Vikings - Lions

What was that? This Minnesota Vikings - Detroit Lions game was for the NFC North title and the NFC’s #1 seed. Two 14-2 teams battling in one of the greatest regular season matchups ever. It didn’t play that way. The Lions took all the good things with a 31-9 win. The difference in the game was Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold.

Considering the modest expectations that most had for the Vikings this season, this was the sort of game many expected from Sam Darnold. Who knows what went wrong. He looked off from the start. He often took snaps to zeroes on the play clock. He looked rattled and unsure in the pocket. He sailed passes to open receivers. Throughout the broadcast, Cris Collinsworth raved about the Lions defense. It didn’t look like it was the defense to me. Darnold had time. He had open receivers. He looked like the young, inexperienced quarterback that was seeing ghosts with the New York Jets. Through 16 games, Darnold played like the quarterback that the Jets hoped they were getting when they selected him with the third pick of the 2018 NFL Draft. For the final game of the regular season, the biggest game of the season, he looked like the quarterback that struggled mightily with the Jets and Carolina Panthers. Prior to this big game, his worst game as the Vikings quarterback was probably Week 10 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. That game was bad because of the three red zones interceptions that he threw. That game was bad because of the reliance on four field goals to win the game. The Vikings were horrible in the red zone against the Jaguars. They were worse in last night’s big game. The Vikings had four red zone possessions against the Lions. Three of those were inside the 10. Six points. The Vikings scored six points when they had the opportunity to score 28. Six points! Justin Jefferson torched Amik Robertson and was wide open in the end zone. Darnold sailed the ball over his head. Jordan Addison was wide open in the flat. Darnold either didn’t see him or ignored him. Who knows what went wrong in this game. If the Vikings don’t figure it out, they won’t be in the playoffs long.

For just over three quarters, the Vikings defense looked like they might do enough to make up for the offense’s failures. With the Lions leading 17-9 early in the fourth quarter, Andrew Van Ginkel got a hand then his hands on a Jared Goff screen pass. A wide open field was in front of him. It was going to be an easy touchdown. I was already celebrating the game-changing play. It was going to be a touchdown that potentially tied the score and gave the Vikings a huge dose of momentum. The ball dropped through Van Ginkel’s hands. Within about five minutes of that potential game-flipping play, a one-score game became a three-score game. For three-quarters of the game, the Vikings defense completely frustrated the Lions explosive offense. The final quarter was the opposite. The Lions sailed down the field. With each failed Vikings offensive possession, the time of possession really started to lean the Lions way as the game entered the fourth quarter. The Vikings defense finally started to falter. 

Ultimately, the Vikings team failed in this game. They played nothing like the team that earned an opportunity to play for the division title and #1 seed. So, it’s off to Los Angeles and a wildcard playoff game against the Rams. It’s interesting and perhaps concerning that the Vikings two losses earlier in the season came in back-to-back games against the Lions and Rams. At least this time the Vikings have more than three days to recover from a loss to the Lions. The Vikings-Rams wildcard matchup is Monday night. Sam Darnold has a full week to get right.