Souhan: Sam Darnold’s gaffes should have led to a Vikings loss. They didn’t. But if he doesn’t figure it out …

Sam Darnold has arrived. He has become a true Vikings quarterback. He has mastered the art of winning regular-season games while making you reach for antacid or, these days, a tin of gummies.

Evoking memories of everyone from Warren Moon to Kirk Cousins, Darnold seized upon the occasion of a nationally televised Sunday night game at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday night to alternate efficiency and erraticness.

It’s as if he grew up in Minnesota, studying the art of raising unrealistic expectations.

He made three big mistakes that ultimately didn’t cost the Vikings, who defeated the Colts 21-13 to end their two-game losing streak and keep them near the leaders in the conference and division.

When Darnold was good, he was on the money, and when he was bad, he was a one-man deficit.

If you were hoping for a Vikings performance that allowed them to keep pace in the standings, this game did the job.

If you were hoping for a performance that would make you believe that the 2024 Vikings are championship contenders, you would have been better off watching “Yellowstone.”

Darnold is the latest Vikings quarterback to be talented enough to inject hope into your heart and skittish enough to break it.

Darnold made three plays a contending quarterback can’t make.

Darnold mistake No. 1: On the Vikings’ first possession, Darnold made the game look easy, driving the offense 60 yards on 10 plays. On third-and-3 from the Colts 16, Darnold scrambled left and fired a pass toward the end zone.

Whether watching the play unfold from the press box, or watching slow-motion replays, there is no way to fathom what Darnold saw. Nobody was open. The receiver he tried to pass to in the end zone was blanketed by one defender, who would have intercepted the pass had not a second defender beat him to it.

Darnold should have run to the sideline or thrown the ball out of bounds. He cost his team three points and caused a shudder to run through every human in the building wearing purple.

Darnold mistake No. 2: On the Vikings’ third drive, they had a first down at the Colts 47. Darnold dropped back and took a hit to the head. The officials should have called unnecessary roughness. That doesn’t mean Darnold should have fumbled the ball. He did, and the Colts returned the fumble for a touchdown.

Darnold mistake No. 3: After Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. intercepted Joe Flacco to protect a 14-7 lead, Darnold, on the next play, threw into a pack of Colts defenders and was intercepted himself, leading to a Colts field goal.

On those three plays, Darnold cost his team at least 13 points, allowing an overmatched Colts team to keep the game competitive despite major deficits in yards gained and time of possession.

This was Darnold’s first game for the Vikings in which he looked like a danger to the team’s aspirations.

He played well early against the Jets before struggling against an excellent defense after running back Aaron Jones was injured. He played well enough to beat Detroit, which might be the best team in the NFL. He played well enough to win in the loss to the Rams.

Sunday night, Darnold was efficient and accurate on most of his dropbacks, and a disaster on at least three plays.

“I want him to be aggressive on those scrambles because he’s a very talented thrower,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said. “My trust in Sam is something that I think is going to be a winning edge for our football team. To win the football game when you lose the turnover battle, that means your quarterback played well.”

Thanks to a Vikings defense that didn’t allow a touchdown, Darnold will get credit for this victory. He didn’t deserve it.

If he plays like this the rest of the way, the Vikings will either miss the playoffs or exit them quickly.

Games against Jacksonville and Tennessee will give the Vikings every opportunity to reach 8-2, while giving Darnold every opportunity to clean up his act.

He’s talented enough to do so.

Is he poised enough to do so?