Darnold completed 24 of 38 passes for 241 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions in Sunday's 12-7 win over the Jaguars.
Darnold turned in his worst performance of the season by any measure, highlighted by three interceptions -- all of which came when he targeted Justin Jefferson. After throwing only five picks across his first seven starts of the campaign, Darnold now has five in his last two contests. The Vikings won both games despite his efforts, so Darnold should have a comfortable hold on the starting job, though he'll need a better showing in Week 11 against the Titans for fantasy managers to continue to have faith in his ability to deliver production.
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Vikings' Sam Darnold: QBs to Start
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Darnold comes into Week 10 having scored at least 22.2 Fantasy points in each of his past two games, and he should stay hot against the Jaguars in this matchup. Jacksonville is No. 1 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks, and six of the past seven quarterbacks against the Jaguars have scored at least 24.8 Fantasy points. Darnold has top-five upside in Week 10.
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Vikings' Sam Darnold: Throws three TDs on SNF
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Darnold completed 28 of 34 pass attempts for 290 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions while rushing four times for 14 yards and surrendering a fumble in Sunday's 21-13 win over the Colts.
Darnold completed his third game with at least three touchdowns this season. It came at the cost of three turnovers (two picks, one fumble), but the overall results were positive from a fantasy perspective. Darnold is now up to 1,900 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions through eight starts with Minnesota this season. The 2018 first-round pick continues to surpass expectations in his new digs as the Vikings prepare to take on the Jaguars next Sunday.
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Vikings' Sam Darnold: QBs to Start
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Darnold lost left tackle Christian Darrisaw (knee) in Week 8 at the Rams, but he was quickly replaced by Cam Robinson via trade from Jacksonville. Hopefully this will help Darnold avoid too much pressure against the Colts, who have allowed four quarterbacks this season to score at least 21.3 Fantasy points. Darnold only has one game this season below 18.3 Fantasy points, so he should provide a safe floor, but he also has the potential for a huge outing in this matchup at home.
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Vikings' Sam Darnold: Clean performance in Week 8 loss
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Darnold completed 18 of 25 passes for 240 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions and rushed three times for six yards in the Vikings' 30-20 loss to the Rams on Thursday night.
Darnold's final numbers were acceptable from a fantasy perspective, but he also wasthe subject of a controversial play that essentially sealed the Vikings' defeat. Lined up in shotgun formation at his own five-yard line with 1:36 remaining, Darnold struggled to find an open man and then was brought down in the end zone by the Rams' Byron Young, although the second-year edge rusher clearly appeared to pull the quarterback's face mask in the process of generating a safety. Nevertheless, there was no flag on the play, and Darnold never had a chance to get the ball back. The 2018 third overall pick did post his fifth multi-touchdown game of the season courtesy of five- and 10-yard first-quarter scoring tosses to the unlikely duo of Josh Oliver and Trent Sherfield. Darnold also facilitated another 100-yard performance for Justin Jefferson, but following consecutive losses, the onus will be on the veteran signal-caller to capitalize on a favorable Week 9 home matchup against the Colts on Sunday night, Nov. 3.
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Vikings' Sam Darnold: Inconsistent in Week 7 loss
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Darnold completed 22 of 27 passes for 259 yards with a touchdown and an interception and added four rushes for 39 yards in the Vikings' 31-29 loss to the Lions on Sunday.
Darnold took four sacks from a Lions defense missing Aidan Hutchinson (IR, lower leg), including on a final play that he'd helped make possible by successfully spiking the ball with one second remaining. The 2018 third overall pick had opened the game in optimistic fashion by helping lead Minnesota to 10 first-quarter points. Darnold had trouble answering once the Lions roared back with three second-quarter touchdowns, but he did record a 25-yard scoring strike to Justin Jefferson early in the third quarter. Nevertheless, that would be the last trip to the end zone the Vikings would make on offense, and Darnold also failed to eat up more clock with his team up by one when he threw incomplete to Jefferson on third down with 2:46 remaining. Having suffered their first loss of the season, Darnold and his teammates have a short turnaround before a Week 8 Thursday night road battle against the Rams.
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Vikings' Sam Darnold: QBs to Start
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Darnold will hopefully come off his bye in Week 6, ready to go in his first NFC North game of the season. Prior to the bye, Darnold had a down game in Week 5 against the Jets in London with a season-low 4.3 Fantasy points. Prior to that, he had scored at least 23.9 Fantasy points in three games in a row, including two at home against the 49ers and Texans. The Lions defense is tough, but Detroit just lost standout pass rusher Aiden Hutchinson (leg) for the season. And this game has one of the highest projected totals of the week at 50 points, so Darnold has the chance for another top-10 finish in Week 7.
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Vikings' Sam Darnold: Shaky in victory
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Darnold completed 14 of 31 passes for 179 yards, no touchdowns and one interception in Sunday's 23-17 win over the Jets. He also rushed five times for 11 yards and lost a fumble.
Darnold experienced significant struggles for the first time this season, as he combined to complete only nine of his 22 passes to Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. There were several potential explanations for the down performance, as the Jets are a tough defensive matchup and Darnold also suffered an apparent chest injury midway through the first quarter that caused him to miss one play. In addition, the Vikings jumped ahead early, causing the offense to limit its aggressiveness for much of the game. Darnold will have a chance to rest from any lingering soreness as Minnesota will head into a Week 6 bye.
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Vikings' Sam Darnold: QBs to Start
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Darnold comes into Week 5 having scored at least 23.9 Fantasy points in three games in a row against the 49ers, Texans and Packers, and now he faces another tough test against the Jets in London. It's another revenge game for Darnold in a difficult matchup since the Jets are No. 2 in fewest Fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks. But the Jets have faced Brock Purdy, Will Levis, Jacoby Brissett and Bo Nix to open the season, and I'm not benching Darnold while he's this hot. I still consider Darnold a No. 1 quarterback in all leagues in Week 5.
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Vikings' Sam Darnold: Overcomes turnovers in win
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Darnold completed 20 of 28 passes for 275 yards with three touchdowns and one interception and added seven carries for 15 yards in the Vikings' 31-29 win over the Packers on Sunday. He also lost a fumble.
Darnold and the Vikings appeared well on their way to another impressive victory during a first half in which they jumped out to a 28-7 lead with help of the quarterback's pair of touchdown tosses to Jordan Addison (29 yards) and Justin Jefferson (14 yards). However, Darnold played a part in aiding Green Bay's comeback in the second half, tossing an interception at the Packers' two-yard line and then losing the handle on the ball during a sack at his own 24-yard line early in the fourth quarter. The latter mistake led to a Green Bay touchdown, but he was able to subsequently helm one more scoring drive that culminated in a field goal and essentially proved to be the difference in the game. Darnold will be striving to build on what was a season-high passing yardage total in a Week 5 matchup against the Jets in London next Sunday.
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Vikings' Sam Darnold: QBs to Start
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Darnold looks awesome right now in Kevin O'Connell's offense, and he's scored at least 23.9 Fantasy points in each of his past two games against the 49ers and Texans, with six passing touchdowns over that span. This week, he's taking on a Packers defense that has more interceptions (seven) than touchdowns allowed (five), but Green Bay is also ninth in passing yards allowed to quarterbacks with 742. I'm buying this hot start by Darnold, and he's worth using as a low-end starter in all leagues.
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Vikings' Sam Darnold: Not expected to miss time
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The Vikings announced Monday that Darnold sustained a bone bruise to his left knee during Sunday's 34-7 win over the Texans and is not expected to miss any time, Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
Darnold underwent an MRI on Monday after he missed one play in the third quarter of Sunday's win over Houston, with tests revealing that the veteran quarterback didn't sustain any structural damage to his knee. It's also encouraging for the Vikings offense that the team isn't expressing real concern about Darnold's health heading into a key road divisional matchup against the Packers. Across three games this season, Darnold has thrown for a league-leading eight touchdowns with just two interceptions, despite Jordan Addison (ankle) missing both of the past two games and star tight end T.J. Hockenson (knee) still residing on the reserve/PUP list.
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Vikings' Sam Darnold: Getting knee checked out Monday
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Darnold confirmed that he will undergo an MRI on his left knee after he missed one play in the third quarter of the Vikings' 34-7 win over the Texans on Sunday, when he took a low hit from Houston's Danielle Hunter, Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com reports. He completed 17 of 28 pass attempts for 181 yards and four touchdowns and no interceptions in the victory.
Darnold downplayed the knee issue when he spoke to the media following Sunday's game, though he admitted he wasn't sure if the injury would limit his participation in practice during the upcoming week. After making a brief visit to the medical tent on the Vikings' sideline to have his knee checked out late in the third quarter, Darnold didn't look to be too hindered by his knee the rest of the way, as he proceeded to lead Minnesota to three scores (two field goals, one touchdown) on the ensuing three drives upon re-entering the game. At this point, the expectation is that Darnold will be ready to play next Sunday at Green Bay, but the upcoming MRI should provide more clarity on the extent of his injury and shed more light on whether he'll be in jeopardy of missing time.
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Vikings' Sam Darnold: QBs to Sit
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Darnold has been one of the darling stories of the season so far as the starter for the Vikings, who are 2-0. He's averaging 21.3 Fantasy points per game against the Giants and 49ers, and we'll see if he can stay hot against the Texans. But I don't love this matchup for Darnold, and he's only worth starting in Superflex and two-quarterback leagues. This Houston defense is nasty and just sacked Caleb Williams seven times in Week 2, and this should be Darnold's worst game of the season, which means I expect him to score fewer than 18 Fantasy points in Week 3.
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Vikings' Sam Darnold: Leads upset win shorthanded
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Darnold completed 17 of 26 passes for 268 yards with two touchdowns and one interception and added five carries for 32 yards in the Vikings' 23-17 win over the 49ers on Sunday. He also committed two fumbles, recovering one.
Darnold wasn't quite as efficient as he'd been during a Week 1 win over the Giants in which he misfired on only five pass attempts, but considering he was missing Jordan Addison (ankle) from the onset of the game and then lost Justin Jefferson (quadriceps) late in the third quarter, the veteran signal-caller was effective overall. Well before the latter's exit from the game, however, the duo connected for a 97-yard touchdown pass that served as the highlight of the afternoon, and essentially, the difference in the game. Darnold did take his lumps against an aggressive 49ers defense that sacked him three times and hit him on an additional three occasions, jarring the ball loose twice. While Darnold and the Vikings were still able to escape with a high-quality victory, they will be hard-pressed to duplicate their success in a Week 3 home matchup against the Texans if neither Jefferson nor Addison are available for that contest.
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Vikings' Sam Darnold: One To Stash (QB Preview)
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Darnold looked above average in Week 1, but it's hard to judge his performance because the Giants secondary is one of the worst in the league. If he looks competent in Week 2 against the 49ers, then we will have to at least consider the possibility that he's going to be a borderline starter in Fantasy this season.
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Vikings' Sam Darnold: Week 2 Waiver Priority List
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Darnold looked OK in Week 1 at the Giants in his first start for the Vikings with 18.6 Fantasy points. We'll see how he does in Week 2 against San Francisco, but playing in Kevin O'Connell's offense with Justin Jefferson could be exactly what Darnold needs to turn his career around. In deeper leagues, Darnold could be worth stashing for 1 percent of your remaining FAB.
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Vikings' Sam Darnold: Nearly perfect in team debut
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Darnold completed 19 of 24 passes for 208 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in the Vikings' 28-6 win over the Giants on Sunday. He also rushed three times for three yards.
Returning to a MetLife Stadium field that was often a proverbial house of horrors for him during a difficult early career stint with the Jets, Darnold looked like a quarterback out for redemption over the course of a stellar Vikings debut. The veteran signal-caller connected with Justin Jefferson (three yards) and Jalen Nailor (21 yards) for his two touchdown passes, and his 12 consecutive completions to open the game tied franchise legend Fran Tarkenton's record in that category. Darnold had the perfect game environment to ease into his new role thanks in part to a dominant defensive performance by Minnesota, but the going figures to be a lot tougher in a Week 2 home showdown against the 49ers.
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Vikings' Sam Darnold: Adds/Streamers (QB Preview)
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Darnold is only a start in two-QB leagues, but I do prefer him over Herbert, Derek Carr, and Russell Wilson this week. The Giants have arguably the worst secondary in the league and Darnold has Justin Jefferson. That should get him to 17 Fantasy points, which is more than I can count on from the guys listed above in Week 1.
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Vikings' Sam Darnold: Won't start Saturday
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Coach Kevin O'Connell relayed Thursday that that Darnold's teammate Jaren Hall will start Saturday's preseason finale against the Eagles.
O'Connell added that Matt Corral is likely to see snaps after Hall on Saturday, with Darnold's next start thus slated to occur Week 1 against the Giants on Sunday, Sept. 8. The veteran QB is slated to open the regular season as Minnesota's top signal-caller, with first-round rookie J.J. McCarthy having landed on IR last week due to a knee injury.
