Heading into the 2024 NFL season, the Minnesota Vikings made a drastic change by letting veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins walk in NFL free agency, where the longtime starter chose to sign with the Atlanta Falcons to be their new star under center.
With Cousins heading to Atlanta, the Vikings started fresh at the quarterback position, with the team drafting former University of Michigan star JJ McCarthy with their first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Unfortunately, McCarthy went down with a season-ending knee injury, forcing the team to go with veteran journeyman Sam Darnold as their starter for the 2024 campaign, which many believed ended the season before it started for Minnesota.
The former first-round pick out of the University of Southern California has been a disappointment on the NFL level, resulting in him playing for his fourth team coming into this season.
Although many had written off Darnold as a player who would now be a career backup, the veteran quarterback has been impressive in his first three games as the starter in Minnesota, leading the team to three straight wins while turning a lot of heads via Bleacher Report.
Sam Darnold sets Houston on fire with 4 TDS to lead the Vikings to 3-0 🔥⚔️
He leads the league in TD passes pic.twitter.com/ST1EG541cj
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 22, 2024
Here are some reactions to Darnold having the Vikings’ offense humming three games into the 2024 NFL season:
Sam Darnold does it again 🤷🏻♂️ pic.twitter.com/iNbrPz4dem
— Colin Cowherd (@colincowherd) September 22, 2024
Sam Darnold is good at football 🤌
— J.J. McCarthy (@jjmccarthy09) September 22, 2024
Sam Darnold and the 2024 Minnesota Vikings
pic.twitter.com/KjDTACgzAV— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 22, 2024
As if last week’s win over Darnold’s former team, the San Francisco 49ers, wasn’t impressive enough, the 27-year-old took it to another level against the Houston Texans in Week 3.
Darnold finished the game with 181 yards passing and four touchdowns through the air, connecting with four different receivers for endzone trips, which is very impressive.
