INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Minnesota quarterback Sam Darnold didn’t blame the officials for a missed face mask call when he was sacked for a safety late in the fourth quarter of Thursday night’s 30-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Instead, Darnold lamented the situation that pinned the Vikings deep in the first place.

“The face mask — it is what it is,” Darnold said. “I thought we could’ve done a lot to not put ourselves in the situation that we were in.”

The Vikings got the ball at their own 5-yard line with 1:46 remaining after Rams punter Ethan Evans’ 41-yard kick landed out of bounds on the left sideline. On second-and-10, Darnold got a couple clean seconds in the pocket before Byron Young barreled past left guard Blake Brandel and took down Darnold for a safety, putting the game out of reach.

Referee Tra Blake said in a pool report that he and umpire Carl Paganelli – the two officials closest to the play – did not have a clear view. Blake said the officiating crew discussed the play after the Vikings brought up Young’s infraction, but no one was able to clearly see it.

Face mask calls are not reviewable by instant replay.

Coach Kevin O’Connell said “it looked like (Young) got a pretty good amount of facemask there,” but he wasn’t going to blame that for Minnesota’s second loss in five days.

“I told our team, officiating and all that stuff, for us to talk about that and to seek comfort in that is not how we’re going to respond to this,” he said. “It looked like he got a piece of the facemask, but they didn’t think so, so they didn’t throw the flag.”

• Left tackle Christian Darrisaw will have season-ending surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left knee, a devastating development for a team that was undefeated a week ago but has since endured a series of setbacks.

Coach Kevin O’Connell confirmed Friday that Darrisaw tore his ACL and MCL during Thursday night’s loss at the Los Angeles Rams.

RAVENS: Linebacker Roquan Smith was fined for an alleged hip-drop tackle on Tampa Bay wide receiver Chris Godwin on Monday night, according to The Baltimore Sun, a play that resulted in a grisly and likely season-ending ankle injury for the Pro Bowl receiver.

Smith has up to three days to appeal the $16,833 fine after receiving a notification from the NFL. Godwin, who suffered a dislocated ankle on Smith’s tackle in the final minute of Baltimore’s 41-31 victory at Raymond James Stadium, underwent surgery Thursday.

BILLS: Buffalo Coach Sean McDermott on Friday ruled out starting linebacker Terrel Bernard, receiver Curtis Samuel and backup rookie defensive tackle DeWayne Carter from playing at Seattle this weekend.

BROWNS: Quarterback Deshaun Watson had surgery Friday to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon, an injury that not only ended his third season with Cleveland, but casts doubt about his future with the team.

The Browns said they expect the 29-year-old Watson to make a full recovery. Typically, injuries of this type require 6 to 9 months of recovery time. Watson, who has not lived up to expectations since being acquired in a 2022 trade and signing a fully guaranteed, $230 million contract, got hurt in last Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati. Watson planted his right leg on a draw play when his tendon snapped.

COWBOYS: Star pass rusher Micah Parsons will miss another game for Dallas with a high ankle sprain, and the season debut for All-Pro cornerback DaRon Bland will have to wait at least one more week.

Parsons and Bland were ruled out Friday for the game at San Francisco on Sunday night.

CHIEFS: Coach Andy Reid said Friday that newly acquired wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins would “probably” play in Sunday’s game in Las Vegas, just three days after the three-time All-Pro’s trade from the Titans to Kansas City became official.

PANTHERS: Carolina quarterback Bryce Young will be without starting wide receivers Diontae Johnson (ribs) and Adam Thielen (hamstring) when he returns to the starting lineup on Sunday against the Denver Broncos.