To say that Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold's career got off to a rocky start would be a massive understatement. He entered the league as the No. 3 pick in a 2018 NFL Draft class that was stacked with potential stars at the most important position in team sports.
Darnold took the reins of the New York Jets, going 4-9 and throwing 15 picks under Todd Bowles' tutelage. Then, things didn't get much better in two years with Adam Gase at the helm, to the point where the Jets gave up on him and shipped him to the Carolina Panthers for a 2021 sixth-round pick and second- and fourth-round picks in 2022.
That's why it's not much of a surprise to see that Darnold's record versus the New England Patriots is far from encouraging. Nevertheless, it's also safe to say that a lot has transpired since their last encounter, and he should be more than ready to flip the script in the Super Bowl.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold has struggled versus the Patriots
As pointed out by Jack Andrade of NFL Network, Darnold has never beaten the Patriots. He's 0-4 against them and has one touchdown pass against nine interceptions. More than that, he's lost all four games by an average margin of 25 points.
Through four games, Darnold has completed just 52.0 percent of his passes for 172.8 passing yards, 0.3 touchdowns, 2.3 interceptions, and a passer rating of 41.2. That being said, he hasn't played them since 2021, when he was still with the Panthers.
This isn't the same Patriots team that kept the AFC East in a chokehold for two decades. Granted, they're still a pretty good team, but Darnold isn't playing for the bottom-feeding Jets or Panthers, either.
Darnold has taken his career back from the ground over the past three years, learning from Kyle Shanahan and Kevin O'Connell before proving that he has what it takes to be a starter -- and a star -- in this league.
The Seahawks are the better team, and they even have an edge at the quarterback position. Darnold just silenced the critics by throwing for 346 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions in the NFC Championship Game, and he should've earned the benefit of the doubt at this point.
Now, he finally has a chance to put those infamous "ghosts" behind him and get back at the team that gave him nightmares in the early days of his career.