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Sam Darnold's Red Zone Struggles vs. Lions Left NFL Fans Perplexed
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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Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.