GLENDALE, ARIZ. – Kevin O’Connell uses affirming language, so if you want to find the right phrase for what happened to the Vikings the past two weeks, you’d have to revisit the Brad Childress era.
Souhan: No QB controversy here; playoff debacle makes clear Vikings must dump Sam Darnold and develop J.J. McCarthy
The guy who played quarterback for the Vikings the past two games should be no part of their future.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
January 14, 2025 at 5:25PM
Ol’ Chili would have called this “total systemic failure.”
Two blowout losses to end one of the most surprising success stories in Vikings history.
And this rare predicament: A 14-win team that failed so utterly under pressure that it has no choice but to dump the quarterback who won those 14 games.
What this Vikings regime proved this season is that it knows how to build a winner, even under adverse circumstances.
What this Vikings regime proved this postseason is that even a well-run organization can only fake it at the quarterback position for so long.
Sam Darnold couldn’t stand the pressure in Detroit, and he disintegrated in the dry heat of Arizona during the Vikings’ 27-9 wild-card loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night.
The Vikings finish their season 14-4 overall, with all four of their losses coming to starting quarterbacks coached for years by Sean McVay.
Last week, Jared Goff shredded the Vikings defense.
Monday night, it was Matthew Stafford.
Both demonstrated how to handle pressure — that from pass rushers and the outside world.
Darnold couldn’t handle either.
He held the ball too long, allowing a highly effective Rams pass rush to bully the overmatched Vikings offensive line.
He forced a pass to Jordan Addison that resulted in an interception, failing to see Jalen Nailor wide open downfield.
He fumbled while taking a sack, resulting in a Rams defensive touchdown.
With Darnold imploding, the Vikings were going to need defensive or special-teams touchdowns to stay in the game, but when they got one — on Blake Cashman’s fumble return — it was overruled because Stafford had made a half-hearted, backhanded throwing motion that was ruled a pass attempt and thus an incompletion.
Darnold cost himself a lot of money Monday, and removed himself from consideration of being the Vikings’ long-term starter.
Which, for the long haul, is a good thing.
If Darnold wasn’t going to be able to win big games, it’s better for the Vikings to find out now, before investing big money in him and relegating J.J. McCarthy to a backup role.
More good news? The Vikings can let Darnold walk in free agency, and they might have their next bridge quarterback in place. Daniel Jones can start the 2025 season, giving McCarthy all the time he needs to recover from knee surgery.
O’Connell got the best anyone has ever gotten out of Kirk Cousins, then the Vikings decided that Cousins wasn’t worth what the Falcons were going to pay him.
They were right.
Now O’Connell has gotten the best anyone has gotten out of Darnold, and the Vikings will again be right to believe that it was O’Connell and not the quarterback who deserved the credit.
Want more good news?
Vikings fans don’t have to see the season end in Philadelphia, while Philly fans assault visiting Minnesotans and an even better defense than the Rams’ assaults Darnold.
Monday night was ugly, but if you’re going to lose a playoff game, it’s best to have clarity.
The Vikings now have clarity.
They need to develop McCarthy into their long-term franchise quarterback.
They need to bolster the offensive line, which wasn’t good enough to support a quarterback who held the ball too long Monday.
They need to refurbish the safety position with Harrison Smith likely retiring and Cam Bynum being one of those likable players who you can’t fool yourself into overpaying.
Blowout losses the past two weeks could have done the Vikings another favor. Maybe now defensive coordinator Brian Flores won’t get hired as a head coach, and the Vikings will be able to keep their defensive staff together.
There was good news for the Vikings in Glendale on Monday, if you could peel your bloodshot eyes from what was happening on the field.
Correction: A previous version of this story misidentified Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman.
If O’Connell was a favorite to win coach of the year before this two-game collapse, he should be a lock now, because we can see what he was working with and fighting against.
