There is a common perception among NFL experts and fans alike that in order to win a Super Bowl, a team, such as the Seattle Seahawks, must have an elite quarterback. In the ten Super Bowls contested between 2015 (Super Bowl XLIX) and 2024 (Super Bowl LVIII), nine were won by teams with a future Hall of Famer under center.
Those QBs include Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Patrick Mahomes and Matthew Stafford. The only exception came in Super Bowl LII, when Nick Foles led the Philadelphia Eagles to the title over Brady’s Patriots.
I suppose there is always an exception that proves the rule.
Seattle Seahawks' Sam Darnold apparently still has a lot to prove
But even the anomalous presence of Foles doesn’t explain the following quirk in Pro Football Focus’ (subscription required) QB rankings heading into the 2026 season. The last two quarterbacks to hoist the Lombardi Trophy – Seattle’s Sam Darnold and Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts – come in at numbers 14 and 15.
There are only 32 teams in the league. That means that, according to the PFF grades, Darnold and Hurts are slightly above-average starting quarterbacks. Is that fair? Do we have to rethink the actual value of the quarterback in ultimate NFL success?
I won’t weigh in on Jalen Hurts. That’s for Eagles supporters to hash out. He is obviously one of the most maligned successful QBs in recent NFL history, and he did struggle in 2025.
As for Darnold, what more do we want the man to do to prove he should be considered amongst the league’s best?
Back-to-back Pro Bowls. Check. Back-to-back 14-win seasons, something that has never been done by a quarterback playing for two different teams. Check. A Super Bowl championship. Check.
Still, sports fans are a stubborn lot, and Darnold’s early failure with inferior clubs will forever brand him as somehow “less.” I mean, consider who is ranked above him by PFF.
No one is going to raise an eyebrow over the first five names – Allen, Burrow, Jackson, Mahomes, Stafford. Despite winning the Super Bowl, nobody is realistically saying they want Darnold over Allen, Burrow, or Jackson – signal callers who have not yet claimed a championship.
These are the eight QBs who come after Matthew Stafford and ahead of Darnold: Jordan Love, Justin Herbert, Dak Prescott, Drake Maye, Brock Purdy, Trevor Lawrence, Jayden Daniels, and Caleb Wilson. Really?
I can make statistics say anything I want them to say. So can you. Depending on what you value, you can make a case that any of these players is, in fact, better than Darnold. But here’s something you cannot say.
In the last two seasons, none has won as many games as a starter. None has even come close. Herbert, with 22 wins, is the nearest to Darnold, who has won 28 times against just six losses.
None has thrown as many touchdowns. None has even come close. Again, Herbert is the runner-up with 49 against Darnold’s 60.
One of my favorite individual QB stats is adjusted net yards per attempt (AY/A). It calculates how many yards a QB generates each time he attempts a pass, adjusted for touchdowns and interceptions. Guess who has the highest out of Darnold and the eight QBs ranked immediately ahead of him over the last two years. Yep – Sam Darnold, who has posted an elite 8.2 number in both 2024 and 2025.
He also boasts the highest average rating over the last two years, just edging out Maye and his phenomenal 2025 season.
Some people want to hold Darnold's poor performance at the end of 2024 against him. That’s fair. But what about Jordan Love’s dismal 2024 playoff performance – three picks and a 41.5 rating? Or Herbert’s even worse 2024 playoffs, followed by another poor showing in 2025.
Last year, Brock Purdy scored a 100.5 rating during the regular season – slightly higher than Darnold’s 99.1. In the playoffs, Purdy’s rating plummeted to 68.3. He threw three picks in two games.
Meanwhile, Sam Darnold – PFF’s 14th-best QB entering the 2026 - increased his excellent 99.1 rating to 102.4 across his three playoff games. Zero picks.
Interceptions are the other major knock against Darnold. I won’t repeat my thoughts on that. I’ve said it enough. The summary is that even though no one wants to throw an interception, they are not all that bad, provided you are generating a lot of scoring along the way.
That’s what Sam Darnold has done for the past two years. Is it a fluke? Well, I might ask the same about Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams. Both of whom have had one good season so far, and neither of whom has achieved what Darnold has.
You can rank the young players however you want. You can do the same with the veterans. I’ll take Darnold over Herbert, Purdy, and Lawrence. Prescott is tougher to grade based on his team’s struggles. Maybe I’ll put Love and Maye ahead of the Seahawks' QB.
All I know is that, based on recent history, Sam Darnold is not the 14th-best starting QB in the league. He’s better than that.
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