SPOTTED: Sam Darnold's girlfriend Katie Hoofnagle cheers for Vikings QB during nightmare playoff debut against Rams

Sam Darnold had a mare in the Wild Card loss against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday. He was sacked nine times - one of them leading to a fumble that Jared Verse retrieved and returned for a touchdown. He was intercepted once and did not find the endzone until deep into the third quarter with the game already out of reach.

His girlfriend, Katie Hoofnagle, was there to cheer him on. Amid the rout, she shared this story on Instagram of herself wearing a red, white, and black jacket with his name and number 14 on the back:

"Qt!"

Katie Hoofnagle cheers on Sam Darnold during the Wild Card loss against the Rams

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Sam Darnold, HC Kevin O'Connell react to Vikings QB's disastrous showing against Rams

When Sam Darnold joined the Vikings in the offseason, initial thoughts had been that he was there merely as a stopgap. But those thoughts intensified when rookie JJ McCarthy gravely injured his knee during the preseason.

But surrounded by prolific weapons like Justin Jefferson for the first time in his career as a starter, he broke out, set career-bests in every statistical category, and led the franchise to a level of success not seen since the 15-1 1998 season.

Speaking to the media after the game, he said:

"At the end of the day, all that matters when you have a good season is, 'What do you do in the playoffs?' We didn't get it done today, and that's all that matters."

He continued:

"It's up to me to be able to feel that and either step up, move, go run for a first down or just simply throw it away. I felt like there were a lot of sacks that I was responsible for, where I was just holding onto the football and taking sacks where I could have dirted it at someone's feet or simply thrown it over someone's head."

Head coach Kevin O'Connell said:

"You've got to find a way to check the ball down and just keep moving the ball forward. Completions have negative effect on defenses. They just do. Those moments when you're holding that ball, and your reaction is to tryoto make a play."

Darnold will be a free agent once the new league year begins on March 12. O'Connell is expected to have a significant influence on his future in Minneapolis.