The Minnesota Vikings allowed veteran quarterback Sam Darnold to walk in free agency after his career year with the franchise, paving the way for his eventual signing with the Seattle Seahawks. The keys to the Vikings franchise were subsequently handed to young quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
While the Vikings and McCarthy struggled, Darnold seemed to have found the perfect fit alongside head coach Mike Macdonald and the Seahawks. Darnold managed to build an impressive rapport with young wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
The Hawks are 11-3, tied for first place in the NFC West with the Los Angeles Rams, who they’ll face in a massive tilt for control of the division on Thursday Night Football. Unfortunately for Seattle, in recent weeks, Darnold has not been the same quarterback he was at the beginning of the campaign.
Now, a brutal metric has come to light showing that Darnold has been worse than McCarthy recently, which may indicate that Minnesota made the right decision after all.
PFF grades since J.J. McCarthy returned as starter Week 9:
J.J. McCarthy: 66.4
Sam Darnold: 62.9 pic.twitter.com/1eyjNo1Kzi— Warren Ludford (@wludford) December 16, 2025
Fans reacted to the PFF grades on social media.
“Don’t tell anyone. Their brain might explode if they have to admit JJ even has the potential to be good,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“Both have been mid… Darnold is just more of a veteran experienced kind of mid,” another fan added.
“Sam barely beat old ass Phillip rivers, and after next week against the rams they’ll realize again why we let his ass go,” one Vikings fan added.
It’ll be interesting to follow the two quarterbacks’ careers over the next several seasons.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.