Brock Purdy vs. Sam Darnold is the Ultimate Role Reversal

Every NFL game comes with intriguing quarterback story lines, especially early on when there are so many unknowns. That’s especially true of tomorrow’s matchup between San Francisco and Minnesota, as the 49ers travel to U.S. Bank Stadium to take on their old backup, Sam Darnold.

This wasn’t what any of us were expecting. The Vikings were all set to ride and die with Michigan rookie JJ McCarthy until McCarthy tore his meniscus and tore up Minnesota’s expectations in the process. Now Brock Purdy gets to battle his former backup in a game that’s a sharp reminder of how the NFL QB roller coaster can feature some amazing dips and turns.

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Brock Purdy runs a well-oiled offensive machine

We all know Purdy’s story at this point. He’s the most famous Mr. Irrelevant in league history, and the 49ers are currently riding the last year of his rookie deal in the hopes that he can finally get them over the top after two unsuccessful Super Bowl appearances.

There’s always a fly in the ointment in these kinds of scenarios, though, and this year’s version is Christian McCaffrey’s preseason injury. It started as a mysterious calf pull that’s now being described as ongoing tendinitis in his Achilles, and a possible IR stint may be in McCaffrey’s future.

Those are two very different injuries. Calf pulls can be nursed back to health, albeit slowly and carefully. As Aaron Rodgers and Kirk Cousins have learned, however, Achilles issues usually come with long stretches on the sidelines, if not the loss of entire seasons. Not to mention the fact that McCaffrey is a running back who’s approaching 30, and he spent most of his Carolina career nicked up with an assortment of injuries.

None of this seems to faze 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan all that much. With McCaffrey on the shelf for what may be an extended period, Shanahan simply pulled another unknown running back out of his hip pocket and turned him into an instant star. This year it was undrafted free agent Jordan Mason, who tore through the Jets supposedly impenetrable run defense for 147 yards and a touchdown last Monday night.

Purdy wasn’t outstanding, but he didn’t have to be. When your lead running back is dictating tempo and your defense is shutting down the opposition’s star quarterback, it makes Purdy’s job a lot easier.

The Minnesota offense is still a total unknown

The random variable in this game is Sam Darnold, who’ll be starting his second game as a Viking. No one expected this to happen—Darnold was supposed to back up McCarthy and provide the kind of veteran wisdom only a former first-round draft pick can offer, possibly augmented by a game appearance or three when the rookie really struggled.

Instead we’re looking at a very different scenario. Darnold is now the man in Minnesota, and coach/QB whisperer Kevin O’Connell is expected to make chicken salad out of Darnold’s shaky history to at least keep the Vikings afloat and within shouting distance of the playoffs. That was Kirk Cousin’s calling card before he left for Atlanta, and O’Connell knows is seat will go from somewhat warm to very hot if Darnold fails.

Except he hasn’t—at least not so far. Darnold did an unexpected imitation of a pinpoint passer against the Giants during the Vikings road opener, throwing darts to go 19 for 24 as he carved up the defense. Justin Jefferson celebrated his new contract by catching a touchdown pass, and new running back Aaron Jones acclimated to the Minnesota offense with 94 yards on just 14 carries for a nifty 6.7 yards per carry to go with a touchdown.

The caveat is that this was the Giants, who are an absolute mess. Most of the mess is about QB Daniel Jones, who barely made it over 50 percent against the Vikings, going 22 for 44 while getting picked twice. Coach Brian Daboll is a leading candidate for the first in-season firing of the year, but there may not be a coach on the planet who can fix Jones.

The 49er defense is a completely different animal to go up against, which means Darnold may have his hands full and then some. We’ll learn a lot about Sam Darnold and the Vikings tomorrow, and Viking fans can only cross their collective fingers and hope the learning process will be full of positives.

This article was originally written by Bob McCullough