Super Bowl LX is right around the corner, and one of its main storylines is Sam Darnold’s career revival. After his disastrous start with the New York Jets, most believed Darnold’s career as a starter was over. Now, Darnold has led the Seattle Seahawks to a 14-3 record and the Super Bowl. Darnold, however, did not turn his career around in 2025; rather, he did so in 2024 with the Minnesota Vikings, where he also went 14-3 as a starter in the regular season. After a disappointing wildcard loss, the Vikings decided to move on from Darnold to stick with their previous first-round quarterback, J.J. McCarthy, who has been disappointing so far. So this begs the question: given Darnold’s performance this year, did the Vikings blow a chance at a Super Bowl?
The 2025 Vikings had a seemingly disastrous season, but many forget they still had a winning record, finishing 9-8 and only a half-game out of the playoffs in a loaded NFC. This winning season was not because of the offense, which ranked 26th in net total yards, a significantly worse performance compared to the 12th finish they achieved in the 2024 season. Defensively, the Vikings actually got better in net yards allowed, improving from 16th in 2024 to 3rd in 2025.
The 2025 Vikings might actually have been better than the previous season had Sam Darnold remained at the helm, which is no small feat considering the regular-season success the Vikings had in 2024. Of course, everything is variable in the NFL, but the Vikings largely had the same offensive core outside of the quarterback position and had a much-improved defense, so this scenario is definitely within the realm of possibility.
Sam Darnold, even in his improved state, needs a strong team around him to win, not to discredit his performance, but he is still not on the level of Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson. With strong defense, elite wide receivers, and good coaching, Darnold led the Seahawks to the Super Bowl. These are things that Minnesota has in Justin Jefferson, Kevin O’Connell, Brian Flores, and a defense that actually out-ranked Seattle in some categories. The Minnesota Vikings absolutely had a team that could compete for a Super Bowl with Sam Darnold at quarterback. Other factors could have hampered the Vikings had they kept Darnold, mostly the salary cap. These could have been circumvented with many proven short-term solutions, such as contract restructures.
Winning means everything in the NFL. Although the current Vikings regime had early success, if that cannot be maintained, change will follow. For now, many Vikings fans blame the team’s recent struggles on the general manager, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, and not without good reason. Adofo-Mensah has failed to draft good players consistently and has had to rely on free agency and trades to acquire talent, which has reduced the depth of the roster and created a difficult cap situation.
If the Vikings have another losing season, there is a real chance that the current regime gets fired, at least in the front office. Adofo-Mensah’s roster construction process has been confusing and untimely. Instead of tearing down the old roster he inherited, he pushed his chips to the middle to win quickly. Whole his approach at the quarterback position seemed to go in the complete opposite direction. With the opportunity to draft a quarterback, Adofo-Mensah chose J.J. McCarthy, one of the youngest and most inexperienced quarterbacks in his class. Just two picks later, the Broncos took Bo Nix, who had multiple years of starting experience in college and was considered more pro-ready than McCarthy. If you add in letting Darnold walk, and his other drafting struggles, Adofo-Mensah may be on his last chance. Kevin O’Connell is held in higher regard but is also 0-2 in playoff games, both of which were embarrassing losses, so his job security is not guaranteed.
Hindsight is 20/20, but the Vikings’ front office and coaching staff make millions to evaluate their players and make personnel decisions. The performance of Darnold with the Seahawks and the Vikings having a winning season despite poor quarterback play shows that letting Darnold walk after 2024 might have cost the Vikings a chance at a Super Bowl.
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