“Good Sam” Darnold had just one bad throw – an overthrown deep ball to Jordan Addison that was overly cautious but still better than another pick – in 32 attempts, as he stifled “Bad Sam” from Week 9-10 in the win from Sunday 13/23 at Tennessee. Darnold was on target on all 17 throws in the first half, completing 12 of them for 148 yards and a touchdown. His second half – 8 of 15 for 98 yards – was sabotaged by Jalen Nailor dropping a perfect deep ball that should have been a 46-yard touchdown. Darnold had 12 incompletions, but he placed the ball well and was risk-averse without being timid on 31 throws. Defenders made some good plays, like breaking a fade to Justin Jefferson on the second goal from the 1. Some incompletions were smart throws, like the wide, deep ball that a covered Addison nearly caught inside the 5. Darnold didn’t. Don’t force the ball to Jefferson. Four of Jefferson’s six catches — including gains of 31 and 25 yards — were throws on target that came while Darnold was under pressure.

Will Levis, on the other hand, had 11 bad throws, including a batted ball and an interception by Harrison Smith. It’s understandable. A, Levis is not good. And B, he no longer had a running game after 7:30 in the first quarter. Levis had a 10-yard run at that point, giving the Titans 21 yards on six carries. They had 13 more carries for just 12 yards as the No. 2-ranked run defense slammed the door shut. Six Vikings combined for 10 tackles for loss, five on running plays. Tennessee’s running backs had 15 yards on 12 carries with a long of 4.

Tennessee didn’t lose this game because of the referee. But… two bad decisions in the span of two minutes in the second quarter certainly destroyed the Titans’ momentum and coach Brian Callahan’s serenity. Trailing 7–3, Titans safety Mike Brown was flagged for unnecessary roughness when he delivered a legal blow to Addison’s chest to break up a pass on fourth-and-goal from the 1. It’s football, and roughness was required, and Brown didn’t target the head. The Vikings then scored a touchdown on the next play and regained control of the game. Tennessee’s ensuing possession was a three-and-out. The Vikings gained 15 yards when linebacker James Williams was accidentally flagged for a horse-collar tackle. The Vikings used the distance en route to a 40-yard field goal and a 13-point lead. Tennessee had 13 penalties for 91 yards. The Vikings three for 35.

The Vikings had five sacks as defensive coordinator Brian Flores often fooled Levis and his linemen with confusing fronts and rush combinations. That was to be expected. After all, this was the 31st-ranked offense. What wasn’t expected: Levis hit six explosive passes (16-plus yards) and had two more negated by illegal formation penalties at right tackle. Isaiah Prince, who was deemed to be in too deep in what was a point of interest for the officials this year. Prince’s first foul was a borderline call that negated a 51-yard touchdown pass. Levis – yes, Levis – had completions of 16, 19 on first and 20, 21, 30, 33 and, oh yeah, 98 for a TD.

Quiet Pat Jones II had five sacks in his first 42 NFL games. He has seven in 10 games this year, following his third two-sack game of the season. His first sack – on third and fourth down at the Vikings 6 – came when he lined up outside and destroyed Prince on a three-man rush. His second sack – on fourth-and-4 with 8:36 left – came when he lined up inside and destroyed right guard Dillon Radunz, a Becker High grad, on a four-man rush. Jones hit Levis three more times. This young man knows how to tackle things with a contract year.