Kevin O’Connell puts officials and NFL on blast for not protecting Sam Darnold

When the Minnesota Vikings signed veteran quarterback Sam Darnold in free agency, they were hoping he would be a serviceable stopgap starter while they developed a rookie quarterback.

Instead, Darnold became the team’s only hope. Minnesota selected Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but the rookie suffered a season-ending injury during the preseason.

The Vikings have rallied behind Darnold as their starting quarterback, and he has led the team to a 6-2 record through the first half of the 2024 season.

Darnold helped the Vikings storm out to five consecutive wins to begin the season, but his propensity to throw interceptions has caused some turbulence in recent weeks. Minnesota lost two consecutive games before stabilizing the ship with a 21-13 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 9.

Kevin O’Connell isn’t happy about missed calls on Sam Darnold 

Despite managing to get back into the win column, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell expressed frustration with the officiating in the team’s last two games, ESPN’s Kevin Seifert reported on Monday. The Vikings coach took issue with apparent illegal hits on Darnold that went unpenalized. 

“It's part of my conversation especially recently in the 90-minute meetings leading into games,” O’Connell told reporters. “I'll continue to seek as much clarity so that I know how to coach our team and our players.”

O’Connell was referring to an uncalled penalty during Minnesota’s Week 9 matchup against Indianapolis on Sunday night. Early in the second quarter, Colts defensive tackle Grover Stewart sacked Darnold and forced a fumble, which was returned by Colts cornerback Kenny Moore II to give Indianapolis an early 7-0 lead.

Stewart clearly made contact with Darnold’s helmet on the play, which should have nullified the turnover and subsequent touchdown. The officiating crew initially threw a flag for a face mask penalty, but they ultimately let the play stand.

“I know what the rule is,” O’Connell said. “I know what the language of the rule is. And my opinion of what took place last night on that play, or maybe a play previously 10 days before that really does not matter. I'm learning that very quickly.”

During the pool report, referee Shawn Smith said he didn’t see the hit to Darnold’s head, Seifert reported.

“What I originally saw was a potential face mask [penalty] on that high hit to the quarterback,” Smith said after the game. “We determined that the initial force was at the shoulder and it was incidental contact to the head and neck area.”

O’Connell clearly doesn’t agree with that assessment. 

It was the second consecutive game that the officiating crew missed a penalty on Darnold. During the final moments of Minnesota’s loss against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 8, the officiating crew missed a blatant face mask penalty as a Rams defender spun Darnold to the ground for a game-clinching safety.

So far, the missed calls likely haven’t changed the outcome of the games. A comeback win was unlikely against the Rams, and the Vikings managed to rally back against the Colts. Still, it’s understandable why O’Connell would prefer to prevent it moving forward.