So much for the Seattle Seahawks making life easy for the 12s. After dominating much of the game despite some miscues, Seattle needed a cool, calm, and collected quarterback at the controls to pull out the win. Sam Darnold is that guy.
It was far from a perfect game from Darnold, but with this defense, that's not what the Seattle Seahawks need from their quarterback. Although in this instance, it was Darnold who came through in the clutch.
After leading the league in scoring defense through Week 3, you'd be excused for thinking the Seahawks would shut the Cardinals down with both Julian Love and Devon Witherspoon back on the field.
Sam Darnold played a cool hand to guide the Seattle Seahawks to a Week 4 victory against the Cardinals
And they did, at least until the fourth quarter. Jason Myers hit a 31-yard field goal to put the Seahawks up 20-6 with 9:37 to go. Up to that point, the defense had throttled Kyler Murray's offense all night.
Arizona had only managed two field goals and 123 total yards before roaring to life in the fourth. 130 yards and two touchdowns later, Sam Darnold had just 28 seconds to take the lead for good.
To be sure, Seattle didn't need a six-play, 92-yard drive to win. Arizona kindly put their division rival at the 40-yard line to start the drive with a kickoff that landed short of the landing zone. After an incompletion, Darnold connected with Jaxon Smith-Njigba for 22 yards.
JSN had quite an interesting night, so that catch was sweet redemption. A four-yard run by Zach Charbonnet set Myers up for the winning 52-yard field goal as time expired.
Maybe that game-winning drive wasn't the most heroic we've ever seen. One completion and one handoff equaled one more win. But Darnold had been masterful throughout the game. Was he perfect? Not exactly; he was sacked three times and fumbled on one of those hits.
Luckily, tight end Eric Saubert recovered the ball, and the Seahawks eventually put three points on the board to close out the drive.
So no, Sam Darnold wasn't magnificent. But he did prove the doubters wrong. He hit his second and third options when the Cardinals had JSN double-covered. He broke off a 24-yard run to keep a critical drive alive. He was poised and efficient, exactly what the Seahawks need under center.