Sam Darnold has officially done it. His rags-to-riches story will be one for the ages once it's all said and done, and if he still had any haters or doubters left before Super Bowl LX, they may not exist after the Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots.
The former No. 3 pick went from infamously "seeing ghosts" and losing his starting spot in one of the worst franchises in professional football to leading a team to its second Super Bowl win in franchise history.
That's why, even at a time when he also deserved plenty of flowers and attention, star wide receiver Cooper Kupp made sure to let everyone know how he felt about Darnold. Following the win, he gushed to the Tacoma News Tribune about his rollercoaster career and journey to stardom.
Cooper Kupp tips his hat to Seattle Seahawks' Sam Darnold after Super Bowl win
“I don’t know there’s a quarterback in NFL history that’s done what he’s done to go through the things that he’s had to go through his first...five years,” Kupp said. “To believe in himself, to overcome everyone told him that he wasn’t that guy anymore, that he couldn’t be a starter, that he couldn’t be a productive quarterback. To just come back to work and just commit to his process, and then to go up there in the biggest moments this year, over and over and over again, and just show up, stand in the pocket to make the tough throws, managing the game. It’s an unbelievable story.”
Kupp played a massive role in the 29-13 win over the New England Patriots. With Jaxon Smith-Njigba struggling and even leaving briefly with a potential concussion, he paced the team with six catches on 12 targets for 61 yards.
He also had 36 yards and one touchdown in the win over the Los Angeles Rams. Even if he wasn't as fast or explosive as he was in his heyday or his regular-season numbers weren't that impressive, he came up huge when it mattered the most for this team.
As for Darnold, he finished the game with 19 completions on 38 attempts for 202 yards and one touchdown. It wasn't necessarily pretty, but he only took one sack and kept the ball out of harm's way against Mike Vrabel's hard-hitting defense.
There was a lot of talk about how Sam Darnold's turnover issues would doom the Seahawks' Super Bowl aspirations. He responded by playing mistake-free football and not giving the ball away even once throughout the course of the postseason.
Darnold has been in the league for eight years now, which is why it feels like he might be closer to the end of his prime than to his beginning. Nevertheless, he's just 28 years old, so he could still ball at a high level for a decade.
He's put in extensive hours to work on his early-career flaws, and he's gotten better with every year and opportunity. The Seahawks found the right guy at a low price, and it's about time he finally gets the respect he's earned. He's a Super Bowl champion, and no one can take that away from him.