Just two weeks ago, Sam Darnold was in the midst of a dream season and nearing the payday of his career.

Two disastrous performances later in the biggest games of his career and his football future is suddenly bleak.

Darnold was outmatched and overwhelmed on Monday night in the first playoff game of his career. The result was a 27-9 Los Angeles Rams victory over its Vikings that eliminated Minnesota from the postseason. The loss ends a Vikings 14-win season with a bang and no playoff victory.

The Rams entered Monday’s game with a clear game plan: pressure Darnold early and often and see how he responds. It worked from the Vikings’ opening attack. Darnold was indecisive all night and often inaccurate when he managed to get rid of the ball.

The Rams’ pass rush sets the tone early

The Rams sacked Darnold on Minnesota’s second play from scrimmage, setting up the third-and-21 and eventually forcing a three-and-out. Another sack by Darnold hampered Minnesota’s second drive and limited the Vikings to a field goal.

Minnesota’s third possession ended in an interception. Cobie Durant anticipated Darnold’s pass to Jordan Addison in the flat and skipped the route near midfield.

Minnesota’s next possession met an even worse fate. Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon charged from the left edge and hit Darnold for a strip sack. Darnold never saw it coming. Rookie linebacker Jared Verse picked up the ball and ran untouched down the sideline for a 57-yard touchdown to extend the Rams’ lead to 17-3.

At halftime, the Vikings sacked Darnold twice more, for a total of six. According to ESPN, this is the most first-half sacks by a team in a playoff game since Washington against the Vikings in the 1988 NFC Championship Game.

The Rams’ sixth sack of the game by Kobie Turner resulted in a turnover on downs in Rams territory. The Rams responded with a 39-yard touchdown drive to extend their lead to 24-3 before halftime.

Another bad, high-risk performance

Darnold was moderately better in the second half and led the Vikings to a touchdown drive in the third quarter. But it was too little, too late. The hole in the first half proved far too big to climb out of. A fourth-quarter sack dashed hopes of a miracle comeback and the Rams cruised to an undisputed victory.

Darnold finished the night completing 25 of 39 passes, one touchdown and one interception. He took nine sacks for a loss of 82 yards and a lost fumble. It was Darnold’s second consecutive terrible performance when the lights of the season were at their brightest.

The Vikings had a chance to skip the wild-card round last week in a win-win regular-season finale against the Lions for the NFC North and the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. They lost 31-9 on a night when Darnold had trouble putting the ball on goal. He finished the game completing 18 of 41 passes (41.9%) for 166 yards with no touchdowns.

What do Vikings do now?

After the high-stakes guys, the Vikings now enter the offseason with an important decision about the most important position in football. Are they trying to re-sign Darnold? Do they let Darnold walk as a free agent and hand the reins to JJ McCarthy?

Darnold never should have been in this position to begin with. The Vikings selected McCarthy in the first round out of Michigan as their quarterback of the future. They signed Darnold as an experienced bridge player and expected reinforcements whenever McCarthy was ready to take over the starting role.

A meniscus injury ended McCarthy’s rookie season before it began, thrusting Darnold back into the spotlight of the starting lineup. He was denied previous starting opportunities with the Panthers and Jets after New York selected him with the No. 3 draft pick in 2018.

This time, in his third appearance as a starter in his seventh NFL season, he shined. He led the Vikings to a 14-3 record, the third-best record in football. He made the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career while completing 66.2% of his passes for 254.1 yards per game with 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

It was a career redemption story in a sport that loves redemption stories. But the chapter of the 2024 season ends with a huge asterisk that will be too big for the Vikings to ignore. This asterisk will certainly cost Darnold money. It could ultimately cost him another season as Minnesota’s starter.