Good For Sam Darnold

Minnesota Vikings fans and pundits are losing their minds over Sam Darnold playing in a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks. It’s been 50 years since the Vikings were last in the Super Bowl. That was a time in which they were often in the big game. They went three times in four years, four times in eight years. Super Bowl IV, Super Bowl VIII, Super Bowl IX, and Super Bowl XI. All four trips ended in a loss. As a young Vikings fan, I came to expect Super Bowl trips. As an older Vikings fan, it’s been 50 years of seeing them fall short. It’s no surprise that Vikings fans and pundits are a little sensitive. Seeing Darnold in the Super Bowl with the Seahawks has them thinking about what might’ve been. 

Sam Darnold had a fine season with the Vikings in 2024. It rejuvenated a career that was teetering on the edge of the “bust” bin. Darnold likely signed a deal with the Vikings knowing that the team was targeting a quarterback in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. He was going to get an opportunity to start but that it was probably going to be for only one season. The Vikings selected Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy with the tenth pick. The plan was to not rush McCarthy. He’d probably sit for a year behind Darnold and assume the starting job in 2025. Nice plan. It’s the sort of plan that could be a good thing for a young quarterback. It didn’t quite go as planned as McCarthy suffered a knee injury in his first preseason game. The rookie was forced to rehab the injury rather than practice. It also meant that 2024 was unquestionably Darnold’s season. Overall, he had a productive season as he guided the Vikings to an outstanding 14-3 regular season record. The biggest flaw to the season, perhaps the only flaw, was an inability to get past NFC heavyweights Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams. The three regular season losses and the playoff loss were to those two teams. In the most important games of the season, Darnold was terrible. He was ineffective in the Week 18, division-clincher against the Lions. He was ineffective in the Wild Card playoff loss to the Rams. Those two games likely convinced the Vikings that they needed a quarterback that gave the team a higher ceiling. I agreed with that decision then. Even with Darnold and the Seahawks in Super Bowl LX, I agree with the decision now. Teams don’t get “do-overs.” They make decisions and must live with them. It works that way for fans as well. This is J.J. McCarthy’s team. I believe in him and I believe in the direction of the Vikings. 

I’m happy for Sam Darnold. I’m not happy about the Seahawks being in the Super Bowl because I don’t like the team or their fans. If the Vikings had re-signed Darnold, they would not be in the Super Bowl. The Vikings biggest problem this season weren’t with the quarterback. Behind a wildly inconsistent offensive line, no quarterback would’ve been consistently productive for the Vikings. Darnold probably would’ve ended up like Carson Wentz (on injured reserve) or like J.J. McCarthy (in and out of the lineup due to injuries). It’s funny that I’m seeing similar storylines with my college team as I’m seeing with the Vikings. As a Cal alumnus and fan, it was tough to see Fernando Mendoza bolt for Indiana just weeks after a thrilling comeback win against Stanford. Instead of playing out his eligibility with the Golden Bears, Mendoza won the Heisman and a national championship with the Hoosiers. He’s the likely #1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. I’m happy for Mendoza. He never would’ve accomplished any of that at Cal. Sound familiar? There’s no guarantee that McCarthy develops into the franchise, Super Bowl-winning quarterback that he was drafted to be. I believe that he will but there are no guarantees. There’s no guarantee that Darnold would’ve done for the Vikings what he’s done for the Seahawks. Getting to the Super Bowl, let alone winning it, is often more about timing than talent. Darnold just happened to get a shot with a solid team during a year in which the league was wide open. Any of the 14 teams that made the playoffs this year had a shot. Normally, that isn’t the case. There’s usually only two or three teams in each conference that have a legitimate shot. Hell, if they could’ve managed only one more win, I think a healthy Vikings team could’ve beaten the Seahawks, Rams, or any of the other five NFC playoff teams. The Vikings defense dominated Darnold and the Seahawks offense when they played during the regular season. If the Vikings could’ve done anything on offense that day, a win over a punch-less Seattle that day could’ve been the one that got them in the playoffs. Then, who knows? 2025 was a rough season for the Vikings. They were still only 0.5 wins from a shot in the playoffs. 

Anyway, it’s possible to be happy for Sam Darnold and not have it reflect in any way on what the Vikings did or didn’t do last offseason.