Sam Darnold has led the Minnesota Vikings to a 3-0 record this season but that hasn’t been enough to win over some of his harshest critics.
Speaking on his podcast with Vikings great and Hall of Famer Cris Carter on Tuesday, ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith doubled down on his skepticism for Darnold’s start and dismissed the notion that the Vikings are Super Bowl contenders because of him.
"You’re] forgetting who your quarterback is. We talking about Sam Darnold. You can bring up what we’ve seen over the first three games. You’ve given me three games, I could give you six years of ineptitude on his part before his three games. I ain’t gonna front. I like him. … [But] why should we look at Sam Darnold and believe that what was taking place the previous five or six years ain’t gonna suddenly reoccur?"Stephen A. Smith
National analyst gets into sparring session with Vikings great over Sam Darnold
This isn’t the first time Smith has dismissed Darnold’s play this season. After Darnold led the Vikings to a win over the New York Giants in Week 1, Smith told fellow ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky he needed to see more before from the 26-year-old to be a believer.
"At some point in time, your resume has to matter. Now we saw him complete 14 of his 15 passes from a clean pocket last week. We get all of that. That’s against the New York Giants. Let’s see how he’s going to look this Sunday when Nick Bosa [and the San Francisco 49ers] are coming his way.Stephen A. Smith
Don’t expect the same results because it ain’t going to happen. Let’s get that out of the way, first. …I gotta see it to believe it. He’s been in the league for seven years and what you describe him as being, I haven’t seen much of from him when he’s been in the lineup. So I’m damn sure not going to assume we’re going to see that from him now."
Smith’s comments are correct when you consider Darnold’s career to date. After being selected with the third overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, Darnold floundered as a full-time starter with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers before spending a year as Brock Purdy’s backup with the San Francisco 49ers.
Vikings fans scoffed when he signed a one-year, $10 million contract hours after Kirk Cousins signed with the Atlanta Falcons in free agency. But he’s become one of the best comeback stories in the NFL this season, completing 67.9 percent of his passes with an NFL-high eight touchdown passes and just two interceptions in the first three games.
It still hasn’t been enough to shake the bad taste out the mouth of pundits like Smith who probably still see Darnold seeing ghosts on the sideline. But Carter noted Sam Darnold will have a golden opportunity to do so in the next three games against the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions.
"The next two weeks will prove a lot in terms of getting people on the bandwagon."Cris Carter
If Darnold can rack up two more wins before the bye, it could put a lot of eyes on the Week 7 matchup with the Detroit Lions and maybe get people like Smith to change their tune for the second half of the year.