Unnecessary? Stephen A. Smith makes bold claim about Sam Darnold ahead of Vikings week 18 fixture against Lions

Despite putting up MVP level numbers in his first year with the Minnesota Vikings, Stephen A. smith isn't sold on Sam Darnold just yet and on top of it he threw caution to the fans about Darnold's lack of passing yards in a single game.

Unnecessary? Stephen A. Smith makes bold claim about Sam Darnold ahead of Vikings week 18 fixture against Lions

Sam Darnold and Stephen A. Smith (Image via IMAGO/X)

Sam Darnold caught a lucky break in his first season with the Minnesota Vikings after his path to the starting quarterback job opened up after rookie JJ McCarthy picked up a long-term injury. However, from day 1, the once-rejected Darnold made the Vikings quarterback position his own.

In 16 games, the 27-year-old completed 4,153 passing yards and 35 touchdowns, obliterating his previous best of 2,865 yards and 17 touchdowns in his rookie season with the New York Jets. The NFL awarded him with his first-ever Pro Bowl honor.

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Darnold has the opportunity to increase his numbers further on the final day of the season when the Vikings travel to Detroit to face the Lions and decide the NFC North champions and the conference’s first seed. The Vikings are in a great position to make it 10 wins in a row and bag a bye week in the postseason.

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Even though the Vikings brought Sam Darnold as their backup/bridge quarterback, his performances shifted opinions in Minnesota. According to reports, the Vikings may keep Darnold and wait it out with JJ McCarthy.

Despite all the positives, ESPN’s veteran analyst Stephen A. Smith wants the Vikings fans to avoid celebrating too early. During a recent segment of First Take, Smith raved about Darnold but at the same time pointed out that he hasn’t had a 300 passing yards game since Week 12 in an overtime win over the Chicago Bears.

We’re talking about Sam Darnold, and again, he deserves credit; we know he’s had a stellar season. The man hasn’t thrown for 300 yards since November 24th against Chicago. I mean, I’m just throwing it out there. Let’s not act like this is the second coming of Dan Marino, and we just see him flinging passes all over the place.

Stephen A. Smith told the host of First Take, Molly Qerim.
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Stephen A. Smith makes a massive blunder while critiquing Sam Darnold’s numbers for Vikings

Judging by his words, Smith doesn’t rate Darnold very highly, but he should have glanced over his numbers before ranting on live TV. Darnold threw for 300 yards not once but twice post-Bears fixture.

Stephen A. Smith makes a bold claim about Sam Darnold ahead of Vikings week 18 fixture against Lions
Sam Darnold while facing the New York Giants (Image via IMAGO)

The first of the two happened in a 42-21 win over the Atlanta Falcons on December 8, in which Darnold threw for 347 passing yards and five touchdowns. The second one occurred in the Vikings’ latest win (27-25) over the Green Bay Packers in week 17 when he threw 377 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Smith perhaps read the game log backward because Darnold failed to cross 300 yards in his first 10 games for the Vikings. It is an honest mistake but a mistake nonetheless. Moreover, the former third-overall pick only trails Bengals’ Joe Burrow, Lions’ Jared Goff, and Buccaneers’ Baker Mayfield at fifth for quarterback rating (106.4).

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No matter what happens in the month of January, Darnold has earned a new contract. According to inside sources, the USC graduate can earn up to $50 million a year from 2025.