Darnold's Super Bowl win ignites questions. Discover how Seattle's support system enabled his success, offering a potential path for Minnesota's QB aspirations.
Former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold is a Super Bowl champion. The news comes after Darnold piloted a championship run in his first season with the Seattle Seahawks, capped by a 29-13 win over the New England Patriots.
Vikings fans are wondering less about why the team did not win a Super Bowl with Darnold last season than they wonder why the team opted not to re-sign Darnold and run it back after a 35-touchdown, 14-win season with Minnesota in 2024.
Darnold was an MVP caliber quarterback last season, as much as some would hate to admit it. The signal caller had the Vikings on the cusp of similar success before disappointment a year ago. It begs the question, how can the Vikings make sure their next free agent signed quarterback has the same success that Darnold had with the Seahawks this season?
Alec Lewis of The Athletic discussed as much in an article on Tuesday. Here was Lewis' conclusion.
"The Seahawks supported (Darnold) in all sorts of powerful and productive ways. They coveted him during free agency last spring when few (if any) other teams were willing to commit to him long term. They vouched for him at a low point this season, after he threw four interceptions in Week 11 against the Los Angeles Rams. More broadly, they structured their systems, game plans and roster in ways that prevented him from having to carry the team.
It’s one thing to be playing quarterback on a team with a historically great defense and air-tight special teams. It’s another thing when almost everything else, especially offensively, is geared toward making life easy on him.
Darnold did not have to be a superhero for the Seahawks. Not every missed throw doomed the offense."
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) drops back to make a pass during the second half against the Minnesota Vikings at Lumen Field. Kevin Ng-Imagn ImagesSome would suggest Minnesota was not far from being what Seattle was this season in Darnold's lone season as quarterback of the Vikings. After all, the team had the same exact regular season record. The Seahawks, some might suggest, simply matched up well with the Los Angeles Rams unlike Minnesota a year prior. But the Vikings still have issues outside of quarterback.
The Vikings will need to play better along the offensive line, which was a bottom five unit in the NFL in several categories in 2025. The running game lacked explosion. And while the defense was elite in the final five games for Minnesota, it took the team some time to reach that level last year.
Can the Vikings win a Super Bowl with a free agent quarterback? Maybe. They went 9-8 without much in the way of production at the position last year. That said, they'll need to make sure the supporting cast is what it needs to be to ensure the team competes in 2026.