The Seattle Seahawks didn't need their quarterback to do much to dominate the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Divisional Round. That may not be the case on Sunday when they face the Los Angeles Rams for the NFC Championship Game.
The Rams have seemed to have Darnold's number lately. He threw four picks against them earlier in the season, and two more in the rematch. They accounted for nearly half of Darnold's interceptions this season (six of 14). Darnold also lost six fumbles this season, so he was responsible for 20 of the team's 28 giveaways of the campaign, the second-worst number in the league.
Nevertheless, as much as the fans are right to be worried about Darnold's ball-security issues, he's been much better lately. As shown by Seahawks podcaster Brian Nemhauser, the Seahawks have been elite at taking care of the football in the past couple of months.
The Seattle Seahawks have the best turnover differential since Week 11
The Seahawks went from having the second-worst turnover differential (-7) in the league in the first 11 weeks of the season to having the best from that point on (+7). Darnold has been much better in that regard, with just four interceptions in eight games, two of which came against the aforementioned Rams. He also lost a couple of fumbles.
Of course, that turnover differential isn't just on the quarterback. The defense also played a huge part in it by forcing 12 turnovers during that span, including five in the shutout win over the Minnesota Vikings. That being said, the game logs show that Darnold hasn't been nearly as erratic as the narrative states.
The Seahawks have the best defense in the game, and it's not particularly close. They will put pressure on the quarterback, break up passes, dominate at the line of scrimmage, and create turnovers. They also have playmaking pass-catchers and a creative offensive coordinator.
Most signs point to Sam Darnold as the most likely reason this team doesn't make the Super Bowl, primarily because of his turnover woes. He needs to watch the tape from those Rams games and make sure they don't get the best of him again in the NFC Championship game.
Still, this is a team effort at the end of the day, and the Seattle Seahawks have more than enough resources on both sides of the field to make life much easier for their quarterback.