Sam Darnold is not having a good night.
In Sunday night's huge matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions, Darnold struggled mightily in the first two-plus quarters, specifically in the red zone.
The Vikings got inside Detroit's 20-yard line four times and only managed to come away with six points on two field goals. Minnesota turned the ball over on downs twice inside the 10-yard line. On those two series, Darnold missed open receivers on multiple occasions. On those four red zone trips, he was 2-of-11 for eight yards and twice threw incomplete passes on fourth down.
Fans noticed how much the Pro Bowl quarterback was struggling and took to social media to express their shock and dismay.
Sam Darnold trying to complete a pass inside the 10 … pic.twitter.com/G8OE0DR49v
— Super 70s Sports (@Super70sSports) January 6, 2025
whew, someone's playing like sam darnold used to.
— bomani (@bomani_jones) January 6, 2025
Sam Darnold whenever he sees an open receiver: pic.twitter.com/qtyDAkuTvV
— Cardinals Stats And Facts (@STL_Stats_Facts) January 6, 2025
Is Sam Darnold seeing ghosts?
— Henry McKenna (@henrycmckenna) January 6, 2025
On that fourth down, he missed two wide open receivers, including the primary option?
Sam Darnold in the red zone tonight pic.twitter.com/tFcdAJ81cG
— j (@Jferrie23) January 6, 2025
Darnold seeing ghosts in the biggest regular season game of all time pic.twitter.com/9O4Hh7FktP
— E̷d̷w̷i̷n̷ (@IMissWinning) January 6, 2025
Midway through the third quarter the Lions lead the Vikings 10-9. The team that comes out on top will win the NFC North and earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
Minnesota has to hope Darnold can turn it around.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Sam Darnold's Red Zone Struggles vs. Lions Left NFL Fans Perplexed.
