With the Seattle Seahawks’ victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX, Seahawks QB Sam Darnold has reached the summit of professional football. However, his climb has been anything but smooth. Darnold’s career shows that the combination of perseverance, dedication and the right support can completely warp one’s trajectory.
Darnold was drafted third overall by the New York Jets in 2018. At USC, he went 20–4 as the starting QB and led the Trojans to back-to-back New Year’s Six appearances, including a thrilling 52–49 victory over Penn State in the 2017 Rose Bowl. While he was widely regarded to possess many of the required traits to be a successful QB in the NFL, one of his biggest concerns was ball security.
Darnold was named the Jets’ opening day starter for the 2018 NFL season, becoming the youngest quarterback in the Super Bowl era to start a season opener. His NFL career would come with an explosive start with his first pass attempt resulting in a touchdown... for the other team. Darnold would bounce back and lead the Jets to a 48–17 victory over the Detroit Lions. Overall, however, his rookie year was unspectacular and the Jets ended 4–9 in games he started.
Darnold improved in his second year, throwing for 19 TDs and going 7–6 as a starter. However, turnovers remained a big issue. This season also included a 33–0 loss to the New England Patriots where Darnold completed 11 out of 32 passes for 86 yards, 0 TDs and 4 INTs. Furthermore, he was caught during the game saying that he was ‘seeing ghosts,’ a quote that has been used to scrutinize Darnold after poor performances.
In his third year, Darnold regressed heavily and only won two games. Following the 2020 season, he was traded to the Carolina Panthers for draft picks. Darnold started for the Panthers in 2021 before losing the role to Baker Mayfield. Darnold signed a one-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers and served as the backup to starting QB Brock Purdy for the 2023 season. Although he only spent one year in San Francisco and didn’t play much, Darnold credits 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and starting QB Brock Purdy in helping reshape his play.
In the offseason, Darnold signed a one-year deal with the Minnesota Vikings following the departure of QB Kirk Cousins. Darnold was expected to compete with rookie QB J.J. McCarthy, whom the Vikings selected 10th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, but was thrust into the role following McCarthy’s season-ending injury. Despite low preseason expectations, the Vikings got off to a fast start and won their first five games. They continued winning and set up a showdown with the Detroit Lions on the final week of the regular season for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. In the winner-take-all game, the Vikings faltered, losing 31–9, and Darnold posted very poor numbers. Their season ended the following week when they lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card round. However, he had played well for most of the season, passing for over 4,000 yards along with 35 TDs and 12 INTs, earning him his first Pro Bowl. Ultimately, the Vikings did not offer Darnold a long-term deal and opted to move forward with McCarthy.
Darnold still cashed in on his stellar 2024 season, agreeing to a 3-year, $100 million contract with Seattle. The Seahawks started the season 7–2 primarily due to a strong defensive effort. Darnold also maintained the form he had for much of the prior season. During their next game, Darnold played arguably his worst game (4 INTs) of the season, though Seattle only lost by 2 points to the Rams. After the game, Seahawks (and former Rams) LB Ernest Jones IV staunchly defended Darnold from criticism. The Seahawks won their next four games, which led to a week 16 rematch with the Rams for control of the No. 1 seed. The Seahawks rallied from a 16-point fourth quarter deficit to stun the Rams 38–37 in overtime. After a victory over the 49ers in another week 18 winner-take-all game, the Seahawks secured No. 1 in the NFC. Although their defense and star WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba were the primary drivers of Seattle’s success, Darnold got the job done. However, turnovers remained an issue as he led the league with 20.
The Seahawks’ path to the Super Bowl began with a rematch against the 49ers in the Divisional Round. The Seahawks cruised to a 41–6 victory. Darnold played fine but, given the circumstances, it didn’t really matter how skilled he was.
In the NFC championship game, the Seahawks faced MVP Matthew Stafford and the Rams — the one team that seemed to have cracked the code against the Seahawks’ dominant defense. The Rams once again moved the ball with relative ease, but Darnold’s stellar play (25/36 for 346 yards, 3 TDs and 0 INTs), along with a muffed punt and late game turnover resulted in a 31–27 Seahawks victory.
The Seahawks’ defense returned to form in Super Bowl LX, holding the Patriots to zero points through three quarters and forcing three turnovers, one of which was returned for a touchdown. This secured a 29–13 victory. While Darnold was not a major reason for the victory, he had 0 INTs and avoided multiple sacks that could have resulted in large losses. The lack of turnovers is particularly notable considering Darnold’s woes throughout his career. Moreover, the Seahawks as a team had no turnovers in the playoffs, making them the first Super Bowl champion to achieve that feat.
Was Sam Darnold the biggest reason the Seahawks won the Super Bowl? No, in fact he was likely not second or third either, but he didn’t have to be. He did enough, and overall had a solid season, delivering in the NFC championship game when the team needed him most. This result was unimaginable just two seasons ago where it was speculated that his time as a starter in the league was over. However, regardless of what anyone else thinks of him, he can say something that many top quarterbacks cannot: he is a Super Bowl champion.
