EAGAN, Minn. -- Is the snowball effect a real thing? Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said this week that it is, and its intensity in the NFL may be felt most by quarterbacks.
So it would have been reasonable for outside observers to cringe at Sam Darnold's wild flip of the ball toward running back Aaron Jones Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, not only because it threatened to turn a busted play into a massive turnover, but because it could have snowballed into bigger problems during the following plays.