win total at just 6.5 games.
The Best Vikings Season That Never Should Have Happened
J.J. McCarthy was drafted to be the future face of the franchise. He wasn’t going to start Week 1, but he wasn’t supposed to miss the entire season due to a knee injury, either. Sam Darnold was brought in to be a bridge quarterback. At $10 million, and in the first good situation of his career, there was hope that he could work.
 celebrates his touchdown with quarterback Sam Darnold (14) against the Chicago Bears in the first quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images.</p>
<p>” data-medium-file=”https://vikingsterritory.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=788,height=444,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/darnjeff.jpg” data-large-file=”https://vikingsterritory.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1180,height=660,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/darnjeff.jpg” src=”https://vikingsterritory.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=788,height=444,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/darnjeff.jpg” alt><figcaption> Brad Rempel-Imagn Images.<span></span></figcaption></figure>
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<p>No one could have projected things would go this well. The Vikings ripped off 14 wins in a division that produced three of the best teams in football. They <a href=)
beat the Green Bay Packers twice, and, at times, Darnold looked like a legitimate MVP candidate.
It’s unfortunate how bad Darnold looked in his final two games of the season. There is no denying how awful he was against the Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Rams. He did earn himself a ton of money, though, and will easily be the most coveted quarterback on the free agent market this offseason.
Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes daily for Minnesota Sports Fan. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.
