Tag: Sam Darnold

Ref tries to explain the blatant facemask no-call on Rams safety vs Vikings

Still not great!

It was the call that just about every saw in real time and shouted “THAT’S A FACEMASK PENALTY!!” at their screens.

Sam Darnold was sacked in the Los Angeles Rams’ end zone by Byron Young for a safety, but refs didn’t throw a flag for a facemask. So what the heck happened?

Per Calvin Watkins, referee Tra Blake had this to say: “Well, on that play, the quarterback was facing the opposite direction from me so I did not have a good look at it. … The umpire had players between him and the quarterback, so he did not get a look at it. He was block out as well.”

He added that the officiating crew talked about it, but it’s not reviewable. Which is ironic, as you’ll see below:

Just brutal.

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Official inexplicably misses Sam Darnold’s facemask being grabbed

The officials throw penalty flags for everything but somehow missed a huge infraction

The final two points in the Los Angeles Rams’ 30-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday came on a safety.

Sam Darnold was sacked in the final 96 seconds in the end zone by Byron Young.

However, Young grabbed his helmet knowing the sack wouldn’t stand because he grabbed Darnold’s facemask.

Somehow, the official closest to the play everyone else failed to see the obvious personal foul.

Rams deal Vikings second straight loss

Rams win their second straight and Vikings have lost two in a row

Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua returned and so did the Los Angeles Rams’ offense. Amazing how that works.

The Rams defeated the Minnesota Vikings, 30-20, on Thursday at SoFi Stadium. With Kupp and Nacua back from injury, Matthew Stafford threw for 279 yards and four touchdown passes.

The biggest beneficiary of the scoring throws was Demarcus Robinson. Both of his catches in the games went for touchdowns.

Kupp and Nacua combined for 12 catches and 157 receiving yards.

Justin Jefferson had eight catches for 115 yards in the loss.

The Vikings were furious on a non-call at the end of the game when the Rams wound up with a safety despite Byron Young clearly grabbing the facemask of Sam Darnold in the end zone.

If the penalty had been called, Minnesota would have had a first down at its 20 with no timeouts and 96 seconds left.

A punt by Ethan Evans had pinned Minnesota deep in its territory when starting the final drive.

Minnesota has lost two straight after winning its first five games. Los Angeles is 3-4 and has won consecutive games.

Sean McVay tried to douse the speculation Kupp was on the trading block.

Sam Darnold’s facemask non-call was so brutal even the Rams couldn’t believe it

How did the refs miss this?

The Minnesota Vikings lost a chance at a comeback drive against the hosting Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night because of an egregious missed facemask call.

Right at the end of the fourth quarter with Minnesota down eight, the Vikings got the ball back to try and tie the game up in regulation.

However, Darnold got sacked in the Los Angeles end zone by Rams outside linebacker Byron Young to scrap Minnesota’s chances at tying things up.

On Young’s sack, you can clearly see him grab Darnold’s facemask to swing him to the ground. Even Young reacted after the play like he knew he made a terrible mistake to give Minnesota a big gain in penalty yards.

However, the refs didn’t call it, and that was that.

How the officials missed this is beyond us. That was a clear and blatant facemask to the point that Young even reacted to it after it happened.

The Vikings have a right to be furious about this, even if there was no guarantee they’d tie the game up. The missed call denied them the full extent of their chance.

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Yes, the Rams definitely got away with a facemask on their game-sealing safety

Byron Young clearly grabbed Sam Darnold’s facemask on his game-sealing safety, but the officials missed it

Just like every other team in the NFL, the Los Angeles Rams have been on the wrong end of quite a few missed calls over the years. They’ve also benefitted from the human error that comes with officiating the game of football.

On Thursday night, there’s no question they got away with one late in the game. The missed-calls scale has definitely tipped back in their favor.

With 1:36 left in the game, Byron Young took Sam Darnold down for a game-sealing safety, putting the Rams up 30-20. The Vikings had no timeouts and the game was effectively over after the ensuing kick.

Replay showed that Young clearly grabbed Darnold’s facemask on his way to the ground, but officials missed it and couldn’t review the play afterwards. Vikings fans were up in arms and Darnold was astonished that no flag was thrown, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.

For all the incorrect calls that went against the Rams, this one makes up for it a bit. Rather than the Vikings having a fresh set of downs from the 20 and only trailing by eight points, the game was all but over.

Sam Darnold off to a perfect start against the Rams in Week 8

Through one quarter, Darnold has looked flawless and the Vikings offense is rolling as they are up 14 points against the Rams.

Could Vikings’ quarterback Sam Darnold look even better than he has through the first six weeks? Maybe so.

On Thursday, under the bright lights of Thursday Night Football, Sam Darnold is cooking against the Los Angeles Rams. Darnold has been flawless for the Viking offense through one quarter of football. He has completed all eight attempts for 97 yards and two touchdowns. Darnold also has seven yards on the ground.

It is no surprise that Darnold has a great early connection with Justin Jefferson. Jefferson has caught five passes for 68 yards and looked unbeatable. But both touchdowns have come to role players. Darnold’s first touchdown pass went to tight end Josh Oliver, and then he followed it up with a touchdown score for Trent Sherfield Jr.

The Vikings currently hold a 14-7 lead after the first quarter. The Rams’ offense has attacked the Minnesota secondary early with Puka Nacua back in the lineup. We will see how Brian Flores adjusts to the Rams’ attack.

Wild Vikings, Rams trade rumor gets shutdown after starting on social media

Rumors were spreading that the Vikings were close to making a blockbuster trade with the Rams.

You never know what you’ll see on social media these days. Wild rumors are always spreading about what teams are going to do or should do. For the past two days, there have been rumors about the Vikings potentially trading with the Rams to acquire veteran quarterback Matt Stafford.

There was speculation that Kevin O’Connell wanted to reunite with Stafford and hope to bring a Super Bowl home to Minnesota. The Rams would then get Sam Darnold and give him a massive extension.

But the thing is, it’s just a rumor. Ben Goessling with The Star Tribune said there is zero truth to the trade speculation.

The truth is, Minnesota is 5-1 with Darnold, and the hope is that the Vikings can rally around J.J. McCarthy starting next season. Minnesota might be buyers before the trade deadline, but the Vikings will be searching for defensive lineman or guard help — more than likely.

Sean McVay praises Sam Darnold ahead of Thursday’s Rams-Vikings game

Sean McVay had positive things to say about Vikings QB Sam Darnold, his development and the job Kevin O’Connell has done with him

Despite never working with one another, Sean McVay and Vikings starting QB Sam Darnold have more connections and similarities than one would assume.

McVay was the Rams’ head coach when Darnold was playing his final two years at USC, both playing their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Darnold has played under Kyle Shanahan, whom McVay worked with in Washington, and currently plays for Kevin O’Connell, who was the Rams’ offensive coordinator from 2020-2021.

When speaking of Darnold, McVay complimented him and the Vikings coaching staff ahead of Thursday night’s matchup.

“I think they’re doing a great job. You see a guy that can create off-schedule. I think he’s playing in rhythm, on time, understands the intent of what Kevin’s calling,” McVay said Monday. “I’ve seen a guy that uses his athleticism to be able to move the sticks a lot and I see his teammates have a bunch of confidence in him. A lot of the things that made him such a highly rated prospect coming out of USC. I think he’s in a good situation obviously with a coach that I have tremendous respect for. You can see there’s a comfort that those two have and then I’m seeing the athleticism when things do break down and go a little bit outside the timing and rhythm, where he’s made a bunch of plays.”

This week’s matchup will be very interesting as Darnold’s future in Minnesota remains murky despite his excellent start. Darnold is set to be a free agent after the season and the Vikings spent their 2024 first-round pick on Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy.

With an aging Matthew Stafford and Darnold’s familiarity with McVay’s scheme, might Darnold’s future lead him back to Los Angeles?

PFF Grades: Best and worst from Vikings Week 7 loss to the Lions

The NFL season will sometimes show us what we want to see from players; other times, we may see something bad when it isn’t there. For fans and media, there has to be a way to check and balance things to avoid favoritism or bias in a negative light. …

The NFL season will sometimes show us what we want to see from players; other times, we may see something bad when it isn’t there. For fans and media, there has to be a way to check and balance things to avoid favoritism or bias in a negative light.

Thanks to PFF, we will always have an extra set of eyes to examine the football game.

The team’s loss to the Lions led to the team realizing they are, in fact, human. They showed resiliency and a drive to fight back as they made a defensive play to get the lead late in the fourth quarter. This time, more than most this year, the PFF grades are going to be very interesting.

Here are the best and worst from the PFF grades for the Vikings’ win over the New York Jets.

RB Aaron Jones 77.9

QB Sam Darnold 76.4

WR Justin Jefferson 72.2

WR Jalen Nailor 69.5

G Blake Brandel 67.4

G Ed Ingram 38

RB Ty Chandler 45.7

TE Johnny Mundt 50.8

WR Jordan Addison 55.1

TE Robert Tonyan 55.4

Aaron Jones 75.7

Sam Darnold 67.7

Ty Chandler 52.5

TE Josh Oliver 75.2

C Garrett Bradbury 69.6

G Blake Brandel 61.4

WR Jordan Addison 60.6

WR Brandon Powell 60

TE Johnny Mundt 37

G Ed Ingram 43.7

OT Brian O’Neill 49.6

WR Jalen Nailor 52.8

OT Christian Darrisaw 56.6

OT Christian Darrisaw 85.8

FB C.J. Ham 84.1

OT Brian O’Neill 78.1

TE Josh Oliver 75.9

G Blake Brandel 74.9

TE Johnny Mundt 21.6

RB Ty Chandler 25.1

C Garrett Bradbury 37.6

G Ed Ingram 64.8

RB Aaron Jones 70.2

Edge Jonathan Greenard 92.1

LB Andrew Van Ginkel 80.2

SAF Joshua Metellus 73.5

DL Taki Taimani 71.7

CB Shaq Griffin 70.8

LB Kamu Grugier-Hill 28

SAF Camryn Bynum 34.9

Edge Dallas Turner 41.2

SAF Harrison Smith 43.2

LB Ivan Pace Jr. 47

SAF Joshua Metellus 90.5

CB Byron Murphy Jr. 74.9

DL Jerry Tillery 69.7

CB Shaq Griffin 69.2

LB Ivan Pace Jr. 68.8

LB Kamu Grugier-Hill 31

SAF Camryn Bynum 40.7

DL Harrison Phillips 45.7

DL Jonathan Bullard 51.2

SAF Harrison Smith 52.2

Edge Jonathan Greenard 93.7

LB Ivan Pace Jr. 84.5

SAF Joshua Metellus 74.9

LB Andrew Van Ginkel 69.9

DL Jonathan Bullard 66

DL Pat Jones II 50.4

DL Harrison Phillips 51.5

LB Kamu Grugier-Hill 55.8

Edge Dallas Turner 56.5

DL Jerry Tillery 57.1

LB Andrew Van Ginkel 89.2

DL Harrison Phillips 75.4

Shaq Griffin 66.2

Edge Jonathan Greenard 61.7

DL Pat Jones II 61.4

LB Ivan Pace Jr. 29.4

SAF Camryn Bynum 43.8

LB Kamu Grugier-Hill 45.4

SAF Harrison Smith 47.3

SAF Joshua Metellus 48.3

Justin Jefferson grabs fourth-career TD against the Lions

Justin Jefferson continues to light up the Lions.

Minnesota found itself in a hole against the Lions. After going up 10-0, the Vikings went into halftime down 21-10. It’s a good thing the Vikings have a player like Justin Jefferson to help dig them out of that hole.

On Minnesota’s first possession from the break, Sam Darnold and Aaron Jones left the Vikings down the field. Jefferson hauled in a few passes before grabbing a 25-yard touchdown pass from Darnold to put the Vikings with four points.

It marked Jefferson’s fourth career touchdown reception against the Lions. Since entering the NFL, he has absolutely dominated their in-division rivals. On Sunday, through a little over two quarters of play, Jefferson has hauled in seven receptions for 81 yards and a score.

Darnold has played well for the most part against the Lions. He has completed 15-of-19 for 136 yards and a score. But that lone interception continues to loom as the Vikings find themselves trailing.