NFL
By: Rick O’Donnell
There were plenty of players who outplayed their contract in 20224 but not many more than Sam Darnold with the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikes took a flyer on Darnold as 1 yr/$10 mil contact. Whether or not he was meant to be the starter until rookie QB JJ McCarthy was ready to take the reins we may never know. After McCarthy went down with a meniscus tear that kept him out for the entire season. Darnold would take over and the rest is history leading the team to a 14-3 record on the year. Yet, despite his best efforts, the Minnesota Vikings fell short of their goals losing to the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. After back-to-back losses to end the year, did Darnold hurt his offseason payday?
First, no one believed in Sam Darnold after his career with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers. Anyone who steps up and thought he was going to have the season he did, is the homer of homers for the Vikings, or a giant liar. Without taking anything away from Darnold, he’s struggled and hasn’t shown he could be that type of player at the professional level. Now, he was one of the most talked about QB in the NFL this season as the constant underdog who outperformed expectations and deserves all the credit he gets.
With that being said, he did slip up towards the end, but can you put that all on Darnold and penalize him for it? The Vikings stumbled against the Lions twice this season accounting for 1 of their 3 losses in the regular season and their post-season exit. Are we going to pin that all on the QB, or can someone admit that the gameplay might not have been there for a division rival? The last depth chart for the Vikings showed Darnold as a QB who didn’t play defense that allowed 31 points in each of their matchups against Detroit. He wasn’t on the defensive side of the football when the Rams put up 27 against them in the playoffs
As a matter of fact, We can put some bad throws on Darnold, but every QB makes them. Is he on the hook for his play? Absolutely, it’s never great when you turn the ball over. In these big games, Darnold didn’t throw an INT against the Lions in their 31-29 matchup back in October. Detroit met the challenge in the rematch but Darnold only threw 1 pick in the rematch. He also turned the ball over once against the Rams as well. In the playoffs against the Rams, he completed 62% of his throws. Earlier in the season against the Lions 81%. In their final game, he was a bit sloppier at just 43%, but that’s what happens when defenses start getting pressure. You can blame the offensive line just as much.
When it comes down to it, people are already saying Darnold cost himself in the long run with his play over those last two games, but if that’s where you need to point your finger to feel better then so be it. The QB will always be the scapegoat of the NFL. However, the Minnesota Vikings need to do some soul-searching this offseason and realize there was more at fault than just Sam Darnold. If they want to run it back, pay Darnold his money and get back on the right side of point differentials to win football games. Until Darnold signs up for the other side of the football or learns to block, you can’t put the entire blame on him.
