Rams Super Bowl champion discusses concerns around Vikings QB Sam Darnold ahead of Wild Card showdown

Sam Darnold's performance for the Vikings this year has been a far cry from his Jets' time but doubts resurfaced ahead of Minnesota's clash with the Rams in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Playing for the overall top seed in the NFC in Week 18 against the Lions, the Vikings lost 31-9 to Detroit. It left them as the second seed in the NFC North and consigned them to fifth spot in the seedings as they failed to win their division.

They must now travel to Los Angeles to face the Rams with many wondering if Sam Darnold has reverted to his mean ahead of the knockout rounds despite doing wonders in the regular season. Former Super Bowl champion Kurt Warner, though, thinks Minnesota's problems go far beyond their quarterback.

He placed the blame for their Week 18 loss on their offensive line, which could not protect Sam Darnold, and also blamed the play-calling and the receivers for not finding enough separation downfield. Appearing on The Rich Eisen Show, Warner said,

"I think the first problem we have is just putting this all on Sam Darnold. They got manhandled, the Vikings offensively. The receivers were locked down. There wasn't a lot of separation. I wasn't a fan of some of the play-calling, even though I think Kevin O'Connell always does a great job."

The former Super Bowl winner said there are not many quarterbacks in the league who could have done better against the Lions given the circumstances. He continued,

"I looked at this as a Minnesota Vikings offense issue where they got dominated up front. They got dominated on the back end. Sam didn't play great, but I don't think there was a lot of easy opportunities out there, either that, that most guys in the league, or even the better quarterbacks in the league, are going into that situation and having a great game with what Detroit did to him."

Rams overcame Sam Darnold's Vikings in 2024 regular season

The doubts are creeping in at exactly the wrong time for the Vikings. After a phenomenal 14-3 season, they now have to go on the road to face the Rams. They did so earlier in the season too and lost 30-20.

To Kurt Warner's point, Sam Darnold did not play badly in that game. He finished with two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 128.8. However, he was sacked three times and put under constant pressure, even though Los Angeles benefited from a facemask call being missed at the end. Minnesota needs a better performance than that to give their quarterback a chance to pull out a win and proceed to the divisional round.