How much can the Seattle Seahawks truly trust quarterback Sam Darnold? After a couple of brutal interceptions in the second half of Week 16 against the Los Angeles Rams, general manager John Schneider might have been asking how long he wants to keep Darnold around.
The quarterback is signed through 2027, but there have been questions throughout his career about whether he could win important games. After a wretched start against the Rams, very few people probably expected Darnold to be able to elevate his play and get his team back into a position to win.
Darnold seemed incapable of making the money throws when they matter most. He has made passes over the course of the season that prove he can play in the NFL, but not enough in the most important games to show he can lead a team to a championship. That was, until the fourth quarter and overtime of Week 16, when his team appeared lost.
Sam Darnold proves the Seattle Seahawks made the right move trading Geno Smith
No one would have blamed Darnold solely, obviously. The Seahawks' defense was gashed for much of the contest until very late. The quarterback simply hadn't been capable of seemingly keeping the score close.
Many might still have a takeaway that Sam Darnold didn't have a good game. For most of the first three quarters, that is true. When the game mattered most, he was mostly brilliant.
He proved he was the antithesis of former Seahawks QB1 Geno Smith. Smith would wilt in big games, too, and he would somehow get worse late against teams such as the Rams. In Week 9 of last season, for instance, Smith threw multiple red zone interceptions, beating his own team as much as LA defeated the Seahawks.
12s have gotten used to over the last three-plus seasons of watching excellent quarterback play except in the most meaningful games. Darnold changed the narrative. Instead of reverting to his own previous form of throwing bad interceptions against great teams, something Smith was guilty of as well, Darnold played more freely.
He led his team on a touchdown drive in which he completed a 26-yard pass to tight end AJ Barner for a score that, coupled with the 2-point conversion, tied the score at 30. After the Rams scored a touchdown on their drive in overtime, Darnold made a couple of brilliant throws when Seattle got the ball and put his team in position to tie the game.
If there was any doubt as to Sam Darnold's poise late in games, though, it should have disappeared when he completed the pass on the game-winning 2-point conversion, as he stood in the pocket working through his progressions. The Seattle Seahawks won because of how well Darnold played late. Geno Smith would have never been able to do that.