Why Vikings' Sam Darnold doesn't have advantage vs. 49ers in Week 2

The Vikings' Sam Darnold may bank on his experience with the 49ers when the two teams play each other on Sunday. But it's not a difference-maker.

One of quarterback Sam Darnold's goals entering last offseason was to use the single year he spent with the San Francisco 49ers as their backup to land a more lucrative position with a new team in 2024.

It might have happened in a roundabout way, but that's precisely how things went when he ended up the Minnesota Vikings' starter. Sure, it took a season-ending knee surgery to the Norsemen's top-investment rookie quarterback, J.J. McCarthy, to fully open the door.

But, for now, Darnold is Minnesota's guy going forward.

His Week 1 debut against the New York Giants was excellent, passing for 208 yards while hitting eight different receivers, two touchdowns, an interception and a 113.2 passer rating. Helping get Minnesota out to a 1-0 start to begin the year is the perfect next step in the resurrection of his career.

The Vikings host Darnold's former team in Week 2, which will feature the quarterback going up against the lone player who was ahead of him on the Niners depth chart a year ago, Brock Purdy. So, it's fair to assume Darnold will lean on his experience from 2023, recalling practices against San Francisco's defense. What were the defense's strengths and weaknesses? What were individual players' tendencies?

Darnold will want to lean on all of that.

However, to say this gives the Vikings' signal-caller an advantage is a bit of a stretch. In fact, the opposite might be true.

Sam Darnold is at more of a disadvantage vs. 49ers defense

The 49ers miss Darnold.

"Loved having Sam here," head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters this week, via NBC Sports Bay Area. "He was an awesome guy. He’s been that way everywhere he’s been. And we found it out personally here."

Some of Darnold's former teammates, including linebacker Fred Warner, echoed similar sentiments.

"I was always really impressed with the arm talent," Warner added. "I mean, I don’t know if I’ve seen as natural of a thrower of the football as him, being able to make all the throws."

The compliments are nice. But the prior experience cuts both ways. While Darnold faced the Niners defense aplenty in practices last season, and he even pointed out it was to his benefit, that side of the ball faced him, too, paying attention to his own tendencies, traits and habits.

So, whatever advantages previous knowledge offers are essentially canceled out. Yet San Francisco still has an X-factor at play.

Last year, the 49ers employed Steve Wilks as their defensive coordinator, whose coverages were the ones Darnold squared off against in practice. With Wilks gone, first-year coordinator Nick Sorensen is tasked with confusing Darnold as much as possible on Sunday, and the quarterback can't exactly rely on prior experience going up against a notably different defensive play sheet.

Tack on the fact Darnold might be without one of his top weapons because of injury, wide receiver Jordan Addison, and the advantages are starting to line up more in the Niners' favor than in the hands of the veteran signal-caller.

Minnesota and San Francisco square off on Sunday, Sept. 15 at 1 p.m. ET from US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

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