Sam Darnold mum on future with Vikings after 9-sack, 2-turnover performance in playoff loss

Sam Darnold said all the right things following the Minnesota Vikings brutal, 27-9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Monday night’s wild-card playoff game.

In his session with reporters after the game, Darnold was asked if his protection was the problem after he was sacked an NFL-playoff-record nine times. “I’m 100% responsible for the football,” he said. “It’s up to me to be able to feel that and either step up, move, go run for the first down or just simply throw it away. I felt like there were a lot of sacks today that I was responsible for.”

When asked about a career year that ended with his first Pro Bowl nod, Darnold wasn’t looking for any flowers. “At the end of the day, all that matters when you have a good season is what you do in the playoffs, and we didn’t get it done.”

MORE: Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell speaks on Sam Darnold following brutal playoff performance

Asked later about how his poor performance over the past two games could potentially impact his future in Minnesota, Darnold was mum, declining to campaign or deliver a there’s no place I’d rather play speech.

“You know, that’s in the past right now,” he said, matter of factly. “I’m just thinking about what I could’ve done better today, and just really spending time with the guys in the locker room. That’s really all I’m focused on right now, because at the end of the day in the NFL you only get one season with one team with everyone together, and today wasn’t our day. It’s as simple as that for me. I’m just gonna be focused on spending as much time as I can with those guys in the locker room, and then I’ll think about whatever the future holds after that.”

Head coach Kevin O’Connell struck a similar chord with his post-game remarks, both praising Darnold’s special season as a whole, while lamenting some of the mistakes that held him back in brutal losses to the Lions and Rams in consecutive weeks. Like Darnold, O’Connell stopped short of saying anything of substance about potentially running it back in 2025.

Darnold’s expiring contract will again be the hot topic in Minnesota, as No. 10 overall pick J.J. McCarthy is expected to be fully recovered from multiple knee surgeries in time for the 2025 season. Reading between the lines from Monday’s somber post-game press conferences, McCarthy’s time could be coming sooner than anybody thought just two weeks ago.

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