Sam Darnold broke an NFL record nobody wants vs. Rams that was set in the Ice Bowl by Bart Starr

There is no way to sugarcoat it. The Minnesota Vikings didn't just lose their last two games, they got walloped, scoring just nine points in each game with Monday night being the end of the season in a 27-9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. It's a brutal way for the Vikings to end their […]

Tyler Forness — NFL & College Football News Writer
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Jan 13, 2025; Glendale, AZ, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) is sacked by Los Angeles Rams cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon (4) during the first half in an NFC wild card game at State Farm Stadium.
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

There is no way to sugarcoat it. The Minnesota Vikings didn't just lose their last two games, they got walloped, scoring just nine points in each game with Monday night being the end of the season in a 27-9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

It's a brutal way for the Vikings to end their 14-win season, but it was a joy to watch for the majority of it. We got to see a fun team over-achieve thanks to the emergence of multiple players on both sides of the football. 

That doesn't take away the pain of how it ended and the main reason the Vikings lost the game was due to one of the biggest issues all season.

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Sam Darnold sets NFL record vs. Rams

One of the biggest issues for the Vikings was also one of their biggest strengths: quarterback Sam Darnold.

He took the Vikings on a ride all season long where he led the National Football League in throwing the ball 20+ yards down the field with:

  • Completions
  • Yards
  • Yards per attempt
  • Touchdowns

The one area where he struggled was with sacks. Darnold continued to take a lot of sacks and that didn't change on Sunday night. 

Darnold tied one NFL record by taking nine sacks on Monday night but it was how those sacks impacted the game that was so bad.

Not only did eight of the nine sacks come against a four-man rush, Darnold set an NFL record in taking 82 yards in losses from those sacks. It was the first time in playoff history that a quarterback or team had ever lost more than 80 yards due to sacks.

Pressure to sack rate was bad for Darnold this year at 22.1%, but it was even worse on Monday night at 40.9% per Pro Football Focus. On the season, Darnold was pressured 258 times with 57 sacks. That's not great in the slightest.

Not only did Darnold set an NFL record for sack yardage allowed, but became just the second quarterback in playoff history to take nine sacks while throwing an interception and fumbling the football in the playoffs, joining Warren Moon who did it in 1993 against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Did Darnold end up costing himself a lot of money on Monday night? There's a real possibility of that. Only time will tell over the course of the offseason if that's the case, but one thing is for sure: this historic performance certainly didn't help matters.

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