On the other hand, the Vikings have already more than doubled their losses from a year ago. McCarthy has been in and out of the lineup due to injuries, and when he has been on the field, he has shown few signs of the cornerstone coach Kevin O’Connell thought he would be when he selected him 10th overall in the 2024 draft.
Based on Darnold’s numbers last year, the Vikings are getting 99.3 fewer passing yards per game (254.1 vs. 154.8) from McCarthy in his starting lineup, and the second-year QB’s 57.9 passer rating is a 44.6 drop from his predecessor.
Carson Wentz had a little more success in five games while McCarthy was out with an ankle injury, but a shoulder problem knocked the veteran out for the season, and now undrafted rookie Max Brosmer is in line to start if McCarthy doesn’t clear the concussion protocol.
It’s been a tough year for a talented team that appears to be a quarterback away, especially since Darnold’s continued excellence elsewhere suggests the Vikings had one.
Still, Flores has proven capable of keeping Minnesota in a few games, even with a shaky offense, and he’s one of the best at cooking up pressure on passing downs.
As with many QBs, pressure is what most often derails Darnold. Flores got a chance to observe which looks made him most vulnerable in practice last season, in addition to the aforementioned games where Darnold struggled.
“There are some things that we could tell bothered him a year ago, but maybe not this year,” Flores said Tuesday. “Based on seeing it a few times, getting more replays of it, getting more familiar with the front or coverage. So, a year later, it’s hard to know. But you test it and see if it still bothers him. … If it doesn’t bother him, you move on to something else. If it does, you keep running it.”
He’ll apply that knowledge to Sunday’s game plan and hope to win this battle at least even if — for now — it looks like Darnold is on his way to winning the war.