Sam Darnold and the Minnesota Vikings' season was lost on Monday night.

So too with it might have been a lucrative offseason for Darnold following 17 weeks' worth of a feel-good story.

Darnold was sacked nine times and had two turnovers in the Vikings' 27-9 Wild Card Weekend loss to the Los Angeles Rams, concluding Minnesota's once-promising campaign and clouding the QB's once-auspicious offseason outlook, Grant Gordon of NFL.com reports.

"I clearly haven't played good enough the last couple of weeks," Darnold, an impending free agent, said after the game. "Just like I said, (I) left too many throws out there that I would usually make. Gotta take better care of the football."

Darnold's final line saw him complete 25 of 40 passes for 245 yards, a second-half touchdown, an interception and a 77.6 rating. Those concluding numbers looked far better than what played out in real time, as the Rams pressured and plundered the QB, who was sacked on 18% of his 50 dropbacks, per Next Gen Stats. It was hardly a result that could be pinned solely on his offensive line, as Darnold was often flummoxed by the Rams' man coverage and was sacked six times at least 4.4 seconds after the snap.

Darnold, who had an interception in the second quarter after his defense forced a three-and-out and a fumble returned 57 yards for a touchdown on the ensuing drive by Jared Verse, took a 13-yard sack on a 6.85-second play in the fourth quarter. Summing up his night, Darnold's catastrophic loss forced the Vikings to punt on fourth-and-21 down by the final score with 12 minutes to play.

He took too long and time ran out on him and the Vikings' season, the defeat to the Rams coming a week after a similarly dispiriting 31-9 setback against the Detroit Lions. Had Darnold and the Vikings bested the Lions, they would've had a bye this week and still been waiting to begin a hopeful playoff run. Instead, they're left to ponder how two straight dastardly defeats ruined a 14-win showing.

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