Sam Darnold has been a bit of an NFL nomad. He is on his fourth team in four years, and in his first with the Seattle Seahawks. He's been excellent in the past two seasons, one with the Minnesota Vikings and one with Seattle, and he might be reaching the pinnacle of the league at the perfect time for him.
If not physically, at least mentally, and how to approach the game. Physically, Sam Darnold can throw the ball nearly as well as anyone. His arm talent has never been in question. The problem might have been in his decision-making at the biggest moments of the season. He hasn't succeeded until 2025.
That implies he wasn't yet ready to lead a team to the Super Bowl. That is meant as no slight to Darnold. The same holds for any quarterback in the NFL, whether that QB is a future Hall of Famer or not. Seattle's QB1 has also been helped by the fact that he has been on some teams with excellent offensive-minded coaches or quarterbacks who see the game clearly.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold confesses to owing a lot to 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy
That happened in 2023 when Sam Darnold was a backup with the San Francisco 49ers. Darnold wasn't the starter, but head coach Kyle Shanahan is brilliant at what he does. That season, the 49ers made it to the Super Bowl, where they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs.
The issue wasn't 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, but more about Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. He made great plays near the end of the game that set his team up for victory. Purdy played well and was well-prepared for the game. Darnold admittedly learned a lot from the 49ers' QB as he approached the game and admitted to as much heading into Super Bowl LX.
"I think the biggest thing is," Darnold told the media, "just trying to keep the routine the same, and that was something that I was able to ask Brock a little bit about during the process of kind of, 'Are you feeling it? Are you a little tired?' And he said, 'No, I just take it one step at a time and do the whole media and all my obligations and everything I need to do, but continue to keep the routine the same.'"
The key isn't just how well the Seattle Seahawks will match up against the New England Patriots, of course, but in how each player on each team handles the media throng and circus that happens before the game. Keeping even-keel is important both before the game and during it.
Even though Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers lost to the Kansas City Chiefs a few seasons ago, Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold learned a lot from Purdy. That knowledge might translate into a Seattle victory against the Patriots in Super Bowl LX.