NFL overreaction: Patriots face Seahawks in Super Bowl LX
USAT’s Prince Grimes prepares for Super Bowl LX with the Patriots and Seahawks after NFL Championship weekend.
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SEATTLE – Sam Darnold was minutes away from clinching his first Super Bowl appearance as a starter, but he had already squeezed an apology out of me, a momentous accomplishment I’ll get into later.
After a drama-filled 31-27 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game, Darnold’s Seattle Seahawks dominated the rubber this season in an epic and thrilling game against their NFC West rivals. I asked about the personal story from the New York Jets quarterback who infamously confessed on “Monday Night Football” to “seeing ghosts” during a four-interception fiasco against the New England Patriots. Over six years ago, he’s now a two-time Pro Bowler with a much bigger game coming up against the Pats.
“Oh, I almost forgot. Thank you,” Darnold retorted good-naturedly.
Sam, I’m sorry. (And he probably didn’t regret having the best football performance of his life.)
“No, you’re fine,” he smiled, giving my question a moment to think.
“There were a lot of things I didn’t know at the time, so I’m going to continue to learn and grow from this great game. There’s a lot of things I can improve on from today. I feel like I missed some throws that I shouldn’t have missed, and there are a lot of things that I feel like I can improve on offensively. We always want to get better. So that’s the great part about this game – you can win the NFC Championship and win games all season long, but there’s always a way to get better.”
It’s a very Darnold answer for someone who has overcome a lot of adversity in eight NFL seasons. It was cheerful, hopeful, and positive. He also contributed a lot that Sunday night, although all that was missing was a little credit to his teammates.
I couldn’t logically understand why the Jets would let go of a clearly talented and consistently central young guy, a player who was beloved in every locker room. Why draft Zach Wilson in 2021 – I know it resets the clock on QB contracts – when they really could have built something around Darnold, but they probably could have taken Penei Sewell or Ja’Marr Chase or Micah Parsons instead. But that’s not the case, Darnold was traded to the Carolina Panthers in a package that included a second-round pick and nothing else that would make the Jets better. He then had coffee with the San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings, but miraculously the fallout from his breakout season in 2024 didn’t hold him back. Oops.
The Seahawks were more than happy to involve their eternal castoff, who on Sunday overcame a good Rams defense, gaining 346 yards and three TD passes off his right-hander, never committing a turnover in the signature performance of his career. And that was accomplished through a lingering oblique injury sustained before Seattle’s win over the Niners in the divisional playoff round.
“I’m not a quarterback expert, but No. 14 was a strong quarterback in that game, for sure,” Seahawks coach Mike McDonald said. Darnold said he barely threw the ball in practice in the days leading up to Game 3 between the Hawks and the Rams.
“It will be remembered as one of the best performances in playoff history.”
And it may be so.
On Seattle’s opening drive, Darnold completed a 51-yard run to Rashid Shahid, setting up Kenneth Walker’s 2-yard touchdown run. A 42-yard shot to Darnold’s favorite target, Jackson Smith-Njiba, followed by a 14-yard TD attack to three JSN players, gave Seattle a 17-13 lead at halftime that it would never relinquish.
When the Seahawks had the ball to start the second half and appeared to be stalling, Darnold hit rarely used Jake Bobo for a 17-yard TD on the next play, making the Rams pay for their latest special teams mistake: a punt on a punt. And while Los Angeles didn’t go away, Darnold also connected with former Rams Super Bowl hero Cooper Kupp for another TD late in the period.
“He showed exactly who we always thought he was,” Seahawks defensive lineman Leonard Williams said. He, like Darnold, came from USC and was a teammate with the lowly Jets. “I mean, I think since day one, this whole organization, this whole team, everyone in this locker room believed in him, regardless of the doubts and the ups and downs that we went through throughout the season. One thing that’s always remained true is our faith in our quarterback. He’s a great leader, and I mean, he really saved us today.”
“I’m very happy for him,” Williams continued. “It’s a big time for him to go into a game like this where there are so many doubters.”
And now, as Seattle prepares to take on New England in Super Bowl 60, Darnold is headed for the real big time. For the No. 3 overall pick in the vaunted 2018 QB draft class (Jets), this is a chance to become the first draft pick and hoist the Lombardi Trophy. Not Josh Allen. Not Lamar Jackson. Not Baker Mayfield. Sam Darnold.
When asked how it felt to be the first QB in his group to advance to Super Sunday, Darnold, now playing for his fifth NFL team, was once again in a rare state of energy.
“Actually, I had some success in ’23 when I was in San Francisco, so…” he grins, referring to Darnold’s one-year stay in QB Kyle Shanahan’s halfway house when he was backup to Brock Purdy.
“No, I can’t believe it. Obviously they’re great players. But it’s more about the team and the hard work we’ve put in all season. … We take it day by day, and that’s the beauty of this team and the guys in that locker room, this coaching staff.”
And when it comes to that staff, there’s no one they want more than Darnold, who has energized this group from the moment he signed with Seattle last March to replace Geno Smith.
When I asked about the narrative of the Seahawks being a dominant team, McDonald left little to the imagination. Unless Darnold weakens the Seahawks with costly mistakes, like he did in another 4-INT game in the Week 11 loss to the Rams.
McDonald exclaimed in response to my question.
“You don’t want me to write the story because I don’t write the stories that are out there. I’d be really boring. … His teammates love him. And he’s competitive as shit. And he’s tough. And he’s really talented. And he’s the guy – that’s going to be the story, so don’t make me write the story.”
I’ve got this, Coach. I hope you won’t get bored. And it’s no surprise that two weeks from now, Darnold will have his biggest chance to exorcise that ghost and prove that he really is “the guy.”
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