The Minnesota Vikings put together a spectacular 2024 NFL season by finishing with a 14-3 record. What made this even more impressive was that they played with a backup quarterback, so they far exceeded their preseason expectations. They still had a disappointing conclusion when they were blown out by the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card round. Here are three reasons why.
Vikings' reasons for being eliminated from NFL Playoffs
#1 - Sam Darnold's regression
Sam Darnold was one of the biggest breakout players during the 2024 NFL season after rookie JJ McCarthy suffered an injury that kept him out for the entire year. He set career-highs in just about every category, including completing 66 percent of his passes for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns.
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Despite his impressive season, he simply didn't show up in the Vikings' two biggest games of the year. They were blown out by the Detroit Lions in Week 18 in a NFC North division title game and then again by the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs. Darnold totaled just one touchdown and two turnovers across those two games.
#2 - Vikings' failure to slow down Rams' pass rush
The Los Angeles Rams defense has been a solid unit this year, but they were far from being one of the elites. It didn't appear that way during the Wild Card round after sacking Darnold a season-high nine times and holding their high-powered offense to a season-low nine points.
The pass rush was one of the major factors for the Rams domianting this game and the blame for it goes to many areas in Minnesota. This includes the offensive line not being as sharp as they needed to be, Darnold holding onto the ball for too long, and the coaching staff not scheming the offensive gameplan in a beneficial way.
#3 - Aggression backfired
Being aggressive is often a goal of many NFL teams in their pursuit of victories. While this can be a winning formula, it backfired on head coach Kevin O'Connell during the Wild Card round.
The Rams held a 17-3 lead late in the first half when the Vikings were facing a fourth down situation at midfield. They could have elected to punt, especially considering they were getting the ball back to start the second half, but instead decided to go for it.
Their conversion attempt failed, setting up the Rams to score another touchdown and take a commanding 24-3 lead at halftime.
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