MNF (Playoff Version) Recap: The Viking funeral

Sam Darnold takes on water and eventually tears up on the shoreline

The unfortunate thing about this game is that a lot of people saw it and will judge Sam Darnold for it.

What I mean by that is: The Sam Darnold of the last two weeks is not the Sam Darnold the Vikings saw all season. The version that came out of the tunnel at Detroit may have more resembled the one we were used to before this season, but I think he did some great things this year.

Instead we’re just gonna remember this guy. The one who took two sacks and 22 pressures against the Lions while refusing to get the ball out on time. The one who took six (six!!) first-half sacks against the Rams in the Wild Card game en route to tying the NFL record for most sacks taken in a playoff game. It’s going to color our takes more than usual, and it was putrid.

To be fair: This pressure was sick, the Vikings gave up pressures on 52 percent of his dropbacks, and the offensive line was at least somewhat culpable. But I think more of it is about Darnold.