What Sam Darnold experienced Sunday night against the Lions was worse than what Daniel Jones experienced in his Week 1 start against the Vikings when he played for the Giants.

Sam Darnold looked like the Jets version of himself instead of the potential franchise quarterback he’s resembled for most of the season during an awful performance in the Vikings’ 31-9 loss to the Lions in the battle for the NFC’s No. 1 seed and the NFC North crown on “Sunday Night Football.”

The Vikings won 14 games often through Sam Darnold’s arm this season. Yet on the biggest stage so far, Darnold’s arm fell flat during Sunday night’s 31-9 loss to the Lions. Players and coaches say the critiques should begin with their failures in the red zone,

Hoofnagle, who has been dating Darnold since at least June 2023, shared a post from fellow Vikings WAG (wives and girlfriends) Keely Grugier-Hill, who is the better half of Minnesota veteran linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill.

Vikings QB Sam Darnold reacts after throwing for just 166 yards in a 31-9 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday to finish the regular season 14-3 and earn a No. 5 seed for the NFC Playoffs.

Detroit dominated in the most important game of the regular season, and the difference was a quarterback who looks ready for the challenges ahead.

Jahmyr Gibbs topped 100 yards rushing in all 3 games the Lions played without David Montgomery and fell just shy of 2,000 scrimmage yards.

Sam Darnold was on an unbelievable run with the Minnesota Vikings this season. He led them to a 14-2 record going into the final NFL regular season game and even stirred up conversations about the Vikings keeping him long term and trading J.J. McCarthy to a quarterback-hungry team.

EAGAN, Minn. -- Sam Darnold put forth a career performance for the Minnesota Vikings this season, ranking among the NFL's top 10 quarterbacks in passing yardage, touchdown throws, passer rating and winning percentage. Yet it's not impossible to imagine that his future trajectory could be determined by what happens Monday night and beyond.

The Vikings QB situation will be one to monitor on Monday. The post Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell Hints at QB Change as Playoffs Loom appeared first on Heavy Sports.