Sam Darnold
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Sam Darnold throws a pass against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Seattle Seahawks made a nine-figure investment in free agent quarterback Sam Darnold with one big hope attached — that he could recreate the out-of-the-blue season in 2024 when he led the Minnesota Vikings to a 14-3 record.
Darnold excelled during the regular season but struggled with decision-making and turnovers at the conclusion, including an early playoff exit at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams. The Seahawks gave Darnold a $100 million contract in faith that he could continue his strong play, which he has — with one notable exception.
Sam Darnold Urged to Correct Mistakes
As Russell Baxter of SI.com noted, Darnold has been mostly sharp in leading the Seahawks to a 1-1 start, but some of the concerns remain. Baxter noted that Darnold has not been particularly accurate and still struggles with his biggest issue of turnovers.
“Still, Darnold’s last four contests—two each with the Vikings and Seahawks—are somewhat concerning,” Baxter wrote. “He’s completed just 59.1 percent of his passes for 856 yards, and just as many TD passes as interceptions (3). Darnold has been sacked 14 times and lost both of his fumbles, one of those returned by the Rams’ defense for a touchdown in Minnesota’s 2024 playoff loss.”
Baxter concluded that Darnold still had room to grow as the Seahawks host the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
“Room for improvement indeed,” Baxter wrote.
The Seahawks do have the momentum of a 31-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, a popular playoff pick in the AFC.
Seahawks Happy With Sam Darnold’s Play
The Seahawks don’t seem to have any issue with Darnold’s play against the Steelers, especially after his command in moving beyond a pair of early mistakes. He started the game with a scoring drive, then recovered from a pair of interceptions by turning it on in the fourth quarter.
After the game, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald shared praise for Darnold’s toughness and ability to bounce back after his interceptions.
“I think Sam’s playing great football right now,” Macdonald said, via the team’s official website. “Tough as nails, unflappable. He had a bad throw on the interception, and Ramsey made a great play as well. But other than that, this guy’s playing decisive—the play he made on third down there on the second drive of the fourth quarter against that linebacker pressure they had, that was just vintage Sam Darnold, just playing off schedule, making a play, finding AJ, then coming back and throwing the explosive to Jax, which was another phenomenal play. So I think he’s playing great football right now.”
Darnold finished the game completing 22-of-33 passes for 295 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He told reporters after the game that he planned to learn from the early mistakes and build on the successes of the second half.
“There were just a couple bad plays (in the first half) on my end that I’m obviously going to clean up, watch the tape and get better from,” Darnold said. “But I felt like (at halftime) there was a lot to go into the second half optimistic about.”