The Minnesota Vikings' playoff hopes were dashed by the Los Angeles Rams, who delivered a decisive victory in Arizona. A key factor in the Vikings' downfall was a staggering 9 sacks allowed by their offensive line, a record for a playoff game in NFL history. The relentless pressure from the Rams' defense disrupted the Vikings' offensive rhythm, forcing turnovers and stalling drives.
Darnold was sacked nine times, six of which came in the first half. And these weren't five-yard sacks, either. He lost a total of 82 yards to sacks, which is the most in NFL history in a playoff game. It surpasses the 76 yards Green Bay's Bart Starr lost to sacks against the Cowboys in the 1967 NFL championship game, also known as the Ice Bowl.It's just the third time in the last 30 years that a team has lost even 60 yards to sacks in a playoff game.
Joe Burrow and the Bengals lost 68 in a game (which they won) in the 2021 postseason, while Cam Newton and the Panthers did the same in Super Bowl 50 against the Broncos. The Vikings had plenty of problems in this loss to the Rams in Arizona, but the sacks stand out as the most glaring issue. They absolutely derailed Minnesota's offense, almost always leading to punts — or worse. The Rams' fourth sack of the first half resulted in a fumble that Jared Verse ran back for a touchdown to make it a 17-3 game in the second quarter. Their sixth sack of the half came on a 4th and 2 at midfield, setting up a TD that made it 24-3 at halftime and pretty much buried Minnesota. Not only did the sacks move the Vikings backwards, they did so at a rate of over nine yards per sack. That's because these weren't the kind of sacks where a defender wins quickly and takes down the quarterback in less than three seconds. These were long-developing sacks where Darnold held onto the ball too long while trying to make something happen. All six in the first half took at least 3.2 seconds,, and four of them took at least 4.4 seconds. One of the three in the second half took nearly seven seconds between snap and sack. The offensive line wasn't very good, but this mostly falls on Darnold. At any level of football, but especially in the NFL, quarterbacks have to have an internal clock and find a way to get rid of the ball when that ticks beyond roughly 2.5 seconds. 'It's up to me to be able to feel that (pressure) and either step up, move, go run for a first down, or just simply throw it away. I felt like there were a lot of sacks today that I was responsible for, where I was just holding onto the football and taking sacks where I could've either dirted it at someone's feet or just simply thrown it over someone's head.'
NFL Playoff Vikings Rams Sacks Darnold Offensive Struggles Record
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