When the top-seeded Seattle Seahawks beat the San Francisco 49ers 41-6 on Saturday night, it was extra painful for Minnesota Vikings fans.
That’s because former Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold just did what he couldn’t do a year ago in vastly similar circumstances. Darnold had a 14-win team with a strong running game and strong defense for the 2024 season with the Vikings, but he flatlined in the playoffs against the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card round, taking sacks left and right that night.
Despite Darnold’s late-season downturn against the Detroit Lions in Week 18 of that season and the Rams debacle, Darnold still landed a big free agent contract of three years, $100.5 million with the Seattle Seahawks. The Vikings didn’t want to beat that offer and let Darnold walk in free agency and instead turn over the keys of the offense to quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who missed the 2024 season due to injury.
Darnold produced a mirror image season in 2025 and surpassed what he did in 2024. He helped the Seahawks to a franchise record 14 wins, a No. 1 seed, and now a dominating playoff win despite an oblique injury.
Against the 49ers, Darnold went 12-17 for 124 yards and a touchdown, and he only took two sacks for 18 yards lost. While Darnold didn’t carry the Seahawks by any means, he did his part to help the team advance to the NFC Championship Game next weekend, which could be against none other than the Rams.
Vikings QB Situation Only More Uncertain
Minnesota’s decision not to pay Darnold big money after a career turnaround year in 2024 has only cost the purple.
McCarthy endured more injuries and displayed inconsistent play in a season where the Vikings dropped to 9-8 and were out of the playoff picture by early December. The Vikings’ addition of backup quarterback Carson Wentz helped at times before his season-ending shoulder injury, but Wentz never had a Darnold-like turnaround in place of McCarthy early in the season.
Now, the Vikings must find a seasoned veteran — if not Wentz — to push McCarthy in 2026 for the starting job. That means the Vikings are entering another season of star wide receiver Justin Jefferson’s prime with the game’s most important position in question.
Minnesota could go numerous routes in free agency or possibly a trade. The Vikings don’t have much to work with on salary cap space though, with $37.27 million over the cap.
What Could Have Been For the Vikings With Sam Darnold in 2025
While it could be tempting for Vikings fans to think Darnold would have built on 2024’s success and did just the same in Minnesota again as he did in Seattle for 2025, the reality is that the Vikings fielded a much different team than what the Seahawks offered.
The Vikings offered an edge on wide receivers in Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and Jalen Nailor. It’s largely a drop-off after that for the Vikings offense compared to the 2025 Seahawks.
Seattle had the 15th-ranked offensive line by Pro Football Focus, but the Vikings had 18th, and those are just numbers. Wentz took a beating behind the Vikings offensive line, and McCarthy struggled often in addition to getting injured multiple times.
Seattle also offered a superior running game with Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet, and the Vikings didn’t get a big a season from Aaron Jones again. While the Vikings defense had a strong season overall, it wasn’t a top-two defense like the Seahawks.
Darnold may have led the Vikings to more wins than Wentz and McCarthy did, but whether or not that Darnold would have taken the Vikings where the Seahawks are is another question.
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