The ghosts made an appearance at Ford Field Sunday night.
Sam Darnold looked like the Jets version of himself instead of the potential franchise quarterback he’s resembled for most of the season during an awful performance in the Vikings’ 31-9 loss to the Lions in the battle for the NFC’s No. 1 seed and the NFC North crown on “Sunday Night Football.”
Darnold misfired on several potential touchdowns early in the game and posted season-lows in passing yards (166) and completion percentage (43.9 percent) after going 18-for-41.
“Obviously, disappointing game,” Darnold said. “Felt like, for me personally, didn’t hit the throws that I should hit in the red zone, especially early on. Just didn’t execute the way we wanted to.”
Darnold’s resurgence played a major factor in why the Vikings entered Sunday with a 14-2 mark but he did not rise to the occasion in the season’s biggest moment.
The performance adds an extra layer of pressure as the narrative of his season of redemption could turn quickly if he plays similarly in the wild-card round against the Rams.
The 27-year-old is in line for a huge contract this offseason after he brilliantly piloted the Vikings offense in 2024.
The No. 3 pick in the 2018 draft, who once said he saw “ghosts” in an awful Jets game against the Patriots, led four drives into the red zone but only scored six points, including two turnovers on downs.
The Vikings had scored touchdowns on 60 percent of their red zone drives entering the game, according to NBC.
The first drive came with Minnesota down, 7-0, early in the second quarter and Darnold fired three straight incompletions while at the Lions’ 5-yard line.
Following an interception on the Lions’ next possession that gave the Vikings the ball at Detroit’s seven-yard line, Darnold again threw three incompletions.
This time, head coach Kevin O’Connell opted for a field goal to cut the deficit to 7-3.
“Seemed to be some opportunities, chances maybe to put seven on the board,” O’Connell said. “He’s hit a lot of those all season long and not one of those plays did I call and the outcome of the play change my mentality for Sam for the rest of the day. I always believe he’s going to hit the next one.”
Minnesota also settled for a field goal late in the second quarter to make it a 7-6 game after getting the ball inside the 20 and, in what proved to be a turning point in the game, failed to score on the first drive in the second quarter despite having a first-and-goal at the 5-yard line.
Receiver Jordan Addison seemed to be wide open on fourth down for a touchdown, but Darnold hesitated and later fired an incompletion to Addison in tight coverage.
Darnold said he felt his feet and eyes were fine and he made some right reads during the game, but just simply did not make the throws he needed to.
O’Connell noted that Darnold missed high with his throws early.
“Just going down in the red zone and kicking field goals, that’s not going to cut it against a good team like that,” Darnold said. “Just got to be a lot better for myself, personally, got to hit the throws in tight coverage.”
Darnold stressed that he needed to watch the tape to have a full evaluation of what went wrong, but he’ll have extra time to prepare for the Vikings’ wild-card road matchup next Monday against the Rams.
The Rams are one of two teams to beat Minnesota this year, triumphing 30-20 at SoFi Stadium.
“We obviously didn’t have the day we want to have,” Darnold said. “But we’re looking forward to the challenge that awaits with playoffs and everything, just getting ready for that next step and going 1-0 next week.”
