The words came through the helmet of Sam Darnold last weekend as he peeled himself off the turf at Lumen Field in Seattle. The quarterback had just been dragged down by his facemask and was visibly limping after staggering to his feet.

There was a brief moment of uncertainty from head coach Kevin O’Connell as he checked in on his signal called. As he communicated via his headset, O’Connell did so knowing that Darnold couldn’t actually talk back on the other end.

“It was the classic, ‘You OK?’ ” O’Connell said. “He gave me the thumbs up.”

The thumbs up from Darnold was enough for O’Connell to proceed as normal.

After getting the play call from his coach, Darnold made it come to life on the field. He faked a handoff to running back Aaron Jones, climbed the pocket to buy some time, then dropped a dime to receiver Justin Jefferson for a touchdown pass.

That proved to be the winning score as the Vikings earned a 27-24 win over the Seahawks.

The play itself was the personification of a character trait that has come to define him. As talented as Darnold has proven to be since signing with the Vikings as a free agent, his toughness has been an important piece in him reaching the next level.

There’s his toughness from a physical standpoint, which allows him to take punishment and keep playing. There’s also his toughness from a mental standpoint, which allows him to shake off negative results without it affecting his play too much.

“I tell him every time I see him, ‘There’s our fearless leader,’ ” defensive coordinator Brian Flores said. “That’s what he’s become for us.”

That fearlessness shows up in different ways when Darnold is on the field.

Sometimes it’s not even in response to actually taking a hit. Sometimes it’s simply knowing he’s going to get hit.

None of it phases Darnold when he’s out there in the heat of battle.

“He’s shown that he’ll stand in there and look down the barrel of the gun,” offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said. “He’s done a heck of a job for us.”

His teammates wholeheartedly agree.

“You can’t measure Sammy D’s toughness,” Jones said. “He’s going to do everything he can to be out there with us. He’s going to push that pain aside, like, ‘Hey I can think about that in 20 minutes.’ You may see him hobbling back out there because he’s giving it his all.”

That scene has played out a few times this season. He limped off under his own power during the home game against the Texans, then followed a similar script a couple of months later during the road game against the Bears.

On both occasions, Darnold was back in the huddle on the same series, putting his toughness on display for everybody to see.

“You’re going to be dealing with stuff,” Darnold said. “That’s part of the job.”

It’s something that makes his teammates gravitate to him.

“He’s a warrior,” tight end T.J. Hockenson said. “It’s a lot of fun to be able to play with Sam. He’s a true football guy. He wants to be out there with the boys.”

It’s gotten to the point that Jefferson isn’t even worried anymore when it looks as if Darnold might be down for the count. That’s because Jefferson has learned that Darnold is always going to find a way to get back up and make a play for the Vikings.

“It’s something that I expect from him,” Jefferson said. “Just to be tough and bounce back from those little injuries.”

Just like he did last weekend during the road game against the Seahawks. Though it looked like Darnold might need to leave the field after getting rolled up on, he stayed in and delivered a perfectly placed ball to Jefferson.

Darnold absorbed another big hit while throwing the ball. He peeled himself off the turf once again and his teammates immediately mobbed him in celebration.

“To have Sam be able to see it and then be able to place the ball in those milliseconds that happened before getting hit,” O’Connell said. “I didn’t realize the type of shot he took on that play after he let it go until I watched it back.”

As for those moments when O’Connell is checking in on Darnold? As long as he feels like he can push through the pain, Darnold made it clear he’s never going to leave the field.

“I will give him a thumbs up and let him know that I’m good,” Darnold said. “That’s pretty much it.”

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