“Daniel Jones Could Force the Minnesota Vikings Into Historic Regret: The First Team Ever to Lose Two QBs in One Offseason Who Go on to Earn Pro Bowl Spots and Start Playoff Games”
In what could soon become one of the most regrettable decisions in NFL history, the Minnesota Vikings might be facing the consequences of letting Daniel Jones walk in free agency this past offseason. Once a quarterback with a shaky reputation after his tenure with the
New York Giants, Jones has experienced a remarkable revival with the Indianapolis Colts, now positioning himself as a MVP candidate and likely to earn his first Pro Bowl selection in 2025.
The Vikings' decision to part ways with Jones initially seemed like a reasonable move, especially given his lackluster finish in New York. But now, as Jones leads one of the most dynamic offenses in the NFL, the Vikings are likely regretting their choice.
Douglas Clawson of CBS Sports points out a potential nightmare scenario for the Vikings: if Jones and Sam Darnold (who was also let go by Minnesota, now thriving with the
Seattle Seahawks) both earn Pro Bowl selections and lead their teams to the playoffs, Minnesota could make NFL history for all the wrong reasons.
"You couldn't have scripted a worse situation for the Vikings -- and now they're on the verge of making the wrong kind of history," Clawson noted.
“Minnesota could become the first team in NFL history to lose two quarterbacks in the same offseason who each made the Pro Bowl the next season.”
Daniel Jones has been nothing short of exceptional this season. With
2,062 passing yards, a 71.2% completion rate, and a 79.2 QBR, he is currently ranked fourth in the league in passing yards, fourth in completion percentage, and
second in QBR. His chemistry with head coach Shane Steichen has been instrumental in revitalizing the Colts’ offense. With Jones under center, Indianapolis ranks first in total yards (3,052), sixth
Reflecting on his turnaround, Jones said, “Looking back, I’m grateful for the opportunity the Colts have given me. But to be honest, I never expected things to unfold this way. The Vikings made their decision, and now I’m just focused on continuing to prove that they were wrong to let me go. It’s all about getting better every week and helping this team reach its full potential.”
As Jones continues his impressive run, the Vikings are left wondering what might have been. Meanwhile, Sam Darnold—also let go by Minnesota—has found success in Seattle, likely en route to his second consecutive Pro Bowl appearance. The Vikings could soon find themselves as the first team in NFL history to lose two quarterbacks in the same offseason, only for both to excel elsewhere and lead their new teams to playoff contention.
With Jones continuing to perform at a high level, the Vikings may be staring down the reality of an uncomfortable historic first. This Sunday, Jones will face the Pittsburgh Steelers
, whose pass defense is currently the worst in the NFL. It’s another chance for Jones to add to his already impressive resume as the Colts aim to move to
8-1 on the season.
Minnesota’s decision to let Daniel Jones walk might be one they regret for years to come, as the Colts quarterback continues to show why he could be one of the league’s top players in 2025. The Vikings’ mishandling of their quarterback situation could soon go down as one of the most significant missteps in NFL history.
“Canadiens Pursue Temporary Fix for Second-Line Center: A Short-Term Play in the Works”
Canucks holding their own despite slow start to the season for Jake DeBrusk
Lost in the many storylines that have emerged a dozen games into an eventful new
With players leaving the lineup on a nightly basis and the club needing others to fill the void, it’s remarkable in many ways that the team has managed to tread water with very little in the way of offensive contributions from one of the guys expected to deliver.
It’s easy to dismiss DeBrusk’s sluggish start and simply chalk it up to him being a slow starter and a streaky player. Some of that is fact, and surely his goals will come. But his funky start isn’t just about his goal production.
Twelve games into the season, DeBrusk has two goals and two assists. Both of his goals have come on the power play, and his two assists are both secondary helpers that came in the first two games of the season. He doesn’t yet have a 5-on-5 goal and has now gone 10 games without setting up a teammate. One of his assists was on the 5-1 goal late in the Canucks season opener against the Calgary Flames.
As the calendar flips to November, DeBrusk sits a point behind Evander Kane and a point ahead of Drew O’Connor in team scoring. Clearly, more was expected from a guy who netted a career-best 28 goals last season and finished with 48 points. Again, he’s not going to be a four-point guy every month.
But it’s wild that at a time when the Canucks could use production from the few healthy proven scorers they’ve got, DeBrusk has been so quiet. Too quiet, frankly.
Yet, with the game on his stick in St. Louis on Thursday night, it was DeBrusk who came through with the
But all of this underscores the odd start to the season for DeBrusk. Despite playing as much and as hard as he did against the Blues, he didn’t manage a single shot on goal during the run of play and only had one attempt. This is the same guy who registered 10 shots on goal in a game against the Chicago Blackhawks two weeks ago.
DeBrusk leads the Canucks with 33 shots on goal this season and yet is carrying a 6.1% shooting percentage. That won’t last. It can’t last. He’s due to get on one of his streaks any day now, and the Canucks will welcome it when it arrives.
But more than the goals, DeBrusk needs to find a way to spend more time in the offensive zone. A veteran counted on to be dependable at both ends, the underlying numbers paint a bleak picture of DeBrusk’s start to the season. The Canucks are controlling just 39.5% of all shot attempts with DeBrusk on the ice at 5-on-5. They’ve been outshot 79-56 and outchanced 71-55 so far. And yet through all of that, the team has managed to outscore opponents 5-2 in DeBrusk’s 5-on-5 minutes thanks in large part to a PDO of 106.4. The team’s on-ice save percentage during DeBrusk’s shifts so far this season is an outrageous .975%.
It’s only 12 games, and almost all of DeBrusk’s personal statistics will normalize. He will score more goals and produce more offence than he has in the first 12 games. But he’s also not going to benefit all season from near-perfect netminding every time he steps on the ice.
The bottom line is that DeBrusk needs to do more to have a positive impact on the hockey club. And it has to start happening sooner rather than later. The Canucks escaped the first month of the schedule with a reasonable record, with little in the way of impact from one of the guys they’re counting on.
Last season, in his first year with the Canucks, Jake DeBrusk didn’t score a single goal in October and then rattled off seven in November, starting with a three-game goal streak to begin the month. So he’s been down this road before. And maybe he’ll travel that path again. But this team can’t rely on
The Canucks could really use Jake DeBrusk to announce his arrival starting on Saturday in Minnesota and hope that the second month of the season is far more productive than the first.
