Overlooked as Vikings' placeholder, Sam Darnold is delivering elite QB play to lead Minnesota's 3-0 start

Yes, it's early, but it's also true

MINNEAPOLIS -- Poll a handful of Minnesota Vikings fans this summer, and you would have gotten a handful of different answers to this simple but all-important question: Which quarterback should be leading the team this fall? Some would've cheerily advocated for J.J. McCarthy, the suave first-round rookie whose NFL debut was ultimately postponed indefinitely due to a preseason injury. Others would've lamented the exit of Kirk Cousins, who'd at least been a steady hand for more than a half-decade prior. Few would've said Sam Darnold with strong conviction.

Even the most optimistic Vikings fans, see, had little trouble treading lightly with Darnold hype going into the season. Signed to a very modest one-year contract, on his fourth team in five years, fresh off a 2023 campaign spent almost exclusively on the sidelines, the former New York Jets prospect and journeyman castoff was always set to benefit from arguably the best supporting cast of his NFL career. He was always primed for career marks working under coach Kevin O'Connell, the definition of quarterback-friendly in both offensive design and affable attitude. Yet no one really, deep down, would've been stunned if the "real Darnold" finally showed up, hurling balls into traffic.

To be clear, three weeks into the 2024 NFL season, there's still time for that. The Vikings (3-0 after Sunday's rout of the Houston Texans) know as well as anyone that a hot start or sterling record can fizzle into nothing, as it did in the playoffs following O'Connell's otherwise magical debut coaching the 13-4 squad of 2022. And Darnold has flashed first-round arm sizzle before, only to slip into turnover- or injury-riddled slumps that wore out his welcome in both East Rutherford and Charlotte, North Carolina, recent treasure trove of failed reclamation projects.

The Vikings have arguably also never enjoyed a more promising three-game stretch of quarterback play this side of ... Brett Favre? Daunte Culpepper? Or, dare we say, ever? As CBS Sports noted Sunday, this Darnold is the first Vikings signal-caller in the history of the 1960-founded franchise to throw multiple touchdown passes in three straight victories to start a season. His eight passing scores through Week 3 lead the entire league. And those are just small slices of the pie: He's protected the ball much better than at any other point in his career, and he's doing it without some of the club's top playmakers in injured wideout Jordan Addison and tight end T.J. Hockenson.

Minnesota is a surprise unbeaten contender, in what once looked like a gauntlet of an NFC North division, for a lot of reasons. O'Connell has fostered a near-unmatched culture built on positivity. The running game is back to turbo mode with ex-Green Bay Packers star Aaron Jones. The O-line, led by left tackle Christian Darrisaw, is holding its own against some of the NFL's best defensive fronts. And Brian Flores' defense is a Frankenstein's monster of swarming standouts, with fast, physical, versatile veterans -- many of them newcomers -- at every level.

It's clear, then, that Darnold's setup isn't just the best he's ever enjoyed; it's also better and deeper than anyone anticipated, with secondary weapons like Ty Chandler, Jalen Nailor and Brandon Powell making a habit of critical splash plays. We'll find out in due time whether the vaunted infrastructure is simply "masking" Darnold or, more importantly, whether Minnesota can sustain this sudden and unexpected nationwide appeal. But anyone who's opened a single eye during any of Darnold's first three starts in purple would be fibbing if they said Darnold is simply along for the ride. This man has operated like the top-three talent he was drafted to be, with not only the passing zip but, better yet, the resilient authority required of a true under-center leader.

It'd be one thing if he were shaking off a rare pick against a lowly defense. Instead, he's delivered top-10, if not top-five, quarterbacking in consecutive upsets of Houston and the San Francisco 49ers, two of the most imposing contenders in the NFL. And the latest, against the Texans, wasn't even a close game. Maybe, just maybe, we should've listened to Powell, who told CBS Sports prior to Week 1 that Darnold "can sling the ball" like the best of them, and that he's wired to recover quickly from mistakes -- perhaps properly hardened by those lost years with the rebuilding Jets. Maybe we should've believed the internal consensus that, finally afforded reasonable coaching and skill talent -- like, say the most electrifying receiver in the NFL in Justin Jefferson -- Darnold was no less likely to restore his reputation than fellow 2018 draftee Baker Mayfield with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Will this last? It's a fair question that cannot be answered at this time, which is frankly the beauty of this unpredictable game. But Darnold's help should only improve as the year goes, with Addison and Hockenson eventually set to join Jefferson and Co. in the offensive lineup. And not a single soul -- not even one that bleeds purple, routinely yelps "Ope!" or spent at least one hot August afternoon at the Minnesota State Fair -- could've fully foreseen Darnold headlining a perfect Vikings team approaching October.

Yes, Cousins drew his own MVP buzz to open 2023, only to fall victim to injury and a final contract standoff. But most agree he'd already hit his ceiling in this organization. Darnold, by contrast, is still just 27, only now experiencing a shot at real contention. It's a storybook trajectory for both the team and its quarterback, who roughly one month ago was designated little more than a veteran placeholder for the "real" future that is McCarthy.

If we're being honest, the same Vikings fans who entered with cautious hope but are now spoiled by this sudden success might prefer to keep this whole thing under wraps, on the down-low, so as not to tarnish the moment in favor of fanciful dreams involving late-season winter glory. But who says it's the time for being reasonable? "Reasonable" was expecting Darnold to be passable -- nothing more, nothing less. He's exceeded that mark for now, and as of yet, there's no clear reason to expect a downshift. Every Vikings fan can agree on that.