Sam Darnold was awful for three quarters against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 16. The worst part was that Seattle Seahawks would not have been shocked by this. Throughout his career, the quarterback had been unable to win the most important games, and he hadn't change that fact so far in his first season with Seattle.
Maybe Week 16 against the Rams was simply further proof that he was incapable of leading his team to titles. He might still never win a Super Bowl, but one thing is certain after Darnold's performance in the fourth quarter (and, OK...overtime) against LA: Sam Darnold can win big games.
He could have wilted. The quarterback knew he had played badly against the Rams in his two previous games against them. He could have begun to doubt himself. No one would have blamed him for doing so.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold proves his worth in Week 16
He didn't, however. Trailing 30-14, punt returner Rashid Shaheed returned a punt for a touchdown. Seattle made the strangest 2-point conversion ever after the TD. Still, losing 30-22 seemed only like the game would be a loss but a closer one than how it was trending.
Instead, Darnold was able to make some critical throws under duress and get the team back to even. While he couldn't lead the offense to any more points before regulation ended, much of that was because of the Rams' defense and not the play of the quarterback.
In overtime, Los Angeles scored a touchdown to lead 37-30. In previous seasons, the game would have ended with LA's score, but new rules allow both teams to possess the ball at least once. Expecting Darnold to drive his offense for a touchdown seemed iffy, but he made two brilliant throws, one to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and one to Cooper Kupp, to get the Seahawks into the red zone.
On 1st-and-goal from the 4-yard line, Darnold dropped back, worked through his progressions, and hit JSN with a bullet of a pass for a touchdown. Seattle decided to go for two to win the game, and Darnold replicated his poise from the previous play and found tight end Eric Saubert for the conversion.
The many pundits who have doubted Sam Darnold over his career likely doubted he could produce in overtime, but he would have proved them all wrong. Now, he is the quarterback of a 12-3 Seattle Seahawks team that currently holds the top seed in the NFC. A big reason for that is the team's quarterback, and that will continue to be true for at least two more seasons.