The Seattle Seahawks face the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday Night Football, and their major offseason gamble is already paying off. Seattle made a huge move this offseason to move off of Geno Smith.
Smith was the team's backup for a few years and emerged as a viable starter for a short time, but he was aging into his 30s and clearly not a long-term option for them. The veteran QB has since signed with the Las Vegas Raiders and has thrown four touchdowns against four interceptions this year.
The Seahawks got bold and signed free agent QB Sam Darnold to a $100 million contract, and through three weeks, it's clear that their major offseason gamble is paying off thus far.
Sam Darnold has been great for the Seattle Seahawks through three games
Darnold and the Seahawks have now won two games in a row and will likely make it three in a row with a win over the Cardinals on Thursday Night Football.
Over the past two weeks, Darnold has been sensational for Seattle. He's tossed four touchdowns and has completed 70.6% of his targets, continuing his high efficiency from his 2024 breakout season with the Minnesota Vikings.
He's been sacked just twice and has a stellar 112.6 passer rating. Many have wondered if Darnold would be able to continue the production he had in 2024 with the Vikings, and if you took Darnold's previous two games and averaged them over a 17-game season, he'd be on pace to throw for 4,361 yards and 34 touchdowns.
Well, in 2024, he threw for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns. With the NFC West appearing to be very winnable, Seattle simply needs Sam Darnold to keep doing what he's doing, and that would not only confirm that their offseason gamble paid off, but the Seahawks would end up getting a massive steal with the contract they signed him to a few months ago.