While the Minnesota Vikings had a disappointing season and failed to make the playoffs, their former quarterback Sam Darnold is in the Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks. Minnesota superstar Justin Jefferson regrets the departure of last year’s quarterback and believes the Vikings would have achieved much more with Darnold.

Sam Darnold or rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy? That was the question the Minnesota Vikings asked themselves about a year ago after a surprisingly early playoff exit. Darnold did lead the Vikings to 14 wins, but two clear defeats at the end of the season raised doubts about whether the quarterback was the future in Minnesota – after all, they had McCarthy, the tenth pick in the 2024 draft, up their sleeve.

Ultimately, the Vikings’ management decided against Darnold and in favor of McCarthy, who missed the entire first season due to injury.

One year later, Darnold is in the Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks – and Minnesota missed the playoffs with nine wins and eight losses. In addition, McCarthy had major problems in his first season and struggled with injuries time and again.

Justin Jefferson: Super Bowl would have been “definitely” possible with Sam Darnold

This naturally raises the question: What could Minnesota have achieved this season with Darnold? Vikings superstar receiver Justin Jefferson even thought his team would have had a shot at the Super Bowl. “Definitely. Everyone knows about our problems at the quarterback position this year and how we had to deal with it,” Jefferson told USA Today.

He continued: “Having a quarterback who had already played a season with us, who knew the plays, the playbook and the players (…) – I definitely felt that we would have done better. But it is what it is. Now we move on, but I’m definitely happy and proud of him for making it this year.”

While Darnold threw for 4,048 yards with 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 17 games, McCarthy only managed 1,632 yards and 11 touchdowns with 12 interceptions in ten games.