For most of his career, current Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold was, for lack of a better word, a punchline. Some considered him one of the biggest busts in NFL history, and his infamous 'seeing ghosts' press conference was an endless supply of food for trolls.
Instead of giving up, pouting, or playing the blame game, Darnold put his head down and got to work. He was humble and mature enough to embrace a secondary role, lick his wounds, and emerge from the ground to lead the Seahawks to a Super Bowl win.
That, unfortunately, wasn't enough to flip the narrative around. And after another subpar performance in the loss to the Denver Broncos, it's becoming extremely hard to defend him from those who still claim he's not a starting-caliber quarterback for a winning team.
Sam Darnold isn't doing himself (or the Seattle Seahawks) any favors
Darnold's arm talent and physical tools are off the charts. He can make every throw in the book, and he's even much more athletic and elusive than people give him credit for. He's also shown that he can run an offense efficiently and with poise.
Then, when you least expect it (or when the haters most expect it), his old tendencies arise again. He's up to seven interceptions in just four games this season, and at least half of those have been solely on him.
All of the Seahawks' losses have been by one possession, and Darnold has had the rock in his hands with a chance to tie or win in every single one of those games. Instead of making plays or putting his guys in a position to win (except for that rare Jaxon Smith-Njigba drop in Week 5), he's given the ball right back to the defense.
That was okay when he was just a young signal-caller learning the ropes of the game. Now, nine seasons later, how can he struggle so much to read a defense? Why does he keep forcing passes into tight coverage? Why is he still so slow to process and go through his progressions?
Maybe (hopefully), these late-game picks will be the wake-up call he needs to get back on track, just like he did last season after throwing four interceptions in the loss to the Los Angeles Rams. He actually took pretty decent care of the football afterward, and his play was a positive in the playoffs.
Darnold is signed through 2027, and the Seahawks were never going to give him another contract this season; that's just not how they operate. But with the way he's been playing, one can only wonder whether they'll even entertain the thought of giving him another multi-year deal.
Offensive coordinator Brian Fleury deserves some of the blame. Also, the Seahawks have no running game, and the offensive line has been borderline atrocious for more than half of the season. But even with all those issues, the defense has given the team an opportunity to win every single game they've played, and every single time, their quarterback has let them down.
Just when it seemed that Darnold was about to get his flowers, the ghosts started haunting him again.
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