The Detroit Lions swept the Minnesota Vikings this season. Although their first meeting was competitive, when the division and top seed in the NFC were on the line in the second game, it was a one-sided affair.
The Vikings may have finished the season with a 14-3 record, but they played their worst football when they played against the Lions and Rams this season. Los Angeles and Detroit were both playoff teams, so that softened those blows a bit.
While the Rams will face off against the Eagles on Sunday, the Lions were stunned on Saturday night by a Washington Commanders team that couldn't be stopped offensively and forced Detroit to make a lot of mistakes.
Lions give Vikings more evidence to move on from Sam Darnold in 2025
Against the Lions in Minnesota's season finale, the Vikings couldn't find the end zone. They were 3-for-16 on third and fourth down against their division opponent and only gained 262 yards of offense in the game.
So what does that have to do with Sam Darnold? Well, Minnesota's quarterback was 18 for 41 passing. gaining 166 yards through the air and getting a QBR of 17.4. When the stage was the biggest for Darnold, his play became small.
On the other hand, Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels made playing the Lions look easy. He completed 22 of his 31 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns without taking a single sack and adding 52 rushing yards to his production.
This raises the question about the measuring stick for Sam Darnold and the Minnesota Vikings. A playoff berth shouldn't be enough to be content While expecting Darnold to be Jayden Daniels isn't realistic, seeing other teams have success against Detroit should add a little extra oomph to the argument to move on from him this offseason.
Perhaps the craziest thing about this whole situation is that the Vikings, Lions, and Packers combined for three playoff spots and combined for 40 wins this season yet none of them could muster a postseason win.
Mediocrity has been part of the Minnesota Vikings' history, but it's time to expect more from this team moving forward. Sam Darnold isn't the guy to take this team to the next level and that was made even more clear when Washington was able to create five takeaways while dropping 45 points on Detroit when Minnesota couldn't do squat.