Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold is looking forward to going up against the San Francisco 49ers.

Not only will it be a good test for him after completing 19 of 24 passes for 208 yards and a pair of touchdowns in Sunday’s 28-6 win over the New York Giants, it will be a chance for Darnold to reflect on everything he learned with the 49ers during arguably the most pivotal stretch of his career.

“Yeah,” Darnold said with a pause. “I learned a lot about myself last year.”

After experiencing dysfunction with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers over the first five seasons of his career, Darnold finally found stability when he signed with the 49ers. He served as the backup last year and got an up-close look at what it takes to succeed at the highest level. Whether he was learning the offense under the tutelage of 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan or getting to study alongside starter Brock Purdy, Darnold consistently found himself being pushed to be a better version of himself.

Darnold’s biggest area of growth centered on his approach to being a quarterback. He learned how to compartmentalize what was in his control and what was out of his control. That was something he has struggled with at different points of his career.

“There are a lot of times you can feel everything kind of collapsing in on you as a whole,” Darnold said. “If things aren’t going your way, you can feel the weight of the world a little bit.”

The confidence that Darnold gained with the 49ers helped him reframe how he thought about the position. It wasn’t his job to do everything on his own. It was his job to get the ball into the hands of his playmakers.

“It’s as simple as that sometimes,” Darnold said. “It’s about being able to get the ball out and into their hands and letting them go run with it.”

Those learning experiences he got as the backup with the 49ers have helped Darnold as he’s made the transition to being the starter with the Vikings.

“I think he took a lot out of that,” Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said. “Just the way he went about the daily process.”

It’s been apparent in everything Darnold has done so far with the Vikings. Whether he was learning the offense with O’Connell in the spring or distributing the ball to star receiver Justin Jefferson in the summer, Darnold looked comfortable in his own skin.

That’s why nobody was surprised by the way Darnold performed while leading the Vikings to a blowout win over the Giants.

“He’s just out there having fun,” running back Aaron Jones said. “We were just out there flowing.”

Will that continue for Darnold when he leads the Vikings against the 49ers on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium? That remains to be seen.

“I’m really excited,” Darnold said. “Just a really good opportunity for us to go out there and play good football.”