One of the biggest questions heading into the NFL playoffs set to kick off this weekend is Sam Darnold: Can he take the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl, or will he wilt under the pressure in the same fashion he wilted last year with the Minnesota Vikings?
Darnold's track record is a legitimate reason to argue for him falling down. Then again, this season, generally speaking, Darnold has played the best football of his life, and perhaps that's saying something. There's no doubt that the Seahawks are one of, if not the, most complete teams in the league, and that's why — not because of Darnold alone — they should be Super Bowl favourites.
If the room is split on whether Darnold can deliver or not, one former NFL coach — a Super Bowl winning coach, mind you — is venturing over to the side of the room that has full confidence in Darnold, and that's Bruce Arians, who knows a thing or two about what it takes to win big, and with a quarterback who can win big games.
Bruce Arians believes the Seahawks have the right guy in Sam Darnold, claiming the veteran QB has 'figured it out'
The quarterback in question that Arians coached to win the Super Bowl in 2020 is none other than Tom Brady. Now, of course, Darnold is no Brady; in fact, he doesn't even belong in Brady's stratosphere. But Arians has been on the sideline for two Super Bowls won by two quarterbacks who could win big, and won big often, the other being Ben Roethlisberger.
So, if Arians sees big game-winning mettle in Darnold, it's fair to say, maybe we should trust what Arians had to say about Darnold this week when the two-time Coach of the Year appeared on The Pat McAfee Show during their "BS or no BS" segment. Arians was asked if Darnold is the guy to lead the Seahawks to the Super Bowl, and he was plain in his response.
“I think that’s no bs, brother," Arians said. "I think right now, Sam has figured it out and doesn’t have to put the Superman cape on; they got the running game going, showed up last weekend in San Francisco. Just being the facilitator, getting the ball out to the right guys, making some big plays with his legs.
"He and JSN (Jaxon Smith-Njigba), that’s a dangerous combination. They got that running game going, but the defense they’re playing right now and the 12 up there in Seattle, watch out, it’s going to be tough.”
Maybe Darnold has figured it out, despite finishing the season looking more shaky than he's looked in a long time. That said, coming from the Seahawks locker room, there is no shortage of confidence in Darnold as their quarterback during these playoffs.
It's worth noting that no quarterback has more wins over the past two seasons than Darnold (28). That's more than Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, or Jalen Hurts. Darnold is not as great as any of these likely future Hall of Fame names. Still, he's got the wins, and you can't take that away from Darnold.
But the wins are regular-season wins, and while 28 in two seasons is remarkable, they virtually mean nothing in the postseason, and that's where the Seahawks will hope to make their true mark on the league in two weeks.
Is Darnold the guy? In Seattle, right now, he is. One thing is for sure: there is no BS about the Seahawks, especially their defence. All Darnold has to do is command the offense and let the defense do its thing.