The Seattle Seahawks got everything they needed from quarterback Sam Darnold as they cruised to an easy win over the Saints on the road. Despite the 31-point win, a lot of questions remain about this team. But QB1 isn't one of them.
Sam Darnold came close to putting on a clinic in the Seahawks' 44-13 Week 3 blasting of the Saints. No, he wasn't perfect. He had four incompletions on the day. What a slacker, right? 14 for 18 is nice, but that could have been a good half for Russell Wilson when he was dialed in. And Darnold only threw for two touchdowns. None of those are exactly record-setting numbers.
But Klint Kubiak doesn't need a quarterback who cooks by making a spectacular play on one series, only to make a brain-dead play the next. He needs a QB who makes the right play time after time. In short, he needs an executive chef who ensures that everyone is following the recipe to the letter, every time. I don't know about you, 12s, but all of a sudden, I'm hungry.
Seattle Seahawks' Sam Darnold can cook Kilnt Kubiak's recipe to perfection
On his first pass of the game, Darnold ducked under a sack and connected with Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a 29-yard gain. Alright, I'll admit that it was a pretty spectacular play. A few plays later, an unnecessary roughness call on the Saints put the ball on the New Orleans 12-yard line. He launched another strike to JSN, and this one put the Seahawks up 7-0.
Tory Horton quieted the New Orleans faithful with his electrifying 95-yard punt return, pushing Seattle's lead to 14-0. Another great special teams play, a blocked punt by D'Anthony Bell, and Darnold was back on the job. An eight-yard toss to Cooper Kupp set up Kenneth Walker for his first score of the game. Seattle was up 21-0 and never looked back.
The special teams struck again after the Saints managed to connect on a field goal. Dareke Young didn't quite outdo his buddy Tory Horton, but a 60-yard kickoff return is always welcome. After a short George Holani run, Darnold found AJ Barner for 23 yards, then found Horton in the end zone for his second touchdown pass of the day.
Darnold was far from finished. After another Saints punt, he hit Smith-Njigba with a 45-yard bomb to put the Seahawks in scoring position again. Three plays later, K9 took the ball into the endzone again, and Seattle had an insurmountable 35-3 lead. Well, insurmountable as long as you're not the Falcons.
The salient point here is that Sam Darnold had then completed seven of eight passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns. He connected on his next three passes on a drive that stalled, resulting in a 56-yard field goal by Jason Myers.
Darnold finished the first half 10-11 for 169 yards and those two touchdown passes. Yes, he did throw one incompletion, but it was wiped out by that unnecessary roughness call.
So was it a perfect day? Not at all. Darnold was a pedestrian 4-7 for 49 yards in the third quarter. Drew Lock came on in the final stanza to administer the mercy rule. The Seahawks only managed a pair of field goals in the second half, both led by Darnold. By that point, the entire team was picturing their in-flight meal for the trip home.
Was it a perfect game? No, but it sure was close. I'm quite sure that Mike Macdonald, Klint Kubiak, QB coach Andrew Janocko, and the 12s will welcome more of the same.