What Sam Darnold experienced Sunday night against the Lions was worse than what Daniel Jones experienced in his Week 1 start against the Vikings when he played for the Giants.

Sam Darnold looked like the Jets version of himself instead of the potential franchise quarterback he’s resembled for most of the season during an awful performance in the Vikings’ 31-9 loss to the Lions in the battle for the NFC’s No. 1 seed and the NFC North crown on “Sunday Night Football.”

Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold denied that he the crowd played a factor in one of the worst games of his career against the Lions.

The Vikings won 14 games often through Sam Darnold’s arm this season. Yet on the biggest stage so far, Darnold’s arm fell flat during Sunday night’s 31-9 loss to the Lions. Players and coaches say the critiques should begin with their failures in the red zone,

Detroit dominated in the most important game of the regular season, and the difference was a quarterback who looks ready for the challenges ahead.

Vikings QB Sam Darnold reacts after throwing for just 166 yards in a 31-9 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday to finish the regular season 14-3 and earn a No. 5 seed for the NFC Playoffs.

Sam Darnold was on an unbelievable run with the Minnesota Vikings this season. He led them to a 14-2 record going into the final NFL regular season game and even stirred up conversations about the Vikings keeping him long term and trading J.J. McCarthy to a quarterback-hungry team.

Sam Darnold has defied expectations to lead the Minnesota Vikings to 14 wins and a surprise playoff berth; watch the Vikings face the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card round of the NFL postseason, liv

Despite his struggles in Week 18, the free agency market for Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold remains highly competitive.

As the Vikings immediately started the process of turning the page following a 31-9 loss to the Detroit Lions, Kevin O’Connell made his way toward the 50-yard line to shake hands with his counterpart Dan Campbell.

Jahmyr Gibbs topped 100 yards rushing in all 3 games the Lions played without David Montgomery and fell just shy of 2,000 scrimmage yards.