Things didn’t quite go to plan for the Minnesota Vikings in Week 18. They lost 31-9 to the Detroit Lions, who earned the No. 1 seed and post-season home-field advantage. A lot of the blame for the loss can be placed on Sam Darnold, who had arguably his worst performance of the year. However, Colin Cowherd’s not jumping off the Super Sam bandwagon anytime soon.
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While discussing the surprise blowout Lions win on his FS1 show, The Herd with Colin Cowherd, the pundit stood firm in his support of Sam Darnold. Cowherd was one of the first to suggest a career resurgence for Darnold when he had been left for dead in 2023.
He correctly predicted that many would be “bailing on” Darnold (again) after his rough outing on Sunday night. However, Cowherd argues that the Lions had the deck stacked in their favor, thanks to an advantage in overall roster quality and coaching staff.
“Let’s talk about Sam Darnold. Let me guess. You’re all bailing on Sammy. That was the biggest game in Detroit. There’s an argument, that the two best coordinators in the entire league both [work] for Detroit. Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn. Detroit’s got a better roster. And they’ve got one of their defensive starters back. “
While we agree that Detroit’s roster is much better than Minnesota’s, we’re not so sure about the coordinators. Kevin O’Connell is arguably the best play-caller in the NFL, and what defensive coordinator Brian Flores has managed to do with that Vikings defense—which has three 2024 Pro Bowlers—this year, needs to be studied.
Either way, it was a tough spot for Darnold. He put up season lows in completion percentage (43.9), yards per attempt (4.0), and passing yards (166). He also failed to throw a TD pass for just the third time in 2024. This feels a lot more like a blip than a sign of things to come for Darnold during this upcoming playoff run.
Cowherd also talked about the fact that the NFL is a “baby steps league”. Darnold has already taken massive strides in 2024 considering where he was in Week 18 of the 2023 campaign.
“Last year, at this time, Sam Darnold was starting a meaningless game as a backup for the 49ers. And then there’s yesterday. In the biggest game against arguably the best roster, in the loudest field, you weren’t winning that game. Sam Darnold is just 27 years old. Now they go to Los Angeles. Their receiving corps is a great matchup against the Rams young secondary.”
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It wasn’t ideal for Darnold and company to lose that game on Sunday night. Instead of the No. 1 seed, a bye, and a home-field advantage for the postseason, they get the No. 5 seed and a road playoff game as a 14-win team.
However, Cowherd is right: the Los Angeles Rams are a pretty good draw for Round 1. Their offense has stagnated mightily over the last few weeks. And, as Cowherd pointed out, Minnesota’s elite receiving corps should make minced meat out of L.A.’s young and injury-riddled secondary.
And, as fate would have it, in a year all about second chances for Sam Darnold, he could get another one against the Lions in two weeks time. That’s if he can take care of business against Matthew Stafford and the Rams first.
