Scoggins: I was wrong about Sam Darnold. Dead wrong.

Journalism school teaches one not to bury the gist of a story, so let’s apply that lesson here.

I was wrong about Sam Darnold. Dead wrong.

The Seattle Seahawks are in the Super Bowl because Darnold proved he’s capable of performing in the clutch when playoff pressure is at its highest, presenting a test of nerves and moxie.

Darnold didn’t flinch in the NFC title game. He passed for 346 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions in a win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, Jan. 25.

Darnold celebrated that defining moment almost a year to the day that these words appeared in a column penned by yours truly:

“Darnold produced one of the NFL’s best stories through 16 games. He earned a Pro Bowl invitation with a turnaround season that was one of the best statistically among all quarterbacks. But his performances in the regular-season finale at Detroit and playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams were so remindful of his stints in New York and Carolina that doubling down with much higher financial compensation is far too risky.”

Uff da.

More than a mea culpa, this is an admission that mea dumbo.

In hindsight, the error was believing more in the concept of a plan than acknowledging the reality that good NFL quarterbacks are hard to find. If you have one, it’s best to maximize that opportunity.

The Vikings’ mistake was in the execution of their plan, which is far more punitive since this is their business.

The Vikings signed Darnold in March 2024 under the premise that he would serve as a bridge to McCarthy, the No. 10 overall draft pick that year. Darnold proceeded to revive his career in leading the Vikings to 14 wins.

Then came the final two games. He missed open receivers in an alarming performance at Detroit with the NFC North title at stake in the regular-season finale.

Darnold face-planted against Detroit. Blame for the Rams debacle belonged as much with an overmatched offensive line and head coach Kevin O’Connell’s play-calling as Darnold’s ineffectiveness. That was a collective failure.

Those two performances clouded all that preceded it, convincing the Vikings and many outside observers that the original quarterback plan remained the best option.

This is where a series of miscalculations began.

The Vikings brought back a veteran roster constructed and motivated to win in the playoffs. Darnold gave that group a far better chance of success than McCarthy, who was coming off a knee injury that cost him his entire rookie season.

The allure of a starting quarterback playing on a rookie contract is seductive in the NFL. Teams can allocate money elsewhere to fortify the infrastructure around the young quarterback.

Placing the franchise tag on Darnold would have cost $40 million for one season. That payout would have prohibited the Vikings from signing probably two of the veteran free agents they brought in, but they still could have addressed offensive line deficiencies while giving McCarthy a year of practice time to fix the flaws in his mechanics that got revealed in real time this season.

That miscalculation was compounded when Daniel Jones chose to sign with the Indianapolis Colts rather than accept the Vikings’ offer to return. Jones would have been a cheaper bridge option than Darnold, though the Vikings had just watched Darnold perform at a Pro Bowl level. They scrambled to piece together an alternative plan with neither Darnold nor Jones that fell miles short of acceptable.

McCarthy’s debut season showed improvement, but injuries and an uneven overall evaluation all but forces the team to sign a veteran quarterback who can provide competition and a better safety net next season.

McCarthy eventually might develop into the franchise quarterback the organization drafted him to be. He deserves patience. But he required more time to develop, and a veteran roster built to win in the present needed a more experienced quarterback. Meanwhile, Darnold smashed into pieces the narrative attached to him about stumbling in big moments.

It was impossible not to feel happy for him as he played brilliantly in the NFC title game. Last season, before the playoff game, I asked dozens of Darnold’s teammates and coaches to give their best story or fun fact about him. The main takeaway from those conversations was how immensely popular and respected he was in the locker room. There was genuine admiration for him.