Sam Darnold's career day for Vikings spoils Kirk Cousins' sloppy return

Minnesota Vikings QB Sam Darnold could not be stopped on Sunday in the Vikings' 42-21 win over the Atlanta Falcons.

Darnold completed 22 of his 28 pass attempts for 347 yards and a career-high five TD passes. After a brutal two-game stretch against the Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars in Weeks 9 and 10 saw Darnold throw five interceptions, he has went his last four games with multiple TD passes and zero interceptions.

Coming into Week 14, Darnold had thrown the fifth-most passing TDs in the NFL this season, per TeamRankings. With his career day on Sunday giving him 28 passing TDs, Darnold only trails Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (29) and Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow (30).

This game marked Falcons QB Kirk Cousins' return to Minnesota after spending each of his last six seasons with the franchise. It was a sloppy return to say the least.

Cousins was picked off twice on Sunday, which continues a brutal stretch for the QB. In his last four games — all of which have been losses — Cousins has thrown eight interceptions. The turnover bug seems to keep getting to Cousins as the season progresses. 12 penalties for 127 yards as a team only made matters worse.

While the Falcons (6-7) have now lost four in a row and trail the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-6) by one game in the NFC South, the Vikings continue to put themselves in a good position. 

Only one game back of the Detroit Lions (12-1) in the NFC North, the Vikings (11-2) have a massive showdown with Detroit in Week 18. If Minnesota continues to take care of business, that matchup could determine who wins the division.