It’s became crystal clear Monday night that the Minnesota Vikings can’t hang their future on Sam Darnold. His horrendous performance in the last two games is proof. And here are the Vikings most to blame for the Wild Card loss to the Rams.
The sacks started early and never relented. Los Angeles sacked Darnold an NFL playoffs record-tying nine times in the 27-9 debacle that could have been worse if the Rams kept their foot on the gas.
And while it wouldn’t be fair to place 100% of the blame on the shoulders of one player. Darnold has to line up the U-Haul and carry his share of the load.
Vikings QB Sam Darnold reverted back to his old ways
Back in 2019, during a 33-0 loss to the Patriots, Darnold said, “seeing ghosts” while wearing a microphone for the broadcast.
Perhaps some of those apparitions revisited Darnold for the game against the Rams. Darnold connected on 25 of 40 passes for 245 yards with a touchdown and an interception against the Rams. While those numbers are not epically bad, the nine sacks — yes, epic fail.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell tried to put Darnold’s problems into perspective, according to vikings.com.
“There were a couple of those where they were able to scheme up a guy here or there that on paper you have accounted for, but it doesn't matter on paper,” O'Connell said. “And then I did think there were other times where we're not going to be able to win the game on one play. And that's me included. But there just some plays there that, we go back and look at it. I'm sure everybody in that room will acknowledge a play (throughout the game).
“In a game like that, we've got to find a way to sustain a little bit more forward momentum. To still try to have your playmakers make plays, give Sam the chance to put the ball in play. Just got to find a way to eliminate some of those negatives, because that's never going to be a formula for any kind of success, regardless of if it's January or not.”
Sam Darnold recognizes his shortcomings against Rams
Darnold said he knows to look in the mirror.
“It's up to me to be able to move and still find a window to throw,” Darnold said. “I'm 100% responsible for the football and what happens to it. It's up to me to be able to feel that and either step up, move, go run for a first down or just simply throw it away. I felt like there were a lot of sacks today that I was responsible for. Where I was just holding onto the football and taking sacks where I could have (gotten rid of it). Just in the moment, decision, trying to get away, I wasn't able to get the ball out.”
What makes the performance hurt for the Vikings is they began to believe in Darnold. He threw for 4,319 yards with 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Those numbers earned him a Pro Bowl honor, the first of his career.
But there’s no way to disguise how bad Darnold played in the two biggest games of the year. Against the Lions and Rams over the last two weeks, Darnold completed only 43 of 81 passes — an abysmal 53% — for 411 yards. That’s barely over 200 yards per game. Also, he only threw one touchdown pass over those two games combined.
Darnold had a great season. But when it mattered most, he couldn’t hold up. Darnold said he understands the criticism, according to espn.com.
“Obviously, at the end of the day, all that matters when you have a good season is, ‘What do you do in the playoffs?' ” Darnold said. “We didn't get it done today, and that's all that matters.”
Vikings’ offensive line embarrassed the team
While Darnold must shoulder the biggest portion of blame, the Vikings’ offensive line had to be better for a game of this magnitude.
“We've got to find a way to be able to give a quarterback — especially with players like Justin (Jefferson), Jordan (Addison), T.J. (Hockenson) — we've got to find a way to solidify the interior of the pocket,” he said. “There can be a thousand excuses made, whether it's losing (Christian Darrisaw in Week 8) or even (Brian O'Neill to concussion protocol) midway through tonight. But for me, it's the foundation of the interior pocket that we're gonna have to take a long look at.
“I thought those guys battled; that's a good, young, fast, athletic front. But when you look at it, over the course of the entirety of the season, we lost to two football teams. And both of them were able to do some similar things against us via pressure. And we just weren't able to ever find that rhythm, find those two or three plays that can kind of, you know, take a little bit of the steam out of what they're doing and sustain a little bit.”