Quarterback Sam Darnold’s poor performance was not Minnesota’s only issue over the last two weeks.
But Darnold was a significant problem in the Vikings’ Week 18 loss to the Lions and that trend continued in Monday night’s 27-9 postseason loss to the Rams.
“You know, I clearly just didn’t play good enough the last couple weeks,” Darnold said in his postgame press conference. “[L]eft too many throws out there that I would usually make. Gotta take better care of the football — today, especially.”
The Rams tied an NFL single-game postseason record by sacking Darnold nine times, with the official box score noting L.A. tallied 12 QB hits on him — though it felt like more. Darnold struggled with the relentless pressure, completing 25-of-40 passes for 245 yards with a touchdown, an interception, and a game-changing lost fumble that was returned 57 yards for a touchdown.
Darnold said the Rams had a really good plan, but he still felt he should’ve been able to better handle the pressure.
“For me, I’m always going to go through my progressions,” Darnold said. “If I feel people in my face [from the interior] or people coming off the edge, it’s up to me to be able to move and still find a window to throw it. I’m 100 percent responsible for the football and what happens to it. And, for me, 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’ve either dirted it at someone’s feet or just simply thrown it over someone’s head.”
Why didn’t he do that?
“Just in the moment decision, trying to get away, and wasn’t able to get the ball out,” Darnold said.
So now Darnold is on the way to free agency in March, as his one-year deal with the Vikings is complete. It’s unclear what the future holds for Darnold, who played well at times in 2024. But he also had games like Monday night, Week 18, and the Week 10 matchup with Jacksonville where Minnesota had to overcome three Darnold interceptions to win 12-7 with four field goals.
“Obviously, at the end of the day, all that matters is when you have a good season, what do you do in the playoffs? And we didn’t get it done and that’s all that matters,” Darnold said. “I’ll have a lot of time after this to be able to think about what the season entailed, but to be honest, I’m just thinking about today and what I could’ve done better.”
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