Sam Darnold's terrible night against Lions should help clear up Vikings' quarterback picture
The veteran reverted to the form that cost him his job with the Jets and Panthers, and should silence the discussion that the Vikings need to do anything they can to keep him beyond this season.
Sam Darnold’s phenomenal regular-season performance has put him in the MVP conversation and caused plenty of debates about whether the Vikings could justify allowing him to walk as a free agent in March. The case for Darnold went something like this: Darnold has proven his quarterback troubles are behind him and J.J. McCarthy is an unknown, even if he is a Top 10 draft pick. Darnold needs to be the future.
That argument fell apart on Sunday night in Detroit’s Ford Field.
In what was billed by many as the biggest regular-season game in Vikings’ history, Darnold went from MVP candidate to liability in a 31-9 loss to the Lions. There had been a week of anticipation leading up to the NFL’s final game of the regular season. The Vikings and Lions were both 14-2, meaning the winner would get the top seed in the NFC, the first-round bye that went with it, as well as capture the NFC North.
The Vikings had won nine in a row, and Darnold had the opportunity to show a national television audience just how different he was than the guy who flopped after being the third-overall pick by the New York Jets in the 2018 draft. That guy had been jettisoned by the lowly Jets and Panthers and entered this season with a one-year, $10 million contract in Minnesota and zero expectations.
But Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell had changed that. Darnold, 27, spent the season near the top of several statistical categories in the quarterback rankings and was suddenly the strong-armed and athletic quarterback that so many teams liked coming out of USC.
On Sunday night, Darnold provided his many skeptics with all the ammunition they needed to say, “told you so.” He looked uncomfortable from the moment he took the field. Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, working with a group depleted by injuries, decided to bring constant pressure at Darnold and it worked to perfection. Darnold had zero accuracy early on, overthrowing his receivers, including Justin Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson multiple times.
The Vikings had numerous chances to take leads in the first half, but Darnold’s struggles cost his team points. The Vikings made three trips into the Red Zone in the opening two quarters. Darnold went 0-for-3 in the Vikings’ first Red Zone trip, failing to hit Jefferson on a fourth down pass from the Detroit 3.
He was 0-for-3 again on the next possession after a second-quarter interception by linebacker Ivan Pace gave Minnesota the ball at the Lions 7. Will Reichard’s 25-yard field goal pulled the Vikings with four points. Darnold completed 1 of 2 passes for 4 yards during the Vikings’ next trip inside the Lions 20. Reichard’s 31-yard field goal pulled the Vikings within 7-6 late in the first half.
The Vikings, trailing 10-6, got the ball to open the third quarter and Cam Akers’ 58-yard run put the ball at the Detroit 5 and presented Minnesota a chance to take its first lead. Darnold completed a 3-yard pass to Aaron Jones at the Lions 2, but then had back-to-back incompletions on third and fourth down.
That was the Vikings final trip in the Red Zone and a defense that surrendered 17 points to the high-scoring Lions through three quarters finally tired in the fourth.