Darn! Old No. 14 Riddles Green Bay

 By Eric Goska

Sam Darnold as pictured in the Vikings media guide.

Sam Darnold stands alone.

Darnold, the castoff who has found new life with the Vikings, shredded Green Bay in Minnesota’s 27-25 win at U.S. Bank Stadium. The third pick overall in the 2018 NFL draft did not miss an offensive snap as his team extracted more yards from the Packers than any other this season.

Let go by the Jets, Panthers and 49ers, Darnold has ascended in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. His passer rating of 106.5 this season is a career-high and ranks fifth best in the league.

Sunday evening, Darnold reminded one and all that he was no Sam Howell or Spencer Rattler, two quarterbacks the Packers schooled in wins over the Seahawks and Saints. The 27-year-old native of California demonstrated time and time again that he’s the real deal.

Darnold completed 33 of 43 passes for 377 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He was particularly effective in the second quarter (12 of 14 for 156 and a TD) when the Vikings registered 13 unanswered points to go up 13-3 at the break.

Twenty-four of Darnold’s completions landed in the hands of Justin Jefferson (8 for 92), Jordan Addison (6-69), Jalen Nailor (5-81) and T.J. Hockenson (5-68). Nailor, Addison and Cam Akers each caught a touchdown pass.

Darnold completed five or more consecutive passes on four separate occasions. His run of seven straight in the second quarter resulted in five first downs, one touchdown and 101 yards.

So effective was Darnold that only once did the Vikings run more than twice in succession until the fourth quarter. Then, when Minnesota turned to the ground game in the final 15 minutes and Green Bay rallied to get to within two, Darnold went 3-for-3 for 28 before kneeling three times to ensure victory.

Darnold, of course, was not perfect. He overthrew Akers on a short toss behind the line of scrimmage late in the second quarter. He was high on a pass that Carrington Valentine intercepted midway through the third quarter.

But far too often he had the answer for whatever defense he faced.

Jordan Addison caught six passes for 69 yards and a TD.

By this author’s count, the Packers rushed four on 39 of Darnold’s 44 dropbacks. Defensive coordinator Jeff Halfey sent five three times and dispatched six twice.

Karl Brooks registered Green Bay’s lone sack. Aaron Mosby looked to join his teammate, but his fourth-quarter sack and forced fumble were overturned with an expedited review that revealed Darnold’s hand was moving forward when the linebacker collided with the quarterback.

How to best encapsulate Darnold’s performance? Perhaps with a convoluted statistic (see Extra Point) that the media and fans seem to love.

Here goes: Darnold is the only quarterback to have passed for 300 yards, three touchdowns and 20 first downs in a regular-season game against Green Bay while completing better than 75 percent of his throws.

In the last 104 years, there have been 127 instances of a player throwing for 300 or more yards at the expense of the Packers (regular season). In 51 of those cases, that player also found the end zone three or more times. And on 10 of those occasions, said player also amassed 20 passing first downs.

Darnold is the only one to have checked all the boxes: 300 yards, three TD passes, 20 first downs, and a better-than-75-percent-completion rate all in the same game.

Call him a lone wolf. Call him a cut above the rest.

Call him what you will, but Darnold is definitely one who could make life miserable for the Packers should they run into him in the playoffs.

Extra Point: Here’s a convoluted statistic from the Packers Dope Sheet. “(Jayden) Reed is the first player in league history to post 750- plus receiving yards and six-plus receiving TDs and 100-plus rushing yards and a rushing TD in each of his first two NFL seasons.” String together enough qualifiers and just about anyone can make NFL history.

300 Plus 3 Plus 20

The 10 quarterbacks who passed for 300 yards, three touchdowns and 20 first downs in a single regular-season game against the Packers. Sam Darnold is the only one to have done so while completing better than 75 percent of his passes.

Player	Date	Att	C	Yds	TD	HI	FD	Rate
Sam Darnold	12-29-2024	43	33	377	3	1	20	116.1
Ben Roethlisberger	11-26-2017	45	33	351	4	2	21	106.8
Kirk Cousins	9-16-2018	48	35	425	4	1	20	118.8
Drew Brees	9-8-2011	49	32	419	3	0	20	112.5
Drew Brees	9-30-2012	54	35	446	3	0	23	109.0
Ben Roethlisberger	12-20-2009	46	29	503	3	0	20	121.9
Dan Fouts	10-7-1984	50	31	376	3	0	21	105.1
Daunte Culpepper	11-14-2004	44	27	363	4	0	20	117.9
Matthew Stafford	1-1-2012	59	36	520	5	2	27	103.8
Philip Rivers	11-6-2011	46	26	385	4	3	20	85.9