Vikings season ends in 27-9 loss to Rams in NFC Wild Card Playoffs

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Vikings picked the wrong time to have their worst two weeks of the year.

Last Sunday, they squandered away a chance at the No. 1 seed in the NFC Playoffs after a 31-9 loss to the Detroit Lions. Monday night, their season ended in a 27-9 loss to the L.A. Rams in the NFC Wild Card Playoffs in Glendale, Ariz., after the game had to be moved due to the L.A. wildfires.

The Vikings were 0-4 against the Rams and Lions this season, and 14-0 against everyone else. The mistakes started from the opening drive, with Jonathan Bullard jumping offside on a fourth down play. Matthew Stafford hit Kyren Williams for a touchdown on the next play.

"Very tough feeling in that locker room right now. This team was really 1-of-1 as far as the feeling that’s in there right now, the brotherhood. This team truly did a lot of special things this year, but we didn’t play well enough to win the football game," Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said after the loss. "I love this organization, I love those players more than anything. That only gets you so far, you’ve got to play to a certain standard, we did not do that."

Everything that could go wrong for the Vikings in the first half did as they trailed 24-3 at the break. Stafford had a pair of touchdown passes, and the Rams got a defensive touchdown off a Sam Darnold sack fumble.

Vikings have defensive score overturned

What happened? They were livid about a second quarter defensive touchdown that got wiped away by the officials. Jonathan Greenard appeared to get a strip sack on Stafford. Blake Cashman picked it up and ran it in for a touchdown. It would’ve tied the game 10-10 Instead, the officials ruled Matthew Stafford flicked his wrist forward for an incomplete pass. They also said Puka Nacua was in the vicinity, so it wasn't intentional grounding.

O’Connell was livid about the call on the sideline.

"I know that quarterback pretty well and know when he’s trying to throw it to somebody and when he’s not. That was the explanation I got, we had to just keep playing," O'Connell said.

Sam Darnold’s horrendous first playoff start

Why it matters: About the only thing that was solidified Monday night is that Darnold is likely not the Vikings’ quarterback in 2025. Those conversations will be had later, but Darnold was sacked nine times, an NFL Playoff record, largely for holding the ball too long. He had an interception, and a fumble that resulted in a Rams’ touchdown. He finished 25-of-40 for 240 yards, one touchdown and two turnovers.

That's a tough ending after throwing for a career-high 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in the regular season. When the stakes got high against the Lions and Rams, Darnold crumbled. His offensive line didn't do him any favors.

"Gotta take care of the football, just too many mistakes on my end. I clearly just didn’t play good enough the last couple weeks," Darnold said. "I’m 100 percent responsible for the football and what happens to it. There were a lot of sacks today that I was responsible for."

If J.J. McCarthy is healthy, he likely gets the keys to the offense next season.

What now?

What we know: The Vikings’ season ends with a 14-4 record, as O’Connell is still in search of his first playoff win. The Rams head to Philadelphia for the NFC Divisional Playoffs.

The Vikings don’t have much to show for a 14-win season after the way the last two weeks went down, losing to the Lions and Rams by a combined 58-18.