Never mind that the Vikings have far exceeded expectations this season.

The implosion from veteran quarterback Sam Darnold on Sunday at EverBank Stadium, fair or unfair, seemed to be the last straw for a good chunk of the fan base. His mistakes overshadowed the fact that the Vikings escaped with a 12-7 win over the host Jacksonville Jaguars.

To say the box score was underwhelming would be an understatement, as Darnold completed 24 of 38 passes for 241 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions.

There’s no doubt it was as bad as he has looked this season in terms of taking care of the ball.

The only thing more reckless than Darnold, however, was the rhetoric being thrown around on social media as he was unraveling in real time.

There were some calling for gunslinging backup quarterback Nick Mullens to be called into action, with others angling for borderline retired quarterback Ryan Tannehill to be signed to the active roster.

It was ridiculous. All of it. A temper tantrum from a toddler would have added more value to the discourse.

Was it a poor performance by Darnold? Absolutely. Was it proof that he should be benched? Not a chance.

A big reason the Vikings currently boast a 7-2 record is because Darnold has shown massive growth under the watchful eye of head coach Kevin O’Connell. Darnold worked tirelessly to improve his mechanics in the spring and summer, and the results have spoken for themselves this fall.

Though the carelessness over the past couple of weeks has been alarming, if Darnold can get back on track over the next few weeks, the Vikings can still be a force to be reckoned with moving forward.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that O’Connell wholeheartedly expressed confidence in Darnold during his most recent postgame speech.

As he heaped praise on the Vikings for finding a way against the Jaguars, O’Connell appeared to make eye contact with Darnold. He used it as a chance to reiterate how much he believes in him.

You could feel the passion in his voice.

“Everybody in this locker room knows it,” O’Connell said. “You are the (expletive) guy that’s going to take us there.”

Asked less than 24 hours later if he said that because he felt that Darnold needed to hear it in that moment, O’Connell pushed back on that notion, making it clear that he speaks from the heart whenever he delivers his postgame speech.

There was no agenda behind it.

Those were simply the words that came out of his mouth.

“It is important for everybody to hear me say that,” the coach said. “Not for any other reason than it’s the truth.”

This is exactly what the Vikings signed up for when they inked Darnold to a 1-year, $10 million contract. There were always going to be ups and downs with him leading the offense.

The fail safe for Darnold was always supposed to be rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy after the Vikings selected him in the first round of the 2024 draft.

Frankly, if McCarthy were healthy enough to play right now, he might be a part of the discussion.

That’s not the case with him on injured reserve after having surgery to repair a torn meniscus.

That means it’s on Darnold to figure it out with the Vikings still in position to do some damage in the playoffs this season.

“He’s in a great head space,” O’Connell said. “He’s ready to go to work,”

That’s good news because the Vikings will only go as far as Darnold takes them. Might as well strap in and enjoy the ride on the roller coaster.