Inside The Vikings

Loudest voices have big opinions on Vikings, Sam Darnold after Detroit disaster

Detroit lit up the Vikings 31-9 Sunday night to claim the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

Jonathan Harrison

Detroit Lions defensive end Levi Onwuzurike (91) pressures Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) during the second half at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025.
Detroit Lions defensive end Levi Onwuzurike (91) pressures Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) during the second half at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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The Vikings head into the playoffs off the back of their worst loss of the season. It was a demoralizing defeat in Detroit that they'll be hearing about all week leading into Monday night's wild-card round finale against the Rams.

While the loss was bad and key performers failed to step up, national pundits don't appear to be completely out on the Vikings as the playoffs get started. Not all of them anyway.

"Are we ready to write off the Vikings after that game as a real contender? Because I am not," said The Ringer's Bill Simmons on his podcast. "I actually think they just had a bad game, where a bunch of s*** went wrong, and I'm not ready to be like, 'Nope, that's who they are.' I just think it was one of those games. If anything, I want to buy in on them now in the playoffs, because now I think everybody's off now, saying, 'Oh Sam Darnold, there he is. The Lions kicked their a**. Oh you just have to rush them.' I've watched them all year. I'm not ready to sell on them yet. I think they just sucked tonight."

Darnold's poor night — 18 of 41 for 144 yards and a 55.5 passer rating — has been a particular focal point for the national media in the hours since the loss on national television.

"Sam Darnold hasn't missed that all season long. I thought he missed five touchdowns last night," ESPN's Dan Orlovsky said on Get Up. "I do think this is more attributed to him getting hit so much that his eyes started to go all over the place and get sped up, rather than playing in a calmer sense."

The Lions were relentless, hitting Darnold nine times and sacking him twice on a night in which they pressured him 33 times.

"Let me tell you this, Aaron Glenn was in his bag last night defensively. The way he mixed up coverages. The way he brought pressure made Sam Darnold speed up," said ESPN's Marcus Spears on Get Up. "Sam Darnold has had an absolutely tremendous year, but Sam Darnold was uncomfortable all night long."

As is the case though, not every opinion is as positive after such an embarrassing loss. None other than ESPN's loudest voice, Stephen A. Smith, who notably got Darnold's numbers completely wrong in the wake of the win over Green Bay in Week 17, says he can't trust the Vikings QB in the playoffs.

"We're not discrediting anything about Detroit, what we're saying is, when you got 13 dudes on the injured list on the defensive side of the ball alone, that's not supposed to happen. It's not about Minnesota losing, it's about them being held to nine points. It's about them being denied a touchdown," said Smith. "It's about Sam Darnold being in the red zone and throwing six straight incompletions, two of them touchdown misses to Justin Jefferson, who by the way was open. It's talking about that. He clearly has had a great season, nobody's denying that Sam Darnold is having a great season. ... Yeah Sam Darnold has the capability to win playoff games, to do some things. The question is do you trust him? Hell no. You can't say that you trust him with his history and last night, you can't say the word trust."

While Stephen A. appears to be out Darnold, the Vikings will have to trust that he can bounce back with a huge wild-card rematch with the Rams at 7 p.m. CT Monday, Jan. 13.

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Jonathan Harrison
JONATHAN HARRISON

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