GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Minnesota Vikings entered Monday’s playoff matchup against the Los Angeles Rams as the first-ever 14-win wild card team in league history, but as the clock struck midnight, the Vikings’ Cinderella season came to an unceremonious end with a 27-9 loss.
“All that matters when you have a good season is what do you do in the playoffs,” quarterback Sam Darnold, 27, told reporters on Monday evening following his first playoff start. “In the NFL, you only get one season with one team with everyone all together. And today wasn’t our day. It’s as simple as that.”
Darnold felt pressure early from the Rams and it never let up during Monday’s wild card game, which moved from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona as devastating wildfires ravage the Los Angeles area. The Rams sacked Darnold a record nine times for a loss of 82 yards, tied for the most sacks in a playoff game. The Rams’ defense also forced two turnovers — an interception and a fumble returned for a touchdown.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said the loss wasn’t on any one player — ‘That’s a ‘we’ thing. That’s all of us… Could I have coached better? I promise you I could have” — but Darnold made it clear that he didn’t efficiently lead the team as he’s done all season.
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“I feel like there were a lot of sacks today that I was responsible for, where I was just holding on to the football and taking sacks,” said Darnold, who finished with 245 yards and one touchdown and one interception. “It’s up to me to be able to feel that (pressure) and either step up, move, run for a first down or just simply throw it away.”
After being relegated to a backup quarterback the past two seasons, Darnold had a renaissance year this season and led the Vikings to a 14-3 record as a starter, Minnesota’s best regular season finish since 1998. The Vikings were expected to take the next step with a deep playoff run, equipped with not only Darnold, but Justin Jefferson and Aaron Jones, who each had 1,000+ yard receiving and rushing seasons, respectively.
But Minnesota’s two-game skid, including last week’s blowout loss to the Detroit Lions that could’ve claimed the NFC North title and No. 1 overall seed for the Vikings — abruptly came to an end shortly after it began.
‘It doesn’t feel real,’ said Jones, who finished with 13 carries for 48 yards. ‘I know you have to take it one week at a time, but I was definitely expecting to play next week.’
‘The sky was the limit for us’
The Vikings quickly found themselves in a 10-0 hole less than seven minutes into the game after the Rams’ first two drives resulted in a touchdown and field goal. The Vikings answered back with a field goal of their own to cut their deficit to 10-3. It appeared that Minnesota tied the game after strip-sacking Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, which resulted in a defensive touchdown. But the call was reversed and the points were wiped off the board after referees determined Stafford threw an incomplete pass.
‘I know that quarterback pretty well,’ said O’Connell, who served as the Rams’ offensive coordinator during their Super Bowl run in the 2021-22 season. ‘I know when (Stafford) is trying to throw to somebody and when he’s not, but that’s the explanation I got. We just had to keep playing.’
On the Vikings’ next possession, Darnold’s pass intended for receiver Jordan Addison was picked off by Rams’ Cobie Durant. The possession after that Rams cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon sacked Darnold and forced a fumble that was returned by Jared Verse for a 57-yard touchdown to go up 17-3. By halftime, the Vikings’ deficit was 24-3 and the winds were out of their sails. Darnold connected with tight end T.J. Hockenson for a 26-yard touchdown in the their quarter, but it was too little, too late.
‘We didn’t do enough to win. That’s what happens in this league,’ Vikings safety Josh Metellus said with tears in his eye. ‘We had a special group. This team is one of the best teams I’ve ever been on. The sky was the limit for us. It was all about going 1-0. Today, we were 0-1. That just happened to be the last one.’
Jones added that he’s ‘sad for my brothers and sad for how it went down. We played our butts off this whole year and then today, everybody came out there and everybody left it on the field even though it wasn’t the outcome we wanted,’ Jones said. ‘The team changes year after year. It’s a true brotherhood in this locker room, some guys may not be back and you feel it. This is the closet team I’ve been on. I love these guys.’
What’s next for Sam Darnold?
Darnold is set to enter free agency after playing out his one-year, $10 million contract with the Vikings. He looked poised to remain a starter, whether with the Vikings or with another team, but his stumble to the finish line the past two weeks could impact his future. Darnold, however, said that’s a conversation for another day.
“I’m not worried about that. That’s in the past,” Darnold said on Monday. “Right now, I’m thinking about what I could have done better today and just spending time with the team in the locker room.”
Jefferson noted that the question marks surrounding the team’s future quarterback felt like deja-vu.
‘It was the same type of situation last year. I didn’t know who my quarterback was going to be and I really didn’t care,’ said Jefferson, who was held to five receptions for 58 yards on Monday. ‘I’m confident in myself to go out there and still perform the same way I’ve been performing. It’s not my job to say who is going to be the quarterback or who I want to be the quarterback.’
No matter what happens, O’Connell said two bad games shouldn’t discredit Darnold’s Pro Bowl-caliber season: ‘I’m proud of (Darnold), proud of really everybody in that locker room. But Sam (Darnold), the journey him and I went on this year will always have a special place in my heart.’
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