Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald wanted nothing to do with a tie, so he made the gutsiest call he's made all season to go for two instead of one. It just may have saved Sam Darnold's hide, because up until late in the second half, Darnold had no business being the evening's winning quarterback.
Granted, his first interception, picked off by Los Angeles Rams cornerback Josh Wallace, was just as surprising to fans in the stands as it likely was to Darnold. Wallace appeared to have appeared out of thin air at just the right moment, and was gone with a snap of the fingers. It was more of a great interception than a bad decision by Darnold.
Nevertheless, it was another turnover at the hands of the Seahawks' quarterback, and there were more to come. That said, we must give credit when credit is due, and Darnold made up for his costly first-half mistakes by leading the Seahawks' comeback in the second half. Still, it was by no means a great performance from him.
Sam Darnold gets away with mistakes that could have cost the Seahawks
Had Seattle lost this game, that would have all but secured the Rams the top seed in the NFC and their division, leaving the Seahawks as the likely wildcard team, forcing them to open up the playoffs on the road, had they still made it. Now that they have split their two-game series with the Rams and are 12-3, the Seahawks are the No. 1 seed in the NFC West, guaranteeing them a playoff berth.
There are still two games remaining, so it's not over just yet. That being said, the Seahawks could have a serious Darnold problem. He simply does not look like the quarterback that started out the 2025 NFL season. In fact, he hasn't looked the same since the Rams defeated the Seahawks in Week 11.
Darnold's knock going back to last season was that he couldn't win the big games. He's phenomenal in the games on Sunday afternoon that go untelevised, but when it comes to the big ones, the ones that have the nation's eyes glued to the flatscreen, he’s just okay, or not good, and has a track record of coming up short in those games.
Had Seattle dropped this game to the Rams, that narrative would have continued, and the faith that Darnold could go into the playoffs and win a big game would have lacked juice. What does bode well for Darnold is how he finished Thursday night's game. In the end, Darnold threw for 270 yards and two touchdown passes, and the win.
Darnold's two interceptions in the first half were deadly, but he was able to flip the switch when it counted most. The question is: what happens when he can't? Can the Seahawks afford another flip-floppy game from Darnold in the postseason? His history says no.
Luckily for Darnold, he’ll get another shot at playoff redemption to not just flip switches, but flip narratives that followed him from Minnesota to Seattle.