Mike Florio Is Stirring the Pot
The Minnesota Vikings are scheduled to face the Los Angeles Rams on Monday. Because of the devastating wildfires, the game has been moved to the alternate stadium in Glendale, Arizona, where the Vikings haven’t played in a few years.
Mike Florio Is Stirring the Pot
Kevin O’Connell’s team is coming off a disappointing weekend, as they picked the worst time for the worst offensive performance of the season. Quarterback Sam Darnold, who had been fantastic in the previous weeks, returned to his pre-Vikings form. He left countless yards and points on the board because of hesitancy in the pocket and inaccuracy.
There’s no good time for that, but he surely picked the worst one, as the game in Detroit was a playoff-like matchup. The winner clinched the NFC North, home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, and a valuable bye week in the first round.
A quarterback needs to come up clutch in the biggest moments, not shrink when he is asked to show up.
Because of his struggles, Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk, believes the Vikings would make a monumental switch if he once again comes up short and he looks at Daniel Jones to save the club.
The Vikings added Jones from the practice squad to the 53-man roster earlier this week, allowing them to include him in the compensatory formula should he leave in the offseason and have him active as the emergency quarterback on Monday.
“The fact that the move happened only days after starter Sam Darnold found a moment that seemed a bit too big for his stunningly strong season has raised questions about whether Jones might be in line to play, if Darnold struggles in the postseason,” Florio wrote on Friday.
Darnold has tossed 35 touchdowns in the 17 regular season games and has been a big part of Minnesota’s success this year. However, there’s no tomorrow in the cruel but exciting reality of the win-or-go-home NFL playoffs.
Head coach O’Connell mentioned earlier this week that the QB depth chart is not set in stone, “it’s such a fluid thing here for the rest of the way, we’re going to do whatever we think gives us the best chance to win.”
Florio expects Jones to be the emergency quarterback in Minnesota’s first postseason contest: “The current expectation is that Jones, despite joining the active roster, will be the emergency quarterback against the Rams on Monday night. He’ll play only if Darnold and primary backup Nick Mullens are injured.”
In case of victory, however, the Vikings would play either a road game in Detroit, Tampa Bay or host the Commanders at U.S. Bank Stadium. And in that game, it could be Jones, thinks Florio.
The window for Jones playing looks more like this, we believe: The Vikings win but Darnold plays poorly, and Jones could play in the divisional round.
Of course, the chances of the Vikings winning if Darnold plays poorly are slim. And it will be difficult if not impossible for Minnesota to advance without Darnold making a play at some point that would boost his status for a return to Detroit. (Or, possibly, a trip to Philly or Tampa or a visit from the Commanders.)
But Darnold could be on a short leash in the second round, if the Vikings get there. In a single-elimination setting, with the season riding on the outcome, a switch from a quarterback with (as of now) no playoff experience to a quarterback who two years ago won a playoff game in Minnesota might be needed.
The good news for Vikings fans is that Darnold has bounced back from previous struggles. After three of his passes landed in the hands of Jaguars defenders, he went on a tear, throwing 18 touchdowns and only two interceptions in his next seven games.
Skol Nation needs a similar resurgence if they want to win the first playoff game in five years.
Jones has starting experience and some intriguing traits (especially his athleticism), but there’s a reason why he was looking for work in November. Following his breakout campaign in 2022, which included a playoff triumph in the Twin Cities, he threw for only ten touchdowns and accumulated 13 interceptions in two seasons.
Florio is known to take his speculations over the top occasionally, and this is one of those instances. Unless Darnold is completely falling apart (his team is unlikely to win such a game) or suffers an injury, he will be the top option for however long Minneosta’s Super Bowl dreams are alive.
Darnold has earned at least some trust after delivering a Pro Bowl season.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
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