MINNEAPOLIS — Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson leaned against a video screen in the locker room and flashed a huge smile as he described the longest touchdown of his life. The face of the franchise will often wear diamond-encrusted “grillz” that cover his upper and lower front teeth, a $200,000 status symbol for the NFL’s highest-paid receiver.
There was no grill on Sunday, with Jefferson preferring to show off his pearly whites. The smile was so wide from his 97-yard catch and run against the vaunted San Francisco 49ers defense that it was easy to see the teeth near the back of his mouth as well. The grillz do not cover the back teeth, so Jefferson had jewels affixed to each of them, just so everyone knows that his shine is endless.
“As a kid, you always kind of dream of those 99-, 98-, 97-yard touchdowns that you don’t get all the time,” Jefferson said. “Just great play, great call at the right time and a great ball by Sam (Darnold) in leading me and trusting me to beat the double-team.”
The play spoke volumes about the fast-developing chemistry between Jefferson and Darnold in their first season together. It said even more about the trust that Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell has in a quarterback who was drafted third overall by the New York Jets in 2018 but is now on his fourth team in seven seasons.
GO DEEPER
What are the chances Sam Darnold’s Vikings resurgence is real? Sando’s Pick Six
It was early in the second quarter against last season’s NFC champions, a big, tough, physical team with a defense that preys on mistakes. The Vikings defense had just stopped the 49ers on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line, a big statement from the underdogs early in the game.
It would have been easy in that situation for O’Connell to not take any risks, run the ball a few times, punt it out of there and trust this feisty Vikings defense to swing the field position back in their favor. Why take the chance against an opponent just waiting for you to try to do too much? But the head coach had been thinking about this play for 11 months, ever since the Vikings beat the 49ers last October. He saw a look from the San Francisco defense in that game that he thought he could exploit, and he walked up to right tackle Brian O’Neill in the first quarter and told him to be ready for it.
“If you hear this word in the play call, bow up. Need your best s—,” O’Connell told O’Neill.
“I thought you needed my best s— on every play,” the tackle cracked.
With his Vikings leading 3-0 in the second quarter, O’Connell had a feeling he would get the look he wanted from the Niners defense on second-and-long. He did not have a lot of time to mull it over, but the coach thought as long and hard as he could afford to in the moment. The Vikings were playing without No. 2 receiver Jordan Addison and starting tight end T.J. Hockenson. Darnold had earned a reputation for throwing interceptions by the bushel with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers.
GO DEEPER
After years of dysfunction around him, can Vikings QB Sam Darnold finally find NFL success?
But when O’Connell looks at his quarterback, he does not see a player who threw 52 picks in his first 50 games. He sees the player so many were enamored with coming out of USC in 2018, the strong-armed, mobile and intelligent leader. He also knows that Darnold has more support around him on the field and on the coaching staff than he’s ever had. So O’Connell chose to trust Darnold.
We’re really about to put an active player in Canton.@JJettas2
📺: @NFLonCBs pic.twitter.com/cephalTst9
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 15, 2024
“That one has been in the hopper for a little bit,” O’Connell said with a grin after the 23-17 victory propelled the Vikings to a surprising 2-0 start. “Did not know I would call it with our feet in the paint like that. … As pretty a throw as I’ve seen, especially in those circumstances.”
That show of faith in Darnold was the first of many from O’Connell on Sunday. Later in the second quarter, the Vikings were leading 10-0 and driving deep into Niners territory, in position to take a commanding lead. Darnold made an ill-advised throw down the middle that was intercepted by Fred Warner to end the threat. Five plays later, San Francisco was in the end zone, turning the tide in their favor.
“I saw it first-hand the entire year last year how much momentum the Niners get at the end of the half when they score,” said Darnold, who served as Brock Purdy’s backup in San Francisco last season after starting jobs with the Jets and Panthers went awry.
The Vikings got the ball back with 1:53 to play in the half and were set to receive the ball after halftime. It was another scenario in which a head coach would not be blamed for playing it conservatively, running the ball, draining the clock and living to fight another half. But on the team’s first offensive play after Darnold’s interception, he fired an 18-yard strike to Jalen Nailor to get the team moving. Darnold completed two more passes and ripped off an 18-yard scramble to set up a 39-yard field goal from Will Reichard that stabilized the Vikings before the half.
In the fourth quarter, after a touchdown pulled the 49ers within a score at 20-14, Darnold directed a 14-play, 62-yard drive that led to a field goal, ate up 6:46 and put Minnesota back up two scores. He converted three third downs on the drive, including a pinpoint, 26-yard strike down the seam to Nailor on third-and-8. And he did it with Jefferson on the bench with a bruised thigh, Aaron Jones banged up as well and Trishton Jackson and Brandon Powell flanking Nailor at receiver.
“We’ve put in the time to be able to have the confidence in not only me, but everyone in that organization has trust and confidence in everybody,” said Darnold, who ended up 17-of-26 passing for 268 yards and two touchdowns. “We’ve been building it since April.”
Since the moment Darnold arrived in Minnesota, he has been working to put the disappointing start to his career in the past. Even after the Vikings traded up to draft J.J. McCarthy in the first round, Darnold continued to go about his business. He is on a one-year, $10 million deal. He understands how his career could be riding on this season, and now he understands just how much support he has in purple.
GO DEEPER
How NFL journeyman Josh McCown is a key facet of the Vikings’ QB development plan
“Sam has been making a whole bunch of great decisions,” Jefferson said. “We’ve just got to keep trusting in him to make those decisions. We have guys around him to help him out a little bit, give him a little bit less pressure.”
He has one of the very best receivers in the game in Jefferson, who said he expects to get treatment on his thigh this week so he can be ready for next weekend’s game against Houston. He has an offensive line that stood tall against San Francisco’s fierce and physical front seven. Addison and Hockenson will be back eventually, too.
Most importantly, Darnold has a gifted offensive coach who believes in him. One of O’Connell’s most important traits is his ability to instill confidence in his players. There is an earnestness in the way he delivers a message that inspires those who play for him. It was right there as he stood at the podium in his postgame news conference, a hint of defiance in his voice as he talked about his quarterback.
Coach O’Connell’s thoughts on Sam Darnold’s performance today pic.twitter.com/gI1GI2Hr1S
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 15, 2024
“The amount of work that goes into that position on your quarterback journey when everybody decides that you cannot play, we always believed in him and it felt awesome to watch him go do that thing,” O’Connell said. “I’m really proud of Sam Darnold.”
Throughout the offseason, O’Connell heard the doubts surrounding his team. First when they decided to let Kirk Cousins walk and sign Darnold, a disappointing high draft pick on the verge of journeyman status. Then when McCarthy was lost in the preseason with a knee injury, a buzzkill for a franchise that seemed to be headed toward a fresh start.
Still, when O’Connell looked at Darnold, he didn’t see the player who failed to live up to expectations in New York. He saw all the tools that made him such a tantalizing prospect at USC. The season is only two weeks old, but Darnold has rewarded that faith so far. Were it not for a fumble by Jones as he was going into the end zone and that one Darnold pick, the Vikings would have blown out one of the best teams in the NFC.
O’Connell trusts his quarterback. He trusts his defense. He trusts his kicker. He trusts this group.
“I love this team,” O’Connell said. “It takes some results sometimes for people to see it, and I understand that. But I’m very proud of this result today. It is just one game against a really good team. But I’m most proud of what led into this football game today.”
Maybe Darnold and these Vikings are like those diamonds in the back of Jefferson’s mouth. You can’t see their shine until you look a little closer.
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox.
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox.
Sign Up
(Photo: Brad Rempel / Imagn Images)
