Darnold's home debut with Vikings comes vs. 49ers team he was enlightened with last year as a backup

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Sam Darnold enjoyed a valuable reset last season of a sputtering NFL career painted by the unfulfilled expectations of a quarterback from a prestigious college program drafted third overall.

It was a burden-free year with the San Francisco 49ers to be the backup while continuing to learn the league, his position and himself. The Minnesota Vikings enjoyed an immediate benefit from this new version of Darnold in a dominant season-opening performance.

He's aiming to use those off-the-field gains against the 49ers this week. Darnold's home debut for the Vikings will come on Sunday afternoon, with his former team paying a visit.

“I learned so much last year,” Darnold said. “Just being able to learn every single game plan and study throughout the week, I think that was the biggest takeaway that I had, with all the different things that we had to know as quarterbacks going into a game."

After going 13-25 as the starter for the New York Jets over his first three NFL seasons, Darnold was traded to the Carolina Panthers in 2021. He only found further instability around him, leading to more injuries and more interceptions.

Last year, he put his starting aspiration on hold to join the well-oiled operation under 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan — and supported Brock Purdy all the way to the Super Bowl.

“He helped me tremendously with my prep and we all bounced ideas off each other and what we could get and what we need to be aware of,” Purdy said. “Sam contributed so much to our success as a team, man.”

Darnold had his own enlightenment about the pressure — both real and imagined — he experienced in New York when he entered the league in 2018 from USC.

“When you’re at quarterback, I feel like a lot of times you can feel everything kind of collapsing on you, not just in the game, but theoretically, like, as a whole,” Darnold said. “If things aren’t going your way, you can feel the weight of the world a little bit. At the end of the day, it’s your job to just put the ball in your playmakers' hands and let them go run and make a play.

"I think it’s as simple as that sometimes.”

With the Vikings, Darnold's bridge assignment was cemented as a full-season gig when J.J. McCarthy suffered a season-ending knee injury last month.

“I was hoping he’d find no good spots and come back here,” Shanahan said. "But I was happy for him he got this opportunity because Sam more than deserves it. Sam is a starting quarterback in this league and he should run with it.”

The arm strength and processing speed were never in question, but coach Kevin O'Connell and the rest of the coaches and players have been impressed by how naturally Darnold has taken to the complex scheme, improved his footwork and fit in with a new team.

“If you give Sam some time in the drop-back game, just throwing the ball, he’s going to make the right read and throw a nice ball,” Vikings running back Aaron Jones said. “He’s really slept on, so we’re glad to have him. At the end of the season, we’ll look up and there’ll be a lot people talking about him.”

Letting it rip

Darnold was 19 of 24 for 208 yards, two touchdowns, one sack and one interception against the New York Giants. The 44-yard pass to Justin Jefferson he threaded along the sideline during a 99-yard drive was a prime example of the confidence he has in his new surroundings.

“I was double-covered on that play,” Jefferson said. “Him throwing it to that spot and me going to get it, that is going to happen a majority of the time during the season. He has to understand that even when I am double-teamed, I’m still open and that I am going to make a play.”

No dropoff

The 49ers didn’t miss a beat with All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey sidelined for the opener because of a sore calf muscle and Achilles tendon, with backup Jordan Mason rushing for 147 yards and a touchdown against the Jets.

His 28 carries were the most by a 49ers player since Frank Gore had 31 on Oct. 30, 2011, and he also broke a league-best 13 tackles, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

McCaffrey is out again this week but the Niners are plenty confident that Mason can handle the load.

“He’s a dense, sturdy guy and he just runs downhill very physically,” All-Pro tight end George Kittle said. “Hopefully he can just keep doing that and there’ll be a very good substitute for Christian so we don’t have to play Christian for 100 snaps a game.”

Purple people

Jones will also make his home debut for the Vikings after seven seasons with their fiercest rival the Green Bay Packers. He’s eager to join the U.S. Bank Stadium crowd in the ritual “Skol!” chant that’s accompanied by a rhythmic over-the-head clap that builds to a frenzy.

“When you’re on the other sideline, you’re trying not to clap, you’re trying not to get into it, because you see the whole stadium doing it and it’s contagious,” said Jones, who rushed 14 times for 94 yards last week. “I’m really amped to just come out there and play in front of the fans.”

For kicks

San Francisco kicker Jake Moody enjoyed a superb start to his second season by tying a franchise record with six field goals made last week, including two from at least 50 yards.

The 2023 third-round draft pick had a spotty rookie year, including a potential winning field goal he missed against Cleveland and an extra point he had blocked in the Super Bowl against Kansas City.

“Every time that he got more eyes on him and people were waiting for him to fail, he always rebounded and got through that,” Shanahan said. “When you do that, you build true confidence and you get stronger through adversity.”

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Dave Campbell, The Associated Press