Sam Darnold is in the midst of a career year, but he has to improve in one critical area if the Minnesota Vikings are going to finish this season as legit NFC contenders.

Darnold was sacked three times in Thursday night’s 30-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, moving him to 21 on the season in seven games. That ranks him tied for second in the NFL, behind only Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns.

That’s not the kind of company you want to keep.

Darnold took a brutal sack in the end zone that effectively ended the game on the Vikings' final drive. He should have been bailed out by a blatant face mask penalty that somehow wasn’t called, but he still put himself and the team in position to lose the game on that play.

On the previous drive, with the Vikings down eight and threatening at the Rams 43 yard line, Darnold took a 13-yard sack that destroyed Minnesota’s best chance to forge a game-tying score. The Vikings sorely missed their dominant left tackle, Christian Darrisaw, on the play. Darrisaw left the game with a knee injury and defensive Rookie of the Year frontrunner Jared Verse tossed David Quessenberry aside before getting to Darnold.

But Darnold turned his back on the play and crushed a gotta-have-it drive. He knows Darrisaw is out and can’t let this happen:

Darnold has now been sacked in every game this season. He’s been sacked three times or more in five of the Vikings’ seven games.

“At the end of the day, I feel like we’ve just got to do the little things right, hash out the details," Darnold said postgame, "and I feel like if we do that… I know we’re going to be a really good offense and really good team.”

Darnold has been excellent this season, and he was again at the start of Thursday’s game. It’s the finish, though, that should have the Vikings seeking solutions to what is now officially an alarming issue in Darnold’s game.