Colin Cowherd skewers $240,000,000 Dak Prescott in a scathing review of J.J. McCarthy, Sam Darnold

While J.J. McCarthy and Dak Prescott spend the final week of the 2024 NFL season on the sidelines, Sam Darnold will be in the thick of the action as his Vikings take on the Lions for a shootout for the top spot in the NFC. It is a playoff game before the postseason begins, and much is at stake. Whoever wins the game will take the first seed in the conference with the Wild Card round bye and home-field advantage that comes with it. The loser will drop to fifth.

Minnesota is in this position largely due to Sam Darnold. A player whose career as a starter appeared to be over after a disastrous time with the Jets and Panthers, Darnold has been revitalized this season. He was supposed to be a backup or placeholder at best, as rookie J.J. McCarthy was put through the paces to become the franchise quarterback of the future.

The Vikings quarterback is in the conversation for the MVP award, much like Dak Prescott was last season. He finished second in voting behind Lamar Jackson in 2023, and based on his regular-season performances, Jerry Jones gave him a $240 million contract this offseason. It makes him the highest-paid player in NFL history in any position.

However, as Colin Cowherd made a case for the Vikings holding on to Sam Darnold and moving on from J.J. McCarthy after the former's virtuoso season, he mentioned Dak Prescott as a marker for why Minnesota should accept this change from their original plans. He highlighted that he was not really sold on the rookie and the current starter is only 27 years old. Highlighting that the Cowboys' player is the starting quarterback for his franchise, Colin Cowherd noted,

"Has Dak ever had a year that looks like Darnold? Not to me."

As J.J. McCarthy waits in the wings, Sam Darnold could do in 2024 what Dak Prescott failed to in 2023

J.J. McCarthy's future has been under rampant speculation because of how well Sam Darnold has played in 2024. It all comes to a head with the final game against the Lions, whose own quarterback has not been too shabby. Should Jared Goff or the Vikings quarterback lead their teams to victory in Week 18, they will finish with a better team record than Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, or Joe Burrow.

Based on that one could argue that they deserve to win the MVP award. The Ravens quarterback pipped Dak Prescott last year as Baltimore finished with the AFC first seed. Maybe the honor could go to the starting quarterback of whichever franchise finishes atop the NFC.