Sam Darnold has made Minnesota's biggest offseason decision easy

The Minnesota Vikings are heading home after a sour end to their best season in years. The Vikings went 14-3 but didn't win their division, playing on the road in the Wild Card round. They lost Monday night 27-9 to the Los Angeles Rams and quarterback Sam Darnold was nowhere to be found.

It was the second straight game Darnold produced a dud, and both were the most important games of his career. A week ago, Darnold and the Vikings went into Detroit knowing a win would clinch them the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage in the NFC. Darnold went 18-for-41 with 166 yards and no touchdowns in the Vikings' 31-9 loss. Monday night in his first career playoff start, Darnold went 25-for-40 with 245 yards, one touchdown, one interception and a fumble that the Rams took to the end zone.

Sam Darnold has cost himself MILLIONS in just 8 days. Astonishing!pic.twitter.com/YtO9Cfgesy
— Matt Jacob (@MattRJacob) January 14, 2025

One of the best seasons in Vikings history came to a crashing end, being outscored 58-18 in their final two games of the season, playoffs included. Darnold, who was a huge reason why the Vikings won 14 games this season, cannot be the quarterback in Minnesota next season. When the lights were brightest, Darnold shrunk away from the spotlight.

"I clearly haven't played good enough the last couple of weeks," Darnold said after the game. "Just like I said, [I] left too many throws out there that I would usually make. Gotta take better care of the football."

The Rams sacked Darnold six times in the first half, the most sacks in a half in a playoff game since 1988. They got to him three more times, finishing the night with nine sacks. If Darnold had thrown the ball away on even half of those sacks, Minnesota might have had a chance at a comeback and the decision not to could have cost Darnold more than just the game.

Darnold's season, an incredible turnaround from the last time we saw him as a starter, had been good enough to get him a new contract with Minnesota and remain the team's starter in 2025. Spotrac had projected his contract with Minnesota to total over $200 million.

After these past two games, however, Minnesota can't afford to pay Darnold if this is what he's going to look like in the biggest moments. They must instead focus on developing rookie quarterback JJ McCarthy.