Quarterback Sam Darnold’s poor performance hasn’t been Minnesota’s only problem over the past 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 playoff loss to the Rams.
“You know, I definitely haven’t played well enough the last few weeks,” Darnold said in his postgame press conference. “(T)here are too many throws left that I would usually make. I need to take better care of the football, especially today.”
The Rams tied an NFL playoff record by sacking Darnold nine times, with the official score indicating Los Angeles counted 12 QB hits on him — although it seemed like more. Darnold battled 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 very good plan, but he still thought he should have been able to handle pressure better.
“For me, I’m always going to track my progression,” Darnold said. “If I sense people in front (from the inside) 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 am 100 percent responsible for football and what happens to it. And, for me, it’s on me to be able to feel that and either step up, move, go run for a first down, or just throw it away.
“I felt like there were a lot of sacks today that I was responsible for, where I was just holding the football and taking sacks where I could have soiled it at someone’s feet or just throw it over someone’s head.”
Why didn’t he do that?
“Right when I made the decision, I tried to run away and couldn’t get the ball out,” Darnold said.
So Darnold is now headed to free agency in March, as his one-year contract with the Vikings is up. It’s unclear what the future holds for Darnold, who has played well at times in 2024. But he also played in games like Monday Night Week 18 and the Week 10 game against 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 there and that’s all that matters,” Darnold said. “I’ll have a lot of time after this to be able to reflect on what the season entailed, but to be honest I’m just thinking about today and what I could have done better.”
