This week, the Seattle Seahawks, led by Sam Darnold, will take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, led by Baker Mayfield. There’s a lot to like about this matchup, from the classic uniforms that will be worn to the trajectory of two promising NFC squads.
But with Darnold and Mayfield, it goes so much deeper.
Both quarterbacks were drafted in the top five of the 2018 NFL Draft, and both franchises that chose them have since reverted to their mediocre carousel of quarterbacks behind center after pushing them out to Carolina in 2021 and 2022. Now, they’ll face off for the first time since they were on the same roster.
Seattle Seahawks versus the Buccaneers clash showcases two QBs that the NFL nearly gave up on
Both quarterbacks have reversed the narratives on their careers. Mayfield has seemingly been one step ahead in that effort, taking over for Darnold in Carolina in 2022, setting the record straight with the Rams later that year, and then latching on with the Bucs. Darnold set his record straight last year in Minnesota and is now making his case to stick in Seattle.
Mayfield’s upper hand naturally began when he was taken first overall, two picks ahead of Darnold in the 2018 NFL Draft. It continued when Mayfield made his NFL debut by orchestrating a Thursday night comeback against Darnold’s Jets.
They met again in 2020, and Darnold picked up the win, just the second of the season for the Jets that year, and his last with the franchise.
Since both quarterbacks left Carolina, they’ve been a part of a growing and promising trend in the NFL. They, as well as Geno Smith and Daniel Jones, it would appear, have proven that too many teams give up on their young quarterbacks too quickly.
Mayfield and Darnold are the shining lights of the trend. Darnold is 17-4 with 42 touchdowns to 15 interceptions since leaving Carolina. Likewise, Mayfield is 23-19 with 81 touchdowns to 29 interceptions, and he’s yet to lose to the Panthers, who he now gets to face twice per season.
Sunday’s matchup between the well-traveled quarterbacks is the rubber match of what should have been a long-standing intra-division rivalry between once long-suffering franchises in Cleveland and New York. But those teams are still struggling. So is Carolina.
But the Seahawks and Buccaneers, even in an early-season matchup, are already playing for potential playoff positioning.
A head-to-head win for either team this week could be just the boost they need to host a playoff game or draw a more favorable seed on the road once the regular season comes to a close. And it’s largely thanks to the efforts of these two quarterbacks who were chewed up and spit out by a league that didn’t seem to want them just a few years ago.