As the Vikings deal with inconsistency and injury at the quarterback position, they'll be reminded on Sunday of the one who got away.
Minnesota travels to Seattle to face the Seahawks this weekend, setting up a reunion with Sam Darnold, who led the team to the second-most wins in franchise history last season before departing in free agency.
Defensive coordinator Brian Flores looks back fondly at his time with Darnold, but that doesn't mean he's going to hold back in trying to ruin his day.
"Sam's one of my favorites," Flores said Tuesday, per The Minnesota Star Tribune's Andrew Krammer. "He'd grown tremendously when he was here, for sure, just from a leadership standpoint. ... He did a lot of great things when he was here, and clearly those things are continuing to show up for him out there in Seattle.
"We had a great rapport, friendship. I'm happy for him, but we'll blitz him this week."
Darnold famously revived his career with the Vikings in 2024. Meant to be a bridge quarterback to first-round selection J.J. McCarthy, the journeyman stepped into the starting role when McCarthy suffered a season-ending injury in preseason, and he quickly made it difficult to envision relinquishing it even if the rookie's injury had been short-term.
Minnesota rolled from the start of the season almost until its end, winning 14 games as Darnold completed 66.2 percent of his attempts for 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns and a 102.5 passer rating, all of which were career highs. However, he shrank under the brightest light, first in a Week 18 game against the Lions to determine the NFC's No. 1 seed, and then again in a wild-card loss to the Rams.
Across those two games, Darnold took 11 sacks, led the offense to only 18 points and threw for 411 yards, one touchdown and one interception on 43-of-81 passing. He looked out of sorts in ways reminiscent of his early career, which perhaps contributed to the Vikings committing to a future led by McCarthy.
Darnold caught on with Seattle, becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to start and win 14-plus games for a team and then join another one the following offseason.
He's matched his 2024 success and more with the Seahawks, leading them to an 8-3 record thus far while on pace for new career highs in completion percentage (69.5) and passer rating (106.2).
Conversely, the Vikings have already more than doubled their loss total from a year ago. McCarthy has been in and out of the lineup due to injuries, and when he's been on the field has shown few signs of the franchise cornerstone head coach Kevin O'Connell believed him to be when selecting him No. 10 overall in the 2024 draft.
Compared to Darnold's numbers last year, the Vikings are getting 99.3 fewer passing yards per game (254.1 versus 154.8) from McCarthy in his starts, and the second-year QB's 57.9 passer rating is a 44.6 drop from his predecessor's.
Carson Wentz found a bit more success in five games while McCarthy was sidelined due to an ankle injury, but a shoulder issue knocked the veteran out for the season, and now undrafted rookie Max Brosmer is in line to start if McCarthy doesn't clear concussion protocol.
It's been a trying year for a talented team seemingly a quarterback away, especially since Darnold's continued excellence elsewhere suggests the Vikings had one.
Still, Flores has proven capable of keeping Minnesota in several games even with a shaky offense, and he's one of the best at cooking up pressure on blitzes.
As is the case for many QBs, pressure is what most frequently derails Darnold. Flores had a chance to observe which looks made him most vulnerable head-to-head in practice last season, plus the aforementioned games in which Darnold struggled.
"There's some things that we could say may have bothered him a year ago, but maybe they don't this year," Flores said Tuesday. "Based on having seen it several times, getting more reps at it, getting more familiarity with a front or a coverage. So, a year later it's hard to know. But you try it out and see if that still bothers him. ... If it doesn't bother him, you move on to something else. If it does, you keep running it."
He'll apply that knowledge in Sunday's game plan, hoping to at least win this battle even if -- for now -- it seems Darnold is on his way to winning the war.
