6 Quick Reactions: Vikings at Rams

The Minnesota Vikings now enter offseason mode after falling flat in their lone postseason matchup of the 2024 season. Too strong were the Rams, a team the purple team should’ve beaten based on the regular season record, but in the single-elimination nature of the NFL playoffs, this version of Vikings football simply disappointed.
6 Quick Reactions: Vikings at Rams
It was a 27-9 defeat in a game that was over by halftime or shortly thereafter.
1. Sam Darnold’s Exit
Quarterback Sam Darnold followed up his unacceptable performance in Detroit with another subpar game, looking hesitant in the pocket all day. He was too slowly processing the plays, made slow decisions all day, and ultimately took nine sacks because of it.

Darnold had a big contract wrapped up a couple of weeks ago, but his two stinkers in the biggest moments of the season will make teams re-think their interest. It’s hard to see the Vikings move forward with Darnold outside another cheap, short-term contract.
He surely cost himself a lot of money in eight days and it is J.J. McCarthy’s team going forward.
2. Defensive Drawing Board
Defensive coordinator Brian Flores is a hot head coaching candidate and could depart from the Vikings after his second season overseeing the purple defense.

Regardless of whether it is with or without him, Minnesota needs to find ways to create quicker pressure, even without blitzes. Flores loves to send the blitz, but that makes it easy for good teams with great offensive minds and experienced quarterbacks to pick the defense apart. The Lions did it in the first meeting, and the Rams did it in both.
Finding some interior help and upgrading the coverage will help.
3. Fix the Offensive Line

It’s sounding like a broken record. For about a decade now, Vikings fans have lamented the offensive line, which used to be a strength for the Vikings. But it is still shaky, especially the interior of the line with Garrett Bradbury, Dalton Risner, and Blake Brandel (and the benched third-year player Ed Ingram).
The front office should acquire one or two of the top interior linemen in free agency, regardless of the price. They haven’t had this much cap space in years, it’s time to take a page out of the Eagles and Lions book and address the weakness to help both the running and the passing offense. Playoff football is won in the trenches.
4. Kevin O’Connell’s Second Strike

As good as Kevin O’Connell has been in the regular season (34-17 record; 31-11 without the QB carousel after Kirk Cousins’ injury), he is 0-2 in the playoffs and lost against two beatable teams, not quite the NFC’s juggernauts.
Undoubtedly, the Vikings should still give him a blank check and extend his contract. He is a phenomenal coach who could end up as the Coach of the Year (helping Darnold look good until opponents found out how to stop it turns out to be a brilliant achievement), but he needs to win a playoff game soon to avoid getting the playoff-choker label.
5. This Might Be It For A Legend
Safety Harrison Smith deserved a better farewell present than a postseason defeat as a favored team.

Drafted in 2012, the Notre Dame alumnus has played in exactly 200 games for the Vikings (regular season and playoffs), recording almost 1,200 tackles, 21.5 sacks, and 37 interceptions.
He has not declared his retirement, he definitely is not the guy to make a huge announcement anyway, but he will turn 36 in a few weeks and contemplated retirement last offseason.
Regardless, Smith has earned a Ring of Honor induction, and it has been a pleasure to watch him suit up in purple 200 times.
6. Silver Linings

It’s hard to find any positives after a disastrous game like that. After taking one step back, though, it was a fun season in which the Vikings severely overperformed their preseason expectations of six or seven wins.
The supposed franchise quarterback was drafted last season, and McCarthy had drawn a ton of praise before injury luck left him. Coach O’Connell has solidified himself as a top head coach in terms of culture building and as someone who can get the best out of his quarterbacks. Both of those things can help the Vikings play meaningful football in January in the future, and the elusive playoff victory will come at some point.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this article.

Kevin O’Connell, Sam Darnold Utterly Flop in the Playoffs
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt