The Vikings went down Monday night, but they didn't shy away from their responsibilities. After the match, Sam Darnold and Kevin O'Connell could only observe the damage.
Not only from the loss to the Rams, but also from the loss to the Lions. Two clear defeats which cut the beautiful story that constituted their season.
“ In the end, all that matters when you have a good season is what you do in the playoffs. We didn't manage well today, and that's all that matters“, Darnold asked the press.
Victim of 9 sacks, a playoff record, Sam Darnold conceded that he was at fault for certain actions.
“It's up to me to know how to feel that and either move forward in the pocket, move, run for a first down or just get rid of the ball. I think there are a lot of sacks that I'm responsible for, where I was holding the ball too long, and taking sacks when I could have thrown the ball at someone's feet or over their feet. head. […] It was decisions in the moment, I was trying to escape and I wasn't able to get rid of the ball. »
Kevin O'Connell (Vikings): “I could have coached better”
Kevin O'Connell didn't escape the questions either. And he also had the merit of not pointing the finger at others. By defending his quarterback, he did not forget his personal case.
“I just want to say it's important to think about Sam's body of work, what he did this year, when not many people thought he could lead a team to 14 wins,” said 'first called back the coach. “It didn't work out in the end, and I think Sam would be the first to tell you that. Could he have played better tonight? I'm sure he would tell you he could have. Could I have coached better? Yes, I could have. »
Sam Darnold has indeed thrown 35 touchdowns for 12 interceptions this season. What makes him want to stay in Minnesota?
For the moment, that wasn't the subject.
“I'm going to have a lot of time after this to think about what this season has created. To be honest, I just think about today and what we could have done better“, assured the quarterback.
