Purple Q&A: QB1’s Surprising Attribute, Underrated Vikings Free Agent, Key vs. Lions
Today, on January 3rd, ahead of the divisional clash against the Detroit Lions, PurplePTSD’s Janik Eckardt answers a trio of questions about the Minnesota Vikings. If you have questions for future editions of the Purple Q&A, please email them to [email protected].
Purple Q&A: QB1’s Surprising Attribute, Underrated Vikings Free Agent, Key vs. Lions
Let’s get right to it.
Q: Sam Darnold has proven his doubters wrong all season, but what is one of his underrated skills?
Sam Darnold entered the NFL as the third overall pick in 2018, and many draft pundits thought he should (or would) be the first player to be taken. He always had an impressive arm, but it has finally been unlocked by a head coach who knows what he’s doing, something he apparently didn’t have in his previous stints (at least before he joined the 49ers in 2023).
The one element that might have been surprising is the fact that he can extend plays, a skill all elite quarterbacks possess. Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, and Lamar Jackson all can escape from pressure and throw darts downfield while on the run.
Darnold has a few of those plays every single week. A prolific example is when he stepped up in the pocket against the Seahawks and took the lead with a dime to Justin Jefferson. Kirk Cousins was an elite play-by-the-book QB, and there’s nothing wrong with it if the drawn-up play is working, but Darnold can make stuff happen when it isn’t.
Q: Besides the obvious candidates, which pending free agent should the Vikings prioritize?
The top four scheduled free agents are Darnold, Byron Murphy, Cam Bynum, and Aaron Jones. It remains to be seen whether the Vikings can keep some or all of them.
Besides those standouts, however, there are plenty more players on expiring contracts. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has to replace (or re-sign) roughly half of his players.
One guy who has been an unsung player this year is Shaq Griffin. Stephon Gilmore and Murphy are the two top CBs, but Griffin has done an excellent job as the CB3. PFF has graded him as an average player, but at a worst-link position like CB or the offensive line, that is good enough.
He is not the star cornerback the Jaguars tried to acquire when they paid him a ton of money in 2020, but he is better than most players the Vikings have had at that spot following the mass exodus in that same offseason.
Q: What is the key to beating the Lions?
The Vikings will travel to Detroit to take on the team that has been favored to win the division all year. But suddenly, the Vikings mirror their 14-2 record, and the winner of Sunday’s contest will claim the top seed in the NFC and, subsequently, home-field advantage and a first-round bye week.
Under Kevin O’Connell, the Vikings win games whenever they break even or have the advantage in the turnover battle. Limiting them will be the key to extending the win streak to ten.
Darnold has done an outstanding job at taking care of the football recently, throwing only two interceptions in the last seven games and Aaron Jones has seemingly overcome his fumble problems. It will be a heavyweight fight, and game-changing mistakes on offense while failing to take advantage of opportunities on defense is a losing recipe.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
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Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt