This was supposed to be a pivotal matchup. It was supposed to have all of the revenge vibes. But, instead, the Seattle Seahawks absolutely thumped the Minnesota Vikings in Sam Darnold's first matchup with his former team since joining the Hawks.
Prior to the matchup, though, former NFL head coach Steve Mariucci was commenting on this one and had the perfect reaction to Darnold facing Minnesota. In the end, it held up real well, too.
"You think Sam Darnold's having a 'how you like me now' moment?" Mariucci asked on NFL Game Day Morning.
Why, yes, Mr. Mariucci, I believe that is exactly what Darnold is thinking right about now.
Sam Darnold watched his former team crumble in real time in their loss to the Seahawks
Mariucci didn't get everything right about this game, as he also somehow predicted the Vikings' undrafted rookie quarterback to break an all-time record in his first start. But that's a story for another time.
Instead, Max Brosmer came out and performed even worse than J.J. McCarthy had been playing all season. Vikings fans who were once full of hope and an attitude of, "How much worse could it get?" suddenly felt as though it could, indeed, get much worse.
The Seahawks defense hit Brosmer seven times, sacking him on four occasions, all while picking off the first-time starter four times as well. Brosmer looked like an undrafted rookie making his first start which, again, is something Mariucci got dead wrong.
But what he did get right was the feeling Darnold likely had after the game. Minnesota's season is crumbling, while the Seahawks are right in the thick of getting the No. 1 seed in the NFC. With a loss by the L.A. Rams on Sunday, Seattle is now in a tie atop the NFC West, along with being tied for the best record in the NFC at 9-3 overall.
Sure, Darnold has struggled with his fair share of turnovers this year. But, don't you believe for a second that those Vikings wouldn't have a winning record had they opted to pay him instead of taking their chances on a second-year guy with zero career starts and coming off an injury.
It has to be difficult for Darnold not to have at least a still small voice in the back of his head going, "How DO you like me now, Minnesota?"
Feels good to be part of the 12th Man, doesn't it?