Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold has spent eight seasons in the NFL, but only his last two are what most people would consider very good. He had never won a playoff game before this season, but he had only been in one previously. One reason is that many pundits didn't think Darnold could lead his team to the postseason.
Moreover, if Darnold's team was able to overcome what many analysts would assume to be the quarterback's poor playin the biggest moments of a season, the QB would fail once in the playoffs. Former NFL quarterback Cam Newton was one of Darnold's doubters.
Based on how well Sam Darnold has played for the Seahawks in this year's playoffs, though, many of the QB's skeptics should be changing their minds about his potential in important games. Few have admitted to as much, but Cam Newton is definitely one who has.
Seattle Seahawks' Sam Darnold is changing the mind of Cam Newton and many others
On a recent episode of Newton's 4th and 1 podcast, Newton went on an extended apologetic rant (in a very Newton way, and if you know you know), but the sentiment was correct and well-placed. Newton was only speaking his truth and the truth that should belong to many others as well.
The former NFL MVP said, in part, "(Darnold) is playing possessed. That boy drank that Space Jam juice...The greatest revenge is success, (and) a lot of people are eating crow...I'm one of those people that's eating that crow...(Darnold) showed up and showed out."
Of course, if Darnold were to perform badly against the New England Patriots, many pundits will go right back to saying, "I told you so." But at this point, the Seahawks quarterback has earned the right for most to expect him to be good. He has one advantage on the road to redemption that many other quarterbacks in the same kind of situation haven't had.
Darnold's defense in Seattle is great enough to make his job easier. The quarterback can likely relax most of the time because he knows that even if the offense gets bogged down, the defense can still win the game. That obviously helps from a mental approach.
But what shouldn't be mistaken is that in the Seattle Seahawks' biggest game in more than a decade, Sam Darnold was the main reason the team was able to defeat the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship game. The defense struggled, but Darnold was playing arguably the best game of his life. He's a winner, and people like Cam Newton are just beginning to notice.