Clark Kent Wild Card Weekend

[Brian wolf]

Unfortunately, the league and networks have cared about this Rams team ever since McVay took over for Fisher and they got a new stadium. Vikings fans may not like a storyline that gives the beleagered Los Angeles fans and citizens, some good news with a victory but the Rams won fair and square and O'Connell for the second week in a row, couldnt get his players to step up when it counts. They simply peaked after a nine game winning streak.

[CSKreager]

Unfortunately, the league and networks have cared about this Rams team ever since McVay took over for Fisher and they got a new stadium. Vikings fans may not like a storyline that gives the beleagered Los Angeles fans and citizens, some good news with a victory but the Rams won fair and square and O'Connell for the second week in a row, couldnt get his players to step up when it counts. They simply peaked after a nine game winning streak.

The Rams didn't step up until their schedule got easy. When you play the Raiders, Jets, Saints, Patriots, of course you're gonna look good.

[JohnTurney]

Wow ... and just like that, a 14-3 season goes down the drain. Will the Vikings bring Darnold back? A one-year franchise tag? Go with McCarthy? O'Connell coached a great year but in two big games, his team wasnt ready for primetime. Great defensive effort by the Rams. Good news for Los Angeles fans, who had alot to worry about.

Don't know what they will do, but Darnold cost himself a lot of money. At some point people are what they are. Behind a good team he can be decent but when I saw him this year he still was Sam Darnold.

Tonight? Forget about it.

He got sacked 9 times, a record for playoffs. Yes, Rams rushed well but some of those Darnold held the ball forever. Didn't show any feel for the pocket. Kind of like he reverted to his norm.

I have no idea if the kid they drafted is any good or not, but I don't think I'd franchise Darnold for $39 mil ... Cousins got the Vikings a lot of wins one year, then reverted ... but yes, good effort by Rams defense, aided by poor quarterbacking (and yes, poor offensive line play, too) and dropped passes. But to me, the sacks and missing passes by pretty big margins showed be 2024 was an anomaly for Darnold.

[JameisBrownston]

The correct move for the Vikings next year to both win now and prepare for the future is to let Darnold walk and get paid elsewhere, and sign Rodgers to a 1 year deal, who will bring Adams with him. This offense will be obscene for the year or two it's together, and preserves the developmental timeline for McCarthy, whereas paying Darnold, who'll be looking for at least 3 years, would effectively leave the team with no plan for him. I don't think a 14-win team should immediately pivot to rebuilding with effectively a rookie QB.

[Citizen]

The Rams didn't step up until their schedule got easy. When you play the Raiders, Jets, Saints, Patriots, of course you're gonna look good.

When you play the Giants, Jets, Colts, Jaguars, Titans, Cardinals, and the Bears twice, you're also going to look pretty good, maybe far better than you actually are. The Vikings were an absolute mirage, as they showed decisively the last two games.

[Citizen]

The correct move for the Vikings next year to both win now and prepare for the future is to let Darnold walk and get paid elsewhere, and sign Rodgers to a 1 year deal, who will bring Adams with him. This offense will be obscene for the year or two it's together, and preserves the developmental timeline for McCarthy, whereas paying Darnold, who'll be looking for at least 3 years, would effectively leave the team with no plan for him. I don't think a 14-win team should immediately pivot to rebuilding with effectively a rookie QB.

Between rehab and being bequeathed the starting job, the pressure on McCarthy is going to quadruple if they get rid of Darnold. It might be interesting if they start next season with a de facto rookie under center and....gulp....Daniel Jones as the backup.

I have to say, the Vikings sure have a nose for middling-to-bad quarterbacks (Bradford, Keenum, Cousins, Dobbs, Darnold) who look good for a while, maybe just a little while, but eventually end up so exposed that you wonder how they ever found their way onto an NFL field.

[RichardBak]

After watching McCarthy for a few years in Ann Arbor, I think he can more than handle the pressure of being The Guy. As for Arnold, he's been exposed nationally twice in the span of one week. Speaking of exposure, if the Vikes do decide to re-sign him--which I don't think they will--make him shave that porn-stash.

The whole wild card weekend was a bust, except for the Wash-TB tussle. But now the real fun begins.

Still say it's gonna be Lions-Chiefs at the end.

[RichardBak]

Wow ... and just like that, a 14-3 season goes down the drain. Will the Vikings bring Darnold back? A one-year franchise tag? Go with McCarthy? O'Connell coached a great year but in two big games, his team wasnt ready for primetime. Great defensive effort by the Rams. Good news for Los Angeles fans, who had alot to worry about.

And instead another mediocre 10-7 team that won a weak division by default 'graces' the divisional round

Nobody cares about the Rams, their overrated QB, or their overhyped coach

Rams and Texans are proof that it must be nice to benefit from cupcake schedules

Well, actually a lot of us here in Detroit do care about the Rams, or at least their "overrated QB"---ya know, the guy who won a Super Bowl a little while back and has led more 4Q comebacks than any guy in history. (Of course, he was always playing from behind, but still...) We watched Stafford get his ass pounded for a dozen years playing for a weak Lions team. Never bitched, played through injuries. A tough sumbitch. Now, we fans may not be particularly fond of his wife, but that doesn't really affect any residual admiration for Stafford himself.

The Rams also gave us Goff and a few draft picks for Stafford, which helped create some of the nucleus of the current Lions team. It's possible it'll be the Goff/Lions and Stafford/Rams in the NFC title game in 2 weeks. While folks here are obviously pulling for the Lions, it would ease some of the hurt if Matt went on to win a second ring.

[Brian wolf]

Yep, I think the NFL scriptwriters like the sound of Stafford-Goff II and its up to the WFT and Eagles to keep that from happening.
The Rams defense has to be itching to erase the embarrassment of the Eagles front wall pushing them around in that first game which helped Barkley catch Henry and reach the 2G network.

We all know in this QB-driven league, the position is going to get most of the credit or the blame and Darnold will take most of the arrows but the receivers, both interior lines and the defense were equally to blame. Sometimes, I felt Justin Jefferson was more interested in endorsing Kay jewellers, than running routes these last two games, with Addison a non-factor as well.

Look, O'Connell did a great job with Darnold, but this season was 2022 with Cousins again, so he might as well start from scratch with McCarthy*. If they can sign Jones on the cheap, maybe he can develop and push him for the job?

As for Stafford, if he could lead the Rams past the Eagles, Lions, Bills or Chiefs and get most of the credit for winning another SB, he will make the HOF.

*My bad, I didnt realize that O'Connell was basically a lame-duck coach for 2025. He might not have a choice but to re-sign Darnold unless McCarthy can shine his first year starting?

[CSKreager]

The Rams didn't step up until their schedule got easy. When you play the Raiders, Jets, Saints, Patriots, of course you're gonna look good.

When you play the Giants, Jets, Colts, Jaguars, Titans, Cardinals, and the Bears twice, you're also going to look pretty good, maybe far better than you actually are. The Vikings were an absolute mirage, as they showed decisively the last two games.

The Rams are a mirage propped up by a weak division

Seattle and Arizona both choking around the same time? Just another example of falling upwards for McVay