The Minnesota Vikings started the 2024 season in the same way they started the 2023 season: fumbling the football. On ttheir third play of the season, quarterback Sam Darnold hit fullback C.J. Ham in the flat and fumbled it when the defender put his helmet on the ball.
That turnover ended up giving the Giants three points and it was the culmination of another Vikings fumble. It was a major problem last season and continued on Sunday.
The Vikings fumbled the ball 26 times last season, which ranked fourth-worst in the National Football League. With Ham’s fumble, they extended their NFL lead with a sixth fumble on the opening possession. That is not something that head coach Kevin O’Connell tolerates.
In the Netflix documentary ‘Receiver,’ cameras captured O’Connell yelling at the Vikings after their 34-28 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles when they turned the ball over four times, all of them fumbles.
More prepared. Better conditioned. Better execution. Ready to overcome self-inflicted adversity.
Those were underlying messages in head coach Kevin O’Connell had in his locker room speech following the Minnesota Vikings’ 28-6 destruction of the New York Giants on Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J.
O’Connell handed out game balls to running back Aaron Jones, safety Harrison Smith, rookie linebacker Dallas Turner and edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel. All were deserving: Jones had 94 rushing yards and a touchdown; Turner got his first career sack; Smith intercepted the 35th pass of his career; and Van Ginkel had a sack and an interception return for a touchdown.
But the first game ball went to the quarterback who is hoping a fresh start in Minnesota will lead to big results for the first time since he was drafted third overall in 2018.
“This guy started the game 12 for 12,” O’Connell said, handing Sam Darnold the first game ball. “This guy’s gonna go out there and do that over and over and over again and they’re going to be f****** talking about him.”
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