Kevin O’Connell didn’t need to give attention to the final eight days.
There was extra, the Minnesota Vikings’ head coach contended, to quarterback Sam Darnold’s breakout season than the lopsided losses to the Detroit Lions in Week 18 and to the Los Angeles Rams in Monday evening’s playoff sport.
“I think it’s very important we all think about Sam’s body of work, what he was able to do this year, when not many people thought he would be able to lead a team to 14 wins,” O’Connell mentioned after being eradicated by the Rams, 27-9, within the Wild-Card spherical.
“Could he have played better tonight? I’m sure that he would tell you he could have.”
Certainly, Darnold accepted a lot of the blame after finishing 25-of-40 cross makes an attempt for 245 yards, a landing and an interception in opposition to a swarming Los Angeles protection.
He was sacked 9 instances, which tied a playoff file, and misplaced a fumble that Rams rookie Jared Verse returned for a 57-yard landing.
“I felt like there were a lot of sacks that I was responsible for, where I was just holding onto the football and taking sacks where I could have either dirted it at someone’s feet or simply thrown it over someone’s head,” Darnold admitted.
It was an all-too-familiar sight for long-suffering Jets followers who as soon as dreamed Darnold could be their crew’s savior when it drafted him No. 3 total in 2018.
Monday’s ugly efficiency delivered a sobering finish to a Cinderella season for Darnold and forged critical doubt about his future in Minnesota.
Nonetheless simply 27, Darnold performed 2024 on a one-year, $10 million contract with the Vikings, his fourth crew in seven NFL seasons.
Lower than two months after he signed with Minnesota, the Vikings traded as much as No. 10 in April’s draft and chosen J.J. McCarthy to be their quarterback of the long run. However McCarthy suffered a season-ending knee harm in the course of the preseason, clearing the season-long beginning job for Darnold.
Darnold delivered a career-best marketing campaign in O’Connell’s quarterback-friendly system, passing for 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He accomplished 66.2% of his passes and led the Vikings to a 14-3 file.
He lastly regarded the a part of the franchise quarterback the Jets envisioned him to be earlier than he fizzled to a 13-25 file over three seasons within the Meadowlands.
However within the greatest video games, Darnold faltered.
He went simply 18-for-41 for 166 yards in final week’s 31-9 loss in Detroit, failing to attain a landing in a sport that might have clinched an NFC North title and first spherical bye for the Vikings had they gained.
As an alternative, Minnesota needed to open the postseason on the street — it ended up being a impartial website at Arizona’s State Farm Stadium because of the wildfires in Los Angeles — and was badly outplayed by a Rams crew that gained 4 fewer video games within the common season.
And that began with Darnold. He made 23 off-target throws between the losses to Detroit and Los Angeles, in accordance with ESPN Analysis.
“All that matters is, when you have a good season, what do you do in the playoffs?” Darnold mentioned. “We didn’t get it done today, and that’s all that matters.”
Earlier than the back-to-back clunkers, many speculated the Vikings would convey Darnold again, both on the $41 million franchise tag or with a long-term extension.
Final month, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported the Vikings needed to retain Darnold, whereas ESPN’s Adam Schefter mentioned he anticipated groups to name about McCarthy, who might fetch greater than a first-round choose in a commerce.
The Jets and Giants are among the many groups that could possibly be available in the market for a quarterback and don’t have a top-two choose in a draft thought-about weak on the place.
Whether or not that comes from Minnesota stays to be seen.
The Vikings might follow their authentic plan and switch the offense over to McCarthy, who was an excellent, however not elite, prospect popping out of Michigan. McCarthy’s inexpensive rookie contract — he carries a $4.97 million cap hit in 2025 — would enable the Vikings to additional bolster their roster.
O’Connell has a profitable monitor file with a number of quarterbacks, having additionally gained 13 video games with Kirk Cousins in 2022. The Vikings rostered a longtime backup in Daniel Jones, whom they signed after the Giants launched him in November, and will convey him again in an identical function.
“I’ll always say that I’m confident in myself to go out there and still perform the same way I’ve been performing,” mentioned Vikings extensive receiver Justin Jefferson, who led Minnesota with 103 receptions, 1,533 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2024.
“But it’s not my job to say who’s going to be the quarterback, who I want to be the quarterback. At the end of the day, they’re going to figure it out, and whoever they decide to go with, we can work with that.”
There’s no denying Darnold’s worth is way greater than it was this time final yr, however his end to the season renewed the considerations that adopted him early in his profession.
He was notoriously turnover-prone with the Jets, throwing 39 interceptions in comparison with 45 touchdowns, and was famously caught on a sizzling microphone admitting he was “seeing ghosts” throughout a 2019 loss to the New England Patriots.
For his half, Darnold mentioned Monday he wasn’t but specializing in his future.
“Right now, I’m thinking about what I could have done better today and just really spending time with the guys in the locker room,” Darnold mentioned. “That’s really all I’m focused on right now. … I’ll think about whatever the future holds after that.”
