Did Kevin O’Connell Tell a Small Lie?
Kevin O’Connell comes across as very genuine.
His press conferences commonly involve the head coach articulating his belief in his roster and the importance of the culture that has been built inside Minnesota. There’s very little reason not to take him at his word when he discusses these things.
What about gaining an extra bit of satisfaction when it comes to seeing Sam Darnold outduel Kirk Cousins on Sunday?
At the very end of his post-game press conference, O’Connell took on a question about precisely that topic (apparently, the question came courtesy of Ben Goessling of The Star Tribune). Through a bit of a smirk, O’Connell offered a clear-cut, straightforward answer as to whether the Week 14 game offered the team’s decision makers any sense of “validation” in opting for Darnold over Cousins: “No.” Some chuckles from the media followed.
Kevin O’Connell, Sam Darnold, & Kirk Cousins
Probably safe to assume that some fans felt a sense of validation once the clock showed 0:00.
Cousins returned to U.S. Bank Stadium and continued to struggle. Making matters even more discouraging is that Atlanta’s QB1 had plenty of ground support; the Falcons turned 32 carries into 158 yards and 2 touchdowns. In theory, that’s precisely what a play-action master like Cousins needs to carve up a defense.
To his credit, Cousins did move the ball through the air, picking up 344 passing yards in his 23 completions. The backbreaking mistakes, though, remained. Cousins added on a pair of picks to his total. Even worse, he didn’t throw for a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Sam Darnold played perhaps the best game of his career.
Darnold completed 22/28 of his passes for 347 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Cousins’ passer rating for the game was down at 70.1; Darnold’s passer rating for the game was at 157.9. No doubt, Minnesota’s quarterback played a far, far better game.
Stepping back to consider the broader season statistics helps to further clarify the situation. Behind a 6-7 record, Cousins has completed 67% of his passes for 3,396 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. Behind an 11-2 record, Darnold has completed 68.4% of his passes for 3,299 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. No contest, right?
Go ahead and re-read the stats one more time. Now go back to late August or the beginning of September. At that time, would you have predicted that Cousins would be sitting on the 17/15 TD-to-INT ratio while Darnold was sitting on the 28/10 TD-to-INT ratio? Gotta assume that a lot of folks would have predicted that Cousins would be the more productive passer.
Kevin O’Connell, though, has been doing a fantastic job. The praise even extends beyond the head coach. Josh McCown is a very well-respected QB coach and Wes Phillips gets some love inside TCO Performance Center. Plus, the skill is elite and the offensive tackles are excellent (even without Christian Darrisaw). All of these factors are coalescing to help put Darnold in a spot to thrive.
One still wonders, though, if there’s even a small hint of satisfaction right now. Minnesota is marching toward the playoffs largely because a passer who most had totally written off has thrived, just as O’Connell and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah believed.
If the coach ever does allow himself to feel a sense of validation, maybe it will come later on. Maybe the team still needs more success to bask in some satisfaction. Winning some playoff games would certainly help. Winning the playoff game — the Super Bowl — would make it near impossible not to feel at least a little bit validated when it comes to Minnesota saying no to Cousins’ four-year, $180 million deal and yes to Darnold’s one-year, $10 million deal.
At the end of the day, I’m inclined to take O’Connell at his word. Again, he comes across as being very genuine. If he says something, I tend to believe him. His simple, declarative “no” is what I’ll believe.
Minnesota’s fans, in contrast, may pick up the slack, enjoying the unexpected team and QB success as Week 15’s Monday Night Football game awaits.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter, as a co-host for Notes from the North, and as the proprietor at The Vikings Gazette, a humble Vikings Substack.
