The NFC Championship game will be Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold's most important game ever. It will also be head coach Mike Macdonald's, too, just as it is for many Seattle players. Darnold, Macdonald, and the others have never led their teams this far in the postseason.
Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay has. McVay's teams have lost a Super Bowl (2018) and won one (2021). Current Seattle wide receiver Cooper Kupp was a key part of the Rams offense that year, so he might be relied on as much in the locker room as on the field to help get the Seahawks to the Super Bowl.
While Macdonald might be capable of winning a championship, McVay has. When he speaks about what it takes, both from a player's perspective and a coaching perspective, his words have real value. But recently, when speaking about LA's overtime victory against the Chicago Bears in the Divisional Round, the head coach said the "g" word.
Rams head coach Sean McVay says the one word that has haunted Seattle Seahawks QB Sam Darnold
It has been a word that has haunted Darnold ever since he was with the New York Jets, when his team was getting destroyed by the New England Patriots. The quarterback said something no quarterback should ever say, and it has been a huge part of his narrative ever since.
McVay uttered the word when speaking about his approach to the upcoming Seahawks game. Maybe it was an accident, and maybe it wasn't.
"You want to be careful not to chase ghosts," McVay said. "It is about good execution, good fundamentals. They’re a great team. They’re great in all three phases. We’d like to think when we’re humming, and we’re at our best, we’re pretty good too. You are aware of those things, but you don’t want to do it at the detriment of allowing guys to be able to go execute and play the way they’re capable of. We’ve been in this situation a couple times."
"Ghost." That is what Darnold confessed to seeing in his loss to the Patriots. He might have also seen them against the Rams in Week 11 this season. The quarterback threw four interceptions in a 21-19 loss. It wasn't clear what Darnold thought he was seeing on at least three of the picks.
Maybe Sean McVay believes his team can make Sam Darnold see ghosts any time he wants the quarterback to. Darnold was atrocious in the playoffs last season when he was playing for his former team, the Minnesota Vikings, against LA. He was sacked nine times. In the Seahawks' Week 16 victory over Los Angeles this year, Darnold was bad for the first three quarters of the game.
But he wasn't late in the fourth quarter and in overtime, and that might be enough to change everything. Sam Darnold now knows he has positive playing experience against Sean McVay's Rams. If the QB can play a clean game for the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship game, Mike Macdonald's team will likely be going to the Super Bowl.