Analysis

Darnold was dealing with a minor injury to his throwing hand coming out of his worst performance of the season against the Jaguars last week. The veteran signal-caller bounced back fully from the three-pick outing with three touchdowns in Minnesota's eighth win of the year. Now healthy, Darnold makes for a fine fantasy play against the flailing Bears next Sunday.

Analysis

One day removed from being limited due to an injury to his throwing hand Wednesday, Darnold was able to handle every practice rep, paving the way for him to continue to direct the Vikings offense. On Sunday, he'll be taking on a Titans defense that has given up the second-fewest yards per attempt (6.21) to opposing quarterbacks on the campaign.

Analysis

Darnold offered up sterling quarterback play through the first four weeks of the campaign, tallying an 11:3 TD:INT and completing 68.9 percent of his passes. In five games since then, his completion percentage (68.4) is nearly the same, but he's fallen off to a 6:7 TD:INT during that stretch. Darnold now is dealing with a health concern to his throwing hand, so even if he doesn't miss Sunday's game against the Titans, his accuracy could take a hit in the short term.

Analysis

Darnold turned in his worst performance of the season by any measure, highlighted by three interceptions -- all of which came when he targeted Justin Jefferson. After throwing only five picks across his first seven starts of the campaign, Darnold now has five in his last two contests. The Vikings won both games despite his efforts, so Darnold should have a comfortable hold on the starting job, though he'll need a better showing in Week 11 against the Titans for fantasy managers to continue to have faith in his ability to deliver production.

Analysis

Darnold completed his third game with at least three touchdowns this season. It came at the cost of three turnovers (two picks, one fumble), but the overall results were positive from a fantasy perspective. Darnold is now up to 1,900 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions through eight starts with Minnesota this season. The 2018 first-round pick continues to surpass expectations in his new digs as the Vikings prepare to take on the Jaguars next Sunday.

Analysis

Darnold's final numbers were acceptable from a fantasy perspective, but he also wasthe subject of a controversial play that essentially sealed the Vikings' defeat. Lined up in shotgun formation at his own five-yard line with 1:36 remaining, Darnold struggled to find an open man and then was brought down in the end zone by the Rams' Byron Young, although the second-year edge rusher clearly appeared to pull the quarterback's face mask in the process of generating a safety. Nevertheless, there was no flag on the play, and Darnold never had a chance to get the ball back. The 2018 third overall pick did post his fifth multi-touchdown game of the season courtesy of five- and 10-yard first-quarter scoring tosses to the unlikely duo of Josh Oliver and Trent Sherfield. Darnold also facilitated another 100-yard performance for Justin Jefferson, but following consecutive losses, the onus will be on the veteran signal-caller to capitalize on a favorable Week 9 home matchup against the Colts on Sunday night, Nov. 3.

Analysis

Darnold took four sacks from a Lions defense missing Aidan Hutchinson (IR, lower leg), including on a final play that he'd helped make possible by successfully spiking the ball with one second remaining. The 2018 third overall pick had opened the game in optimistic fashion by helping lead Minnesota to 10 first-quarter points. Darnold had trouble answering once the Lions roared back with three second-quarter touchdowns, but he did record a 25-yard scoring strike to Justin Jefferson early in the third quarter. Nevertheless, that would be the last trip to the end zone the Vikings would make on offense, and Darnold also failed to eat up more clock with his team up by one when he threw incomplete to Jefferson on third down with 2:46 remaining. Having suffered their first loss of the season, Darnold and his teammates have a short turnaround before a Week 8 Thursday night road battle against the Rams.

Analysis

Darnold experienced significant struggles for the first time this season, as he combined to complete only nine of his 22 passes to Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. There were several potential explanations for the down performance, as the Jets are a tough defensive matchup and Darnold also suffered an apparent chest injury midway through the first quarter that caused him to miss one play. In addition, the Vikings jumped ahead early, causing the offense to limit its aggressiveness for much of the game. Darnold will have a chance to rest from any lingering soreness as Minnesota will head into a Week 6 bye.

Analysis

Darnold and the Vikings appeared well on their way to another impressive victory during a first half in which they jumped out to a 28-7 lead with help of the quarterback's pair of touchdown tosses to Jordan Addison (29 yards) and Justin Jefferson (14 yards). However, Darnold played a part in aiding Green Bay's comeback in the second half, tossing an interception at the Packers' two-yard line and then losing the handle on the ball during a sack at his own 24-yard line early in the fourth quarter. The latter mistake led to a Green Bay touchdown, but he was able to subsequently helm one more scoring drive that culminated in a field goal and essentially proved to be the difference in the game. Darnold will be striving to build on what was a season-high passing yardage total in a Week 5 matchup against the Jets in London next Sunday.