The One That Got Away: Sam Darnold Is Headed to the Super Bowl

The Vikings let Sam Darnold walk after an impressive 14–3 season that ended in a wild-card round collapse in 2024. Fast forward a year, and Darnold is headed to San Francisco with the Seattle Seahawks to compete for a Super Bowl against the New England Patriots.

(Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP)

Whose fault is it internally?

When breaching into a subject like this, it’s easy to point fingers at Kwesi Adofo-Mensah or Kevin O’Connell, but there is truly a lot to consider.

Let’s start with Kwesi. The move at the time made sense—Darnold crumbled in the two most important games of the season for the Vikings and ultimately wasn’t viewed as worth the hefty price tag when there were other holes on the roster. The issue? Those holes were filled very poorly, with overpaid veteran interior defensive linemen who aren’t that good anymore and offensive linemen who could barely stay on the field. At the time, everybody loved these signings, including us, but in the end it is the general manager and his staff’s job to pick up on these things. They essentially went 0-for-4 with the signings of Jonathan Allen, Javon Hargrave, Ryan Kelly, and Will Fries. Out of the four, Will Fries will likely turn out fine, but he struggled to perform at the level of his price tag in 2025.

Now Kevin O’Connell and his staff. JJ McCarthy clearly was not ready to start for the Minnesota Vikings this season, and that is on them. The timing wasn’t ideal—coming off an injury, rehab, and then having to make a decision on Darnold—but the staff should have at least had an idea of this before it happened. To have no viable backup option or competition in the 2025 offseason is inexcusable and likely the reason the Vikings were half a game away from the postseason instead of actually in it.

Do the Vikings make it to the Super Bowl if they kept Darnold?

The short answer? No. The Vikings team is significantly worse than the Seahawks in certain areas that really matter for a team with a quarterback like Darnold.

The offensive line, for starters. The Vikings let Darnold walk to fix this exact issue, and it blew up in their face—but imagine how much worse it would have been if they had kept Sam. I’ve always thought the Detroit game, fighting for the 1-seed in 2024, was mostly Darnold’s fault, while the wild-card game against the Rams was mostly the offensive line’s fault.

For comparison, the Vikings gave up nine sacks to the Rams in their lone playoff loss, while the Seahawks have given up five total sacks in two playoff wins against the 49ers and Rams. That’s almost double the sacks in half the games, and you want to believe that if he had been sacked nine times in both games, the Vikings would be on their way to a Super Bowl right now?

Another huge point is the Vikings’ run game. Whether it’s the lack of commitment to the run by Kevin O’Connell or the personnel involved, the Seahawks beat the Vikings in this category every single time. It is so important to have a viable run game with a quarterback like Sam Darnold—or even J.J. McCarthy—that when it isn’t there, it’s glaringly obvious.

In 2025, the Seahawks ranked fourth in rush attempts, while the Vikings ranked 27th.

Should Vikings fans be mad at the team?

In short, yes. The lack of preparedness from the front office and coaching staff at the quarterback position was frustrating and showed throughout the season. Does this mean we think they made the wrong decision with Sam Darnold? No—not yet.

Sometimes it’s not the quarterback; it’s the timing. JJ McCarthy has only started for one season and still has plenty of career and opportunity ahead of him.

This story is far from over. There is still a world where this breakup works out best for both the Vikings and the Seahawks.

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