Sam Darnold had a no good, very bad night on Monday as the Minnesota Vikings lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the wild card round. Darnold finished with 245 yards, one touchdown, one interception and was sacked nine times. One of those sacks resulted in a fumlble that was returned for a touchdown.
While most people are focusing on Darnold today, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky made the case that you can’t just blame the quarterback on First Take, telling Stephen A. Smith he was out of his mind for thinking that loss was because of Darnold.
“This is where we just look at football very differently,” said Orlovsky. “And this is where I get really frustrated with you. You have to be, you’re so smart and you watch so much. You gotta get past the He lost, quarterback stunk. He won, quarterback was great. Last night, Stephen A., I would put Sam Darnold at fourth or fifth when it comes to reasons why that game went the way that it went.
Orlovsky’s top reasons the Vikings lost? Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula replicating Aaron Glenn’s gameplan, the Vikings offensive line playing so horribly against the best young defensive line in the NFL, and Kevin O’Connell getting out-coached.
