What were some key observations from Carolina Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold’s performance against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 6?
Things are getting a little bit dicey for Sam Darnold despite a strong start to the 2021 season. The Carolina Panthers have lost two straight without the services of Christian McCaffrey, with the quarterback throwing five interceptions during this span to leave many wondering if he’s the right guy for this team long term.
Thankfully for Darnold, there is always a quick opportunity to put things right. The Panthers faced a must-win game against the Minnesota Vikings at Bank of America Stadium and were counting on their offseasons acquisition from the New York Jets to lead from the front and get the organization back on track.
The margin for error is getting slimmer with every passing week for Darnold. So watching his progress in this one meant more than most.
With this in mind, here are four key observations from Darnold’s performance against the Vikings in Week 6.
Observation No. 1
Sam Darnold got off to the worst possible start
With the microscope on Sam Darnold, the last thing he needed was throwing an interception on his very first play in Week 6. And this one was all on the quarterback.
Darnold got solid protection from his offensive line, but with nobody really open downfield he decided to try and force the issue to Robby Anderson rather than throwing it away and living to fight another day.
This is something Bashaud Breeland was ready for, jumping the route and picking off Darnold. Fortunately, Carolina’s defense held firm and restricted Minnesota to just a field goal from some outstanding field position.
If the pressure was on Darnold before taking the field, It reached a whole different level after just one play.
Sam Darnold’s awful first half
If the Carolina Panthers were hoping things would get better for Sam Darnold as the half progressed, they were sorely mistaken. This was arguably the worst first-half performance of the quarterback’s career with the team so far and how the Minnesota Vikings were only up by two points at the interval was a testament to how well the defense was playing yet again.
Darnold is clearly lacking in confidence right now. There were a few notable drops that didn’t help his cause, but his processing on the field is something that left a lot to be desired.
The former USC star’s first-half stats were abysmal.
- 5/18 passing (27.77%)
- 60 yards
- 0 touchdowns
- 1 interception
- 1 sack against
- 17.8 passer rating (ESPN)
There was even a time midway through the second quarter where Darnold’s passer rating stood at 0.0. The protection in front of the signal-caller wasn’t the worst in the world, so there was simply no excuse for this type of production.
Darold attempting to call consecutive time-outs late on was a microcosm of how things went in the first half. He did nothing to silence the doubters, so the second half was undeniably his most important in a Carolina uniform.
Sam Darnold’s clock issues
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.
Sam Darnold and the Carolina Panthers once again suffered some real complications when it came to clock management. Something that caused delay of game penalties and had the time almost running out on a multitude of different plays throughout the game.
Just why this is constantly happening is uncertain. Whether it’s the play coming in late, Darnold doing too much at the line of scrimmage, or simply failing to read the defensive set-up fast enough, it’s another problem that’s really hampering this offense.
We are now six weeks into the season. So Darnold being new to the scheme can no longer be used as an excuse.
Of all Carolina and Darnold’s problems, this one seems to be the most fixable. Just being aware of how much time is on the clock consistently would help.
It’s poor situational football.
And it has to stop.
At some stage, people need to be held accountable. The coaching staff needs to be better and Darnold has to get his team up to the line ready to go to avoid these problems moving forward.
Otherwise, things are going to get a lot worse.
Losing faith in Sam Darnold?
It appears as if the Carolina Panthers fanbase is already losing a significant amount of faith in Sam Darnold. Judging by the conservative play-calls throughout most of the second half, the coaching staff might be too.
A far cry from the optimism that enveloped the quarterback through the first three weeks of the season.
Simply put, Darnold is reverting to type. And this might be the player he is.
The Panthers thought they could turn his career around. But the fact is he might not have the necessary tools to accomplish such a drastic change of fortunes.
These haven’t been hard games for the Panthers and Darnold outside of their trip to the Dallas Cowboys. Their last two contests at home to the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings were nothing short of a disaster and Carolina’s gone from a potential surprise playoff berth to another season of abject failure if things don’t improve quickly.
Again, it might not be something this offense can do. And one only had to look at team owner David Tepper’s face in his suite to see that patience is wearing thin.
There was one exceptional 98-yard drive in the fourth quarter followed by a two-point conversion that tied things up, which came out of nowhere considering how Darnold performed throughout the game. He wasn’t helped by a ton of drops from various players, either.
It’s just a shame that he didn’t get the football in overtime to potentially win the game and change the narrative.
If the jury was still out on Darnold heading into this game, then there are now more concerns than ever as the quarterback goes back to MetLife Stadium in Week 7 to take on the New York Giants.