Vikings' Sam Darnold: Notches sixth three-score game
Rotowire
Darnold completed 22 of 35 pass attempts for 246 yards and three touchdowns while rushing five times for 11 yards in Sunday's 27-24 win over the Seahawks.
Darnold lifted his team past Seattle late in the fourth quarter when he stepped up in the face of heavy pressure before rifling a bomb to Justin Jefferson for the game-deciding score. The late-blooming Darnold had already tossed two scores in the first half of Sunday's win, resulting in the signal-caller's sixth game recording three or more total touchdowns this season. The 2018 first-round selection is now up to 3,776 passing yards and 32 touchdowns (with 11 interceptions) through 15 starts with Minnesota. Darnold remains an appealing fantasy asset heading into next Sunday's home tilt against the Packers.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: QBs to Start
Rotowire
Darnold only scored 13.2 Fantasy points in Week 15 against Chicago, but Justin Jefferson dropped an easy touchdown that would have boosted both their stats. Prior to Week 15, Darnold had scored at least 23.6 Fantasy points in four games in a row, and he should get back on track in Week 16 at Seattle. Five quarterbacks in the past seven games against the Seahawks have scored at least 20.4 Fantasy points, and Darnold remains a solid No. 1 quarterback in all leagues.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: Career-best day in win
Rotowire
Darnold completed 22 of 28 passes for 347 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions and added four rushes for seven yards in the Vikings' 42-21 win over the Falcons on Sunday.
Darnold and the Vikings punted after seven plays on their first drive, but the offensive showcase began on Minnesota's second possession in the form of a 49-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Addison. Darnold encountered little resistance the rest of the way while accumulating single-game career highs in passing yards and touchdowns, hitting Justin Jefferson (12 yards, 52 yards) and Addison (11 yards, six yards) for his other four scoring tosses. Darnold now has multiple touchdown-pass tallies without an interception in four straight games, as well as a pair of 300-yard efforts in the last three contests. The veteran quarterback's resurgent season's next chapter unfolds at home against the Bears in a Week 15 Monday night matchup Dec. 16.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: QBs to Start
Rotowire
Darnold continues to prove himself as a solid Fantasy quarterback on a weekly basis, and he scored at least 23.6 Fantasy points in three games in a row. I like him as a top-five Fantasy quarterback in this matchup with the Falcons, who are No. 8 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks. Five of the past six quarterbacks against Atlanta have scored at least 21.8 Fantasy points, and Darnold should have the chance for another quality stat line in Week 14.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: Top DFS Play
Rotowire
Darnold has six passing touchdowns and zero interceptions in his last three games against the Cardinals, Bears, and Titans. This week, he's at home against a Falcons defense that allows more Fantasy points to opposing defenses than each of Darnold's past three matchups. This is my favorite game on the slate to stack.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: Leads big comeback Sunday
Rotowire
Darnold completed 21 of 31 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday's 23-22 win over the Cardinals. He added 22 rushing yards on four carries.
The Vikings were in a 19-6 hole late in the third quarter as Darnold struggled to find time in the pocket, but the QB led an impressive late comeback, hitting Johnny Mundt for a four-yard score just before the end of the third and then connecting with Aaron Jones on a five-yard TD with only 1:13 left in the fourth. It's the fifth time in the last six games that Darnold has tossed multiple TDs, a stretch in which he's posted an 11:5 TD:INT. He'll look to keep rolling, and keep the Vikings on track for the playoffs, in Week 14 against the Falcons.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: Bust Alert (Start/Sit)
Rotowire
It's hard to bench Darnold, given what he's done lately, but this is a tough matchup against the Cardinals. Darnold has scored at least 22.2 Fantasy points in four of his past five games, and he's been exceptional the past two weeks against the Titans and Bears with a combined 52.7 points. But Arizona has also been exceptional against opposing quarterbacks of late, as Justin Herbert, Tua Tagovailoa, Caleb Williams, Aaron Rodgers, and Geno Smith have all scored 16.7 Fantasy points or less in five games in a row. Josh Allen, Jayden Daniels, and Jordan Love are the only quarterbacks with more than 20 Fantasy points against the Cardinals this season, including matchups with Matthew Stafford, Jared Goff, and Brock Purdy. I would only start Darnold in Superflex and two-quarterback leagues in Week 13.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: Picks apart Bears with deep balls
Rotowire
Darnold completed 22 of 34 passes for 330 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions in Sunday's 30-27 overtime win against the Bears.
Darnold crushed the Bears with deep pass attempts, as he tallied three completions of at least 40 yards and seven of at least 20. That led to his first 300-yard passing game of the season, though he was aided by overtime to get there. Darnold also tacked on passing scores from two and five yards away, marking his fourth multi-touchdown effort in six games since Minnesota's bye. After a brief shaky stretch, Darnold has returned to form as a solid fantasy contributor.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: QBs to Sit
Rotowire
Darnold is more of a bust alert than a must-sit quarterback, and he's playing well of late with at least 22.2 Fantasy points in three of his past four games. But his matchup against the Bears won't be easy since Chicago is No. 1 in fewest Fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks. Trevor Lawrence in Week 6 is the lone quarterback with multiple touchdown passes against the Bears, and only Lawrence, Jayden Daniels and Jordan Love have topped 20 Fantasy points against Chicago. Darnold is only worth starting in Superflex and two-quarterback leagues.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: Dealing with foot issue
Rotowire
Darnold was a limited participant in practice Wednesday due to a foot injury.
Darnold kicked off last week as a limited participant due to a right hand injury but followed up with a full session one day later, allowing him to suit up this past Sunday at Tennessee. He's tending to a new health concern this week, though, meaning his status will be watched as the weekend approaches to see if he's in any danger of being sidelined Sunday in Chicago.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: Looks healthy with three TDs
Rotowire
Darnold (right hand) completed 20 of 32 pass attempts for 246 yards and two touchdowns while adding 18 rushing yards and a third score (one fumble) off of eight carries in Sunday's 23-13 win over Tennessee.
Darnold was dealing with a minor injury to his throwing hand coming out of his worst performance of the season against the Jaguars last week. The veteran signal-caller bounced back fully from the three-pick outing with three touchdowns in Minnesota's eighth win of the year. Now healthy, Darnold makes for a fine fantasy play against the flailing Bears next Sunday.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: Full practice Thursday
Rotowire
Darnold (right hand) practiced fully Thursday.
One day removed from being limited due to an injury to his throwing hand Wednesday, Darnold was able to handle every practice rep, paving the way for him to continue to direct the Vikings offense. On Sunday, he'll be taking on a Titans defense that has given up the second-fewest yards per attempt (6.21) to opposing quarterbacks on the campaign.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: QBs to Start
Rotowire
Darnold had a disastrous game in Week 10 at Jacksonville with just 6.4 Fantasy points, which snapped a two-game streak where he scored at least 22.2 points. He had 241 passing yards and three interceptions against the Jaguars, and it's just the second time this season he failed to throw a touchdown. He'll rebound this week against the Titans, and three of the past four quarterbacks against Tennessee have scored at least 21.7 Fantasy points. I'll go back to Darnold as a No. 1 quarterback in all leagues.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: Disastrous effort in win
Rotowire
Darnold completed 24 of 38 passes for 241 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions in Sunday's 12-7 win over the Jaguars.
Darnold turned in his worst performance of the season by any measure, highlighted by three interceptions -- all of which came when he targeted Justin Jefferson. After throwing only five picks across his first seven starts of the campaign, Darnold now has five in his last two contests. The Vikings won both games despite his efforts, so Darnold should have a comfortable hold on the starting job, though he'll need a better showing in Week 11 against the Titans for fantasy managers to continue to have faith in his ability to deliver production.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: QBs to Start
Rotowire
Darnold comes into Week 10 having scored at least 22.2 Fantasy points in each of his past two games, and he should stay hot against the Jaguars in this matchup. Jacksonville is No. 1 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks, and six of the past seven quarterbacks against the Jaguars have scored at least 24.8 Fantasy points. Darnold has top-five upside in Week 10.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: Throws three TDs on SNF
Rotowire
Darnold completed 28 of 34 pass attempts for 290 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions while rushing four times for 14 yards and surrendering a fumble in Sunday's 21-13 win over the Colts.
Darnold completed his third game with at least three touchdowns this season. It came at the cost of three turnovers (two picks, one fumble), but the overall results were positive from a fantasy perspective. Darnold is now up to 1,900 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions through eight starts with Minnesota this season. The 2018 first-round pick continues to surpass expectations in his new digs as the Vikings prepare to take on the Jaguars next Sunday.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: Clean performance in Week 8 loss
Rotowire
Darnold completed 18 of 25 passes for 240 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions and rushed three times for six yards in the Vikings' 30-20 loss to the Rams on Thursday night.
Darnold's final numbers were acceptable from a fantasy perspective, but he also wasthe subject of a controversial play that essentially sealed the Vikings' defeat. Lined up in shotgun formation at his own five-yard line with 1:36 remaining, Darnold struggled to find an open man and then was brought down in the end zone by the Rams' Byron Young, although the second-year edge rusher clearly appeared to pull the quarterback's face mask in the process of generating a safety. Nevertheless, there was no flag on the play, and Darnold never had a chance to get the ball back. The 2018 third overall pick did post his fifth multi-touchdown game of the season courtesy of five- and 10-yard first-quarter scoring tosses to the unlikely duo of Josh Oliver and Trent Sherfield. Darnold also facilitated another 100-yard performance for Justin Jefferson, but following consecutive losses, the onus will be on the veteran signal-caller to capitalize on a favorable Week 9 home matchup against the Colts on Sunday night, Nov. 3.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: Inconsistent in Week 7 loss
Rotowire
Darnold completed 22 of 27 passes for 259 yards with a touchdown and an interception and added four rushes for 39 yards in the Vikings' 31-29 loss to the Lions on Sunday.
Darnold took four sacks from a Lions defense missing Aidan Hutchinson (IR, lower leg), including on a final play that he'd helped make possible by successfully spiking the ball with one second remaining. The 2018 third overall pick had opened the game in optimistic fashion by helping lead Minnesota to 10 first-quarter points. Darnold had trouble answering once the Lions roared back with three second-quarter touchdowns, but he did record a 25-yard scoring strike to Justin Jefferson early in the third quarter. Nevertheless, that would be the last trip to the end zone the Vikings would make on offense, and Darnold also failed to eat up more clock with his team up by one when he threw incomplete to Jefferson on third down with 2:46 remaining. Having suffered their first loss of the season, Darnold and his teammates have a short turnaround before a Week 8 Thursday night road battle against the Rams.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: QBs to Start
Rotowire
Darnold comes into Week 5 having scored at least 23.9 Fantasy points in three games in a row against the 49ers, Texans and Packers, and now he faces another tough test against the Jets in London. It's another revenge game for Darnold in a difficult matchup since the Jets are No. 2 in fewest Fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks. But the Jets have faced Brock Purdy, Will Levis, Jacoby Brissett and Bo Nix to open the season, and I'm not benching Darnold while he's this hot. I still consider Darnold a No. 1 quarterback in all leagues in Week 5.
... See More... See Less
Vikings' Sam Darnold: QBs to Start
Rotowire
Darnold looks awesome right now in Kevin O'Connell's offense, and he's scored at least 23.9 Fantasy points in each of his past two games against the 49ers and Texans, with six passing touchdowns over that span. This week, he's taking on a Packers defense that has more interceptions (seven) than touchdowns allowed (five), but Green Bay is also ninth in passing yards allowed to quarterbacks with 742. I'm buying this hot start by Darnold, and he's worth using as a low-end starter in all leagues.
