Sam Darnold Tosses 3 TDs, Vikings Show Resilience After ...

Sam Darnold has thrived under the coaching of Kevin O'Connell. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty ... [+] Images)

The Minnesota Vikings returned to the win column Sunday night after they rallied in the second half to beat a feisty Indianapolis Colts team that had held them scoreless for the first 30 minutes. Minnesota emerged with a 21-13 triumph as Sam Darnold threw three touchdown passes and demonstrated that a few turnovers would not throw him off track.

Darnold is a very interesting player to study. After moving the ball up and down the field in the early going and having no points on the board, the quarterback did not panic. He took a deep breath and started all over again after halftime.

He threw touchdown passes to Jordan Addison, Jalen Nailor and Josh Oliver, and that was enough to overcome two interceptions and sack/strip/recovery that was returned for a touchdown by the Colts in the second quarter.

Darnold was more than resilient in the game. He was incredibly accurate despite the interceptions, completing 28 of 34 passes for 290 yards. There were several points in the game – particularly in the first half – when the Colts pass rush was breathing fire and hammering Darnold as he tried to set up in the pocket. If Darnold was not worthy, he would have been done in by the four sacks he suffered and the other hard hits that he took in the game.

He is not an MVP candidate as some espoused early in the season when he led the Vikings to surprising – shocking – victories over the 49ers, Texans and Packers. But he is a good and solid quarterback who is quite a bit better than the player who struggled for the first six years of his career with the Jets and Panthers before taking on a back-up role with the Niners.

Give credit to Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell for bringing him into the fold, making him feel like he was a worthy starter and then giving him a path to follow for success. This is probably O’Connell’s greatest strength. He knows how to relate to quarterbacks and he can lead them to significant improvement by working on their confidence and helping them improve their skills. That allows O’Connell to be significantly better than most head coaches who don’t have those skills.

“My trust in Sam is going to be something that’s a winning edge for our football team,” O'Connell said.

Justin Jefferson demonstrates on an every-week basis that he is the Vikings best player. (Photo by ... [+] Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)

The Vikings are a solid team at this point in the year, and by the time they face the Bears in Chicago in Week 12, there is an excellent chance they will have an 8-2 record. Their journey through the AFC South continues in the next two weeks in road games against the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-7) and Tennessee Titans (2-6), and neither of those teams should beat the Vikings.

For that matter, neither should the Bears, a team that has suffered back-to-back brutal losses and has fallen into last place in the NFC North. Chicago’s coaching staff is under fire and their rookie quarterback is taking too much abuse at this point in the season.

The Vikings are going to get tested multiple times after Thanksgiving, and it will be up to Darnold, Justin Jefferson, T.J. Hockenson and Aaron Jones to get the job done on offense while Brian Flores directs an overachieving defense.

That unit has a chance to return to its best form when linebacker Blake Cashman returns from his turf toe injury. That will likely come against the Jaguars. But even when the team is functioning at its highest level, the Vikings are not at the same level as the Detroit Lions or possibly a healthy 49ers team.

The Lions are the best team in the NFC and appear to have an edge by a significant margin. The Vikings are in a group with the Packers, Falcons and Eagles at this point, and they must continue to build if they are going to find a way to show they can compete with the NFC’s most dangerous opponents.

While Minnesota has done well to this point, the biggest tests will come in the final four weeks of the season.

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