yard field goal with 2:47 to go left a crack in the door open. Matthew Stafford heaved a 50-yarder to Tutu Atwell and, two plays later, Kyren Williams knotted the game up at 24-24. The Rams forced a punt and then moved right into field goal range themselves to win. All without Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. All after a 31-point loss to Arizona. The 49ers are dealing with a host of injuries themselves. Maybe they’ll be fine over the long haul. But this was one of Shanahan’s worst losses.

• New QB, new team. Behind its 36-year-old “Red Rifle,” the Carolina Panthers looked like a completely different team. Andy Dalton completed 26 of 37 passes in becoming the first QB this season to surpass 300 yards with three touchdowns. This 36-22 loss says more about the Las Vegas Raiders. Head coach Antonio Pierce didn’t hold back afterward. “I think there were definitely some individuals that made business decisions,” Pierce said. “And we’ll make business decisions going forward, as well.” Wild words for a team only three weeks into a season. Usually, guys don’t quit until November. For all the tough talk about “Mahomes Rules” over the offseason, these Raiders aren’t close to threatening the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West.

• Back to the Panthers. Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reported that four teams inquired about trading for Bryce Young this week and said that all were “emphatically” denied. Over at NFL Network, Ian Rapoport reported that the Panthers are expecting to start the former No. 1 overall pick again this season with this benching viewed as more of “a break or timeout.” A “timeout” sure would be a curious way to handle a grown man in a violent sport. Here at Go Long HQ, we’re trying to move past “timeouts” with our five- and three-year-old children. Good luck with that, Carolina.

• The Lions’ 20-13 win in Arizona wasn’t always easy on the eyes but they’ve been needing its secondary to be the reason they win. This evening, the Lions defensive backs came to play. Quarterback Kyler Murray was out of sorts all game.

• The Miami Dolphins are in the midst of a total quarterback disaster. Already down Tua Tagovailoa to yet another concussion, Miami’s now without Skylar Thompson, who suffered what Mike McDaniel describe as a “painful” rib injury in a 24-3 loss to Seattle. Tim Boyle isn’t going to save this team. Can Tyler Huntley? Probably not. Good luck finding a silver lining right now in South Florida as Tua navigates his own future in this sport.

ICYMI:

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