It was only 16 months ago that Sam Darnold was in the very early stages of a comeback story made for a Hollywood script. He had just helped lead the Vikings a 28-6 win over the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in what has proven to be a launching pad for his turnaround.

The location wasn’t insignificant.

It was the same place where he used to play home games after being drafted by the New York Jets, the same place where he was first labeled a bust, and the same place where he almost watched his career go up in flames.

After completing 19 of 24 passes for 208 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the Vikings in the win over the Giants, Darnold was given a chance to respond to everybody that might have doubted him with the Jets.

“Obviously it’s great to be back,” Darnold said with a smile. “It’s been a while since I’ve played here.”

It’s been a similar refrain from Darnold whenever he has been asked about his past. He hasn’t concerned himself with the narratives that have been attached to him every step of the way. He has openly acknowledged the role he’s played in his shortcomings and kept it pushing.

That’s why it should be easy to be happy for Darnold as he prepares for the Super Bowl after finding a forever home with the Seattle Seahawks. The winding road it took for him to get to where he is now would’ve been enough to break most people.

After being thrown away like a piece of garbage by the Jets, Darnold ended up in the middle of disaster with the Carolina Panthers. He found some stability with the San Francisco 49ers and parlayed that into an opportunity that changed his life.

As his success with the Vikings started to become undeniable last season, he refused to throw shade whenever the Jets or the Panthers came up in conversation. He never took the bait. He always took the high road.

In the process, Darnold led the Vikings to a 14-3 record, showing flashes of the generational talent he was supposed to be when the Jets selected with the No. 3 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. It still wasn’t enough for the Vikings to keep him around long term.

After he came up small in in a loss to the Detroit Lions with the No. 1 seed on the line, then looked overwhelmed in a loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the first round of the playoffs, the Vikings ultimately let Darnold walk out the door in free agency, perhaps feeling that they had reached their ceiling with him at the helm.

The magnitude of that miscalculation doesn’t need to be litigated anymore than it already has been. This isn’t about the Vikings. This is about the franchise quarterback they willingly let slip through their fingertips.

As his success with the Seahawks started to become undeniable this season, he refused to throw shade whenever the Vikings have come up in conversation. He has never taken the bait. He has always taken the high road.

In the process, Darnold led the Seahawks to a 14-3 record, proving his resurgence with the Vikings was far from a fluke. It was actually the tip of the iceberg for everything he could accomplish as the unquestioned leader of a locker room.

That hasn’t stopped the doubters from assuming that Darnold would eventually turn back into a pumpkin. They have constantly claimed he has been carried by a talented roster around him while anxiously awaiting for the other shoe to drop.

That argument went out the window in the NFC Championship Game as Darnold was the straw that stirred the drink for the Seahawks in a 31-27 win over the Rams. He completed 25 of 36 passes for 346 yards and a trio of touchdowns amid a a masterful performance that helped the Seahawks clinch a spot in the Super Bowl.

As he celebrated in the immediate aftermath, Darnold was asked to describe the journey he’s been on to get to this point.

“I haven’t really thought about that much,” Darnold said with a smile. “I take it one day at a time.”

There it is. That mentality that kept him going when nobody believed in him. Now he’s getting ready for the biggest game of his life.

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Today is Tuesday, Jan. 27, the 27th day of 2026. There are 338 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Jan. 27, 1984, singer Michael Jackson suffered serious burns to his scalp when pyrotechnics set his hair on fire during the filming of a Pepsi-Cola TV commercial at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

Also on this date:

In 1756, composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria.

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In 1880, Thomas Edison received a patent for his incandescent electric lamp.

In 1967, astronauts Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee died in a flash fire during a test aboard their Apollo 1 spacecraft at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

In 1973, the Vietnam peace accords were signed in Paris, ending direct U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.

In 1945, during World War II, Soviet troops liberated the Auschwitz and Birkenau Nazi concentration camps in Poland.

In 2002, a series of explosions rocked an armory in Lagos, Nigeria, starting fires in nearby neighborhoods and killing hundreds of people. Many of those who died were area residents who drowned in a canal in darkness while fleeing the blasts.

In 2013, a fire started by pyrotechnics in the Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, killed 242 people and injured over 600.

In 2017, President Donald Trump barred all refugees from entering the United States for four months, declaring the ban necessary to prevent “radical Islamic terrorists” from entering the country.

In 2023, a Palestinian gunman opened fire outside an east Jerusalem synagogue during Jewish observances of the Sabbath, killing seven people and wounded three others before he was shot and killed by police.

Today’s birthdays:

Actor James Cromwell is 86.
Rock musician Nick Mason (Pink Floyd) is 82.
Ballet star Mikhail Baryshnikov is 78.
U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts is 71.
Political and sports commentator Keith Olbermann is 67.
Actor Bridget Fonda is 62.
Actor Alan Cumming is 61.
Country singer Tracy Lawrence is 58.
Rock singer Mike Patton is 58.
Rapper Tricky is 58.
Actor-comedian Patton Oswalt is 57.
Actor Freddy Carter is 33.
Musician and actor Braeden Lemasters is 30.
Country singer Bailey Zimmerman is 26.

A local stone borders the home;

Hunters should eye a visual center.

Stay off the street and kick your feet

It’s in the snow that we did set her.

Hunt clues will be released at about midnight at TwinCities.com/treasurehunt each day of the hunt.

See the Treasure Hunt rules.

Where has the medallion been discovered in past years?

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Minnesota finally snapped the skid Monday in Minneapolis.

After dropping five straight games, the Timberwolves got a much-needed win against a significantly undermanned Warriors team at Target Center, winning 108-83.

On the second half of the back to back between the two teams, Golden State sat Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Al Horford and De’Anthony Melton, while Minnesota was without Anthony Edwards.

Minnesota was slow out of the gates Monday, creating the thought that perhaps a sixth-straight loss was on tap. But the Wolves shot 65% from the field in the second quarter to lead by 15 at the break and never looked back, building a lead of as many as 32 points.

Takeaways from the Wolves’ needed victory:

Bones Keys Bench

Minnesota’s bench production has been putrid during the team’s recent struggles. But it got a lift from Bones Hyland on Monday.

Hyland, who’d been a revelation prior to his recent struggles, regained form in the win. He sparked the offense in the first half with a series of nice finishes around the rim along with a dose of creation for others.

For the game, Hyland finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists off the bench.

Gobert dominates

Rudy Gobert’s consistency has been one of the highlights of the Timberwolves’ 2025-26 campaign to date. Which is why his less impactful performance of date was so noteworthy.

But the center re-established his dominance against the smaller Warriors on Monday, finishing with 15 points and 17 rebounds while serving as a significant deterrent on the defensive interior.

Golden State struggles

The Warriors were down four of their key rotational pieces, on top of being without Jimmy Butler — who was lost for the season earlier this month after suffering a torn ACL. So perhaps Monday’s performance should have been expected. But Golden State struggled to a remarkable extent offensively.

Golden State shot 35% from the field and 23% from 3-point range, while committing 19 turnovers.

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