Like any NFL quarterback gamble, there was always risk of a steep downside. But certainly the Minnesota Vikings couldn't have imagined it goingsobadly forsolong.
One year ago at this time, the Vikings were coming off a white-knuckled 30-27 victory over the Chicago Bears in overtime. They celebrated the resiliency of Sam Darnold, who had thrown for 330 yards and two touchdowns and led Minnesota to an impressive game-winning drive in the extra frame. Suddenly, Minnesota was heading into December 9-2 and with four of their final six games at home. Destiny was seemingly unfurling before the franchise, with both the playoffs and NFC North crown within reach. And inside it all, Darnold was presenting himself as a viable long-term starting quarterback option resting in the hands of head coach Kevin O'Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
For all intents and purposes, it seemed like a hard situation to screw up. But the NFL can be cruel that way. Sometimes when everything and everyone is looking up, the floor is just waiting to fall out beneath it all. And that may be the best way to describe the Vikings one year later.
No floor — just the falling.
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To a low on Sunday that hasn't been seen inside the franchise since 2007. That's the last time the Vikings had been shut out in a game, losing to the Green Bay Packers 34-0. On Sunday, the zero on the Minnesota side of the ledger felt much worse — via a26-0 loss to the Super Bowl-contending Seattle Seahawks, stewarded by a quarterback who has helped spark a renaissance in the franchise: Sam Darnold.
This one didn't just hurt in Minnesota. It radiated agony. So much so, superstar wideout Justin Jefferson left afterward without speaking to reporters for the first time in his six-year NFL career. This after embracing Darnold in a hug at midfield after the loss and sharing a few words.
Former teammates Sam Darnold and Justin Jefferson share a moment postgame 🫶pic.twitter.com/ynLmywDX1X
— NFL (@NFL)December 1, 2025
Jefferson's 2024 running mate in Minnesota hadn't exactly had a banner day, with Darnold throwing for only 148 yards on 14-of-26 passing and no touchdowns. But Darnold's former favorite Vikings wideout had done almost nothing, with Jefferson catching two passes for 4 yards, both career single-game lows.
For the Vikings, it felt like a concrete stamp of three realities that aren't going away.
First, letting Darnold depart Minnesota in free agency in favor of sliding every bet onto J.J. McCarthy appears to have been a massive mistake, one that is potentially franchise-changing — although it's hard to see the entire horizon at this stage. What we do know is that Darnold is capable of being a winning quarterback when he's surrounded with a running game and a defense. And while he's still capable of an occasional single-game implosion, he's grown past the fears of a full-scale rollback into the single-read-and-then-panic quarterback of yesteryear. At worst, he is finding his place as a high-end game manager along the lines of the Detroit Lions' Jared Goff. At best? Time will tell what that looks like. But at the very least, he's proven to be worth the risk.
The second reality: The Vikings have no choice but to plug McCarthy back into the starting lineup once he clears concussion protocol. Rookie backup Max Brosmer was absolutely not ready to play in an NFL game. From the four sacks to the four interceptions, including an atrocious no-look hook shot into the air while being sacked, which resulted in an 85-yard touchdown return by Seattle linebacker Ernest Jones IV, Brosmer looked consistently overwhelmed. At the very least, McCarthy was a roller coaster withsomehighs between a lot of lows. Brosmer imploding merely underscores that the Vikings are going to have to go through the wood-chipper the rest of the season and see if McCarthy can show any semblance of progress.
And the final reality: Minnesota is going to have to take the route of the Indianapolis Colts in 2025 and either sign or trade for a veteran backup who can compete for the starting job heading into training camp in 2026. Candidates with some youth and track records as a starter could be the Arizona Cardinals' Kyler Murray, San Francisco 49ers' Mac Jones, Las Vegas Raiders' Kenny Pickett or Philadelphia Eagles' Sam Howell. The "flier" category of young players with tools but no real sustained résumé of previous opportunities could include the Los Angeles Chargers' Trey Lance, or Green Bay Packers' Malik Willis. And the recently highly-drafted-but-out-of-favor crowd that includes the Colts' Anthony Richardson and Tennessee Titans' Will Levis.
Yes, that's a hefty batch of bruised fruit in the clearance aisle. But that's where the Vikings once found Darnold, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers netted Baker Mayfield and the Colts plucked Daniel Jones. You can even throw in serviceable seasons of Geno Smith with the Seattle Seahawks from 2022 to 2024. As O'Connell has spoken of himself, you can find quarterbacks who were placed on the scrap heap too early. And surely, he's got to think long and hard about his own words on the subject before he turns away from McCarthy. But in terms of opening up a real competition in 2026, there aren't going to be a wealth of great options.
That is, barring some kind of unbelievable turn of fortune — like hitting the lottery and finding some kind of miraculously answered prayer of peeling Matthew Stafford off the Los Angeles Rams. If O'Connell has ever had a fever dream, that's the one. Of course, it would entail the Rams absolutely falling head over heels in love with a quarterback in the 2026 draft and then convincing Stafford to swap Los Angeles and Sean McVay for Minneapolis and O'Connell for the last chapter of his career. It's hard to believe that scenario ever happening, but who could have seen Tom Brady wrapping his NFL symphony as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?
That this is the conversation one season after going 14-3 says a lot about the quarterback mistake in Minneapolis. It's an error that has devolved into Justin Jefferson leaving in silence as one year of a very real Super Bowl window is being slammed shut. Now the Vikings head into December at 4-8, with five games left and one monstrous quarterback problem dragging them down.
The floor is gone. All that's left is the falling.
Like any NFL quarterback gamble, there was always risk of a steep downside. But certainly the Minnesota Vikings couldn...
