Sam Darnold had one of those standout games at MetLife Stadium that New York Jets fans had hoped to see regularly when he was drafted No. 3 overall in 2018.
Six years later, now playing for the Minnesota Vikings, he performed well against the Giants on his former home field.
Darnold threw two touchdown passes in a very effective game, and Andrew Van Ginkel scored with an impressive one-handed 10-yard interception return, leading the Vikings to a convincing 28-6 win over the struggling New York Giants on Sunday.
Darnold completed his first 12 passes and threw touchdowns of 3 yards to Justin Jefferson and 21 yards to Jalen Nailor in a strong debut for the Vikings, who finished last season with a 7-10 record.
He also threw a 22-yard pass to Josh Oliver, which helped set up Aaron Jones’ 3-yard touchdown run that gave Minnesota a 7-3 lead late in the first quarter and set a positive tone for the game.
“Obviously it’s great to be back,” Darnold said. He ended the game 19 of 24 for 208 yards and had one interception on a deflected pass. “It’s been a while since I played here.
I played here my first year in Carolina coming back. That was the last time I played here. It’s always good to get back in MetLife.”
Interestingly, Darnold, who played in San Francisco last season, was brought in as a veteran backup for first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy. McCarthy hurt his knee in training camp and will not play this season.
“Sam Darnold, for a guy in a new system to start 12 for 12 and be incredibly poised throughout the day, it was a huge performance for us to be able to build off,” said coach Kevin O’Connell.
Giants inside linebacker Bobby Okereke, who recovered a fumble to set up the game’s first score, was not surprised by Darnold’s performance. He had faced Darnold often while Darnold was at Southern California and Okereke was at Stanford.
“You know, it’s fun competing against him because he’s a gamer. He makes plays. They’re going to run play-action. They’re going to run boot,” Okereke said, adding that New York didn’t perform well enough to win.
