In The Span Of Eight Days, The Vikings Went From Cinderella To Frauds, And Sam Darnold's Bright Future Has Turned Grim

Man that was hard to watch. In a weekend full of stinkers, with the exception of Sunday night in Tampa, Wild Card weekend was capped off by a beatdown of a 14-win team who imploded in their two biggest games of the season.

Eight days ago, the Vikings geared up for a game in Detroit with a chance at the one seed. And eight days later, they're sent packing for what is sure to be a longgggg offseason.

And with their season went Sam Darnold's future - probably.

Darnold had an insane season, one that started when JJ McCarthy tore his meniscus in training camp and he was vaulted into the starting role. Cast aside as a bust after a forgettable first six years to his career, expectations for himself and the Vikings were low.

And all year they surprised. With a season win total of just 6.5, they outperformed their projection by a league-high 7.5 wins, cashing in week 10. And as I've mentioned before, it was because of Sam Darnold. He wasn't a marshmallow that handed the ball off 30 times a game to a league-best rushing attack. He and the passing game was the offense. He pushed the ball down field to their weapons. Jordan Addison became a pro-bowl caliber receiver to form one of the best duos in the league with Jets, and Hockenson, when he returned, showed he's still a top-tier TE. Darnold was a top 6 QB in yards, yards per completion, TDs, and passer rating.

He was a sure fire bet to get a big contract this offseason, whether it was from Minnesota or elsewhere. At minimum a franchise tag, which would lend a ~$40 million salary next year alone. He was one of the best stories in the NFL, and after weeks of doubting and waiting for the real Sam Darnold to stand up, he never did, and he got me believing. He played me like a fiddle.

The last two games, the biggest two games of his career, where he had the opportunity to shut every last hater up, he poured gasoline on their fire. In Detroit, he overthrew everyone. He missed multiple open TDs, and allowed the pressure the Lions put on him to make him a bit frantic in the pocket. He was horrible, but it was his first time in that spot, going against one of the best teams in the league, and he performed like many would/do in his situation. I chalked that up to the Lions, and gave credit to them.

Last night was arguably worse. He was slow with his reads, held on to the ball for what felt like an eternity every dropback, and was still inaccurate, albeit slightly better than last week. He turned the ball over twice, one for a Rams TD, and the game was over by halftime.

It sucks for Sam. I was actually rooting for him not just cause I picked him, but for the story. You love to see a guy overcome the obstacles, suffer through the lowest of lows, stick with it and come out the other side. And I'm not saying he didn't do that already, cause his body of work throughout the season already proved that, but this would've been the nail in the coffin that solidified himself as a starting QB that deserves starting QB money moving forward. Can't say that now.

To be fair to Sammy, this wasn't all on him. His offensive line for two straight weeks has been as useless as a dull knife on a ribeye. He was pressured 33 times in Detroit and 32 times in LA (Arizona technically), good for worst and second worst of their season. Most QBs are only as good as their protection, and Darnold had basically none in the two games he's getting shredded for. So while the inaccuracies and decision making/processing are fair to criticize, there's more that meets the eye as to why that happened.

Kevin O'Connell also deserves some shit. All season the Vikings were a downfield, vertical passing team. But it takes time for those intermediate routes to develop, so when your offensive line is getting bulldozed within 2 seconds of every snap, you need to adjust.

And he didn't. How many times in the first half on a 2nd or 3rd and short did a slow developing play-action pass get sacked? How many times was I yelling "throw it!" as Darnold scurried around the pocket only to see the down-the-line camera and the receivers not at their cuts yet. The Vikings offensive scheme is lethal, but relies heavily on their OL to provide time. They didn't do that, and KOC didn't adjust. That's bad coaching.

So yes, Sam Darnold deserves the shit that's coming his way. He played bad when it mattered most, when most people were expecting and hoping he would, and it'll cost him. I still think he'll get paid next year, that he'll potentially have a starting job elsewhere, or go to another team exactly like Minnesota this year that drafts a rookie that he fights for a job against.

I don't think he killed his career, but he certainly bit off a good chunk of it. The lasting taste teams will have in their mouth as they decide to ink him for an 8-9 figure deal or not will be a sour one. I just hope they realize it wasn't all his fault.