Sam Darnold was deemed the hero for the Minnesota Vikings during the 2024 season—well, until the team's last few games.
Darnold started for Minnesota after their first-round pick J.J. McCarthy had to miss the season with a knee injury and led the Vikings to a 14–3 record and a playoff spot. His future on the Vikings seemed clear, until he led the Vikings to an upsetting Week 18 loss vs. the Detroit Lions. He went 18-of-41 for 166 yards, with no touchdowns and was sacked twice in a 31–9 loss.
Then, the Vikings' title hopes ended in the wild-card round when Minnesota lost 27–9 to the Los Angeles Rams. Darnold was sacked an NFL playoff record nine times. These two losses likely were big factors into why the Vikings ultimately chose to not place a franchise tag on Darnold, which made him a free agent.
When speaking about the end of his Vikings run during his introductory press conference with the Seattle Seahawks, Darnold explained how these lessons he learned in Minnesota will benefit him while playing for the Seahawks. He knows what he needs to improve on.
"I think being able to get the ball out a little bit quicker on some of the dropback stuff that we had those last couple games and understanding where the outlets are and even if a guy is covered, even if my backs covered on a checkdown, just throwing it at his feet," Darnold said. "I feel like I was taking some unnecessary sacks last year, especially those last few games. ... I'll definitely be thinking about that, keeping two hands on the ball in the pocket at all times. Just doing all the little fundamental things, but that's a big one, is being able to just get the ball out on time."
He couldn’t wait for someone to ask about the end of last season
— ᴅᴏxx ⚡️ (@new_era72) March 13, 2025
Gotta respect the accountability pic.twitter.com/0VjI22P5Dw
Even though his season ended poorly, Darnold still earned his first Pro Bowl bid from his standout season. He finished the year with 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He was sacked 48 times, though, which was the fourth most in the NFL.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Sam Darnold Offered Earnest Reflection on Learning From Rough End of Vikings' Season.
