Off the Sam Darnold bandwagon? No QB would've handled Detroit's pressure

Darnold was pressured 33 times, far and away the most pressure he's faced all season.

Jan 5, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) adjusts his uniform off his shoulder pads while walking off the field after taking a hit on a fourth down pass attempt that fell incomplete against the Detroit Lions in the fourth quarter at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images / Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

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.

If you'll recall, that Week 1 game at MetLife Stadium had Jonathan Greenard and the Vikings feeling sorry for Jones while New York fans booed him on a day in which the Giants offensive line failed to protect him from a ferocious Minnesota defense.

Jones was sacked five times, hit another eight times and hurried on 13 other pass plays. Add 'em all up and it's 26 pressures that the Vikings put on Jones in Week 1. It was a lot — and no quarterback would've fared well under similar circumstances.

Well, Darnold had it worse in Detroit as the Lions pummeled the Vikings 31-9 to win the NFC North and claim the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. Detroit pressured Darnold a whopping 33 times, comprised of 22 hurries, two sacks and nine hits.

The result was Darnold's most inaccurate game of the season as he completed 18 of 41 passes.

The 33 pressures were the most Darnold has faced all season. In the previous 16 games, he was pressured more than 20 times in only six games and no team topped 24.

It took opposing teams five weeks to start the season to hit Darnold as many times as Detroit did in 60 minutes. Take a look at the pressure Darnold has faced every week this season and notice how Detroit jumps off the page at the end.

Game	Opponent	Total	Sacks	Hits	Hurries
1	Giants	11	1	1	9
2	49ers	12	4	2	6
3	Texans	24	4	4	16
4	Packers	14	2	1	11
5	Jets	19	4	3	12
6	Lions	15	4	1	10
7	Rams	18	4	2	12
8	Colts	18	4	3	11
9	Jaguars	22	1	2	19
10	Titans	17	2	2	13
11	Bears	20	3	6	11
12	Cardinals	21	5	3	13
13	Falcons	18	4	3	11
14	Bears	24	2	6	16
15	Seahawks	15	3	5	7
16	Packers	20	1	3	16
17	Lions	33	2	9	22

What can we take away from this? Tom Brady could've been standing in that pocket Sunday night and probably would've struggled against that type of pressure.

When the Patriots sacked Caleb Williams nine times — a high mark in an NFL game this season — in Week 10, it came from 23 total pressures. The Lions had 10 more pressures against Minnesota.

Detroit pressured Geno Smith a season-high 37 times in Week 4. They sacked him four times and hit him four more times, so even though Smith was under constant pressure, he wasn't getting hit as frequently as Darnold was.

Darnold was not good. That's a fact. He missed a lot of open receivers. He also contributed to the pressure totals by holding onto the ball too long at times. Still, Minnesota's game plan, lack of adjustments, and the guys blocking for Darnold all share some of the blame.

The two other players who deserve the most blame, according to the PFF stats, are left tackle Cam Robinson and left guard Blake Brandel, who allowed nine and eight pressures, respectively.

All that said, the Lions deserve a lot of credit for making Darnold as uncomfortable as any quarterback has been in any game this season, including Jones in Week 1 against the Vikings.

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