He's never able to win the big games — this is how many critics in the NFL media and within the outside fan arena view Sam Darnold. Granted, Darnold hadn't played in any "big" games until he landed with the Minnesota Vikings last year, so his big game resume isn't lengthy.
Still, last year, he had big games, and he was unable to win the one that mattered most, which eventually landed him with the Seattle Seahawks. Upon his arrival, he was expected to win big games for them; that was the reason GM John Schnider went with Darnold over Geno Smith.
Going into Week 16's rematch with the Los Angeles Rams, Darnold was once again facing the "big game narrative" that has attached itself to the veteran quarterback. Only this time, he was the quarterback standing tallest at the end, and it's why CBS NFL columnist John Breech believes the curse has lifted.
Sam Darnold's epic comeback with the Seahawks killed the narrative, says John Breech
Going into last Thursday night's game, the Seahawks had already dropped their first tilt with the Rams, and Darnold struggled in that game. That game also turned out to be the turning point for the Seahawks' offense for several games afterward.
Darnold and the Seahawks' offense were humming along, running roughshod over opposing defenses. But after losing the Rams, the offense began to look shaky, as did Darnold. Seattle continued to win games, which was good, because the Rams did too. And at the end of the day, a win is a win.
Those wins were simply not looking good, and with Darnold's struggles (and an increase in interceptions and turnovers), many were beginning to wonder if the old Darnold was coming back to life. Can one game completely shift a narrative? Breech, who writes for CBS covering the NFL, believes it can, and in Darnold's case, it did.
"Since the start of last season, Sam Darnold has come up short in almost every big game he's played in," Breech acknowledged, "but you can throw that narrative out the window after this Thursday night win. Yes, he did throw two interceptions, but he made up for that by throwing for 144 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and overtime combined."
After failing to look like he could contend with his Rams counterpart, Matthew Stafford, in the first half of that game, Darnold (with the kickstart help from Rashid Shaheed) played significantly better in the second half, matching Stafford and leading the Seahawks into overtime.
There's no need to recap, as the game is old news now, but the most important thing in that game was that Darnold showed he can stand up to massive adversity and lead a football team to a big win. It wasn't just the win that mattered; it also shook up the NFC standings, including moving Seattle above LA in the NFC West.
Darnold finally won a big game, but there will be more to come, which makes it fair to argue against this "big game narrative." In a few weeks, when the playoffs start, and the Seahawks enter as the top seed in the NFC (provided they hold onto it from here on out), no one will care about last week's Rams game.
All Seahawks fans will care about is winning playoff games — the games that truly matter in the end. Darnold can't care about narratives; he can only care about delivering in the postseason — a postseason in which the Seahawks have every chance of coming out on top and reaching the Super Bowl.