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Brady Henderson
Seattle – even as Sam Darnold was helping Seattle Seahawks After winning a franchise-record 14 games during the regular season on the way to the NFC’s No. 1 seed, questions remained about his big-game ability and whether he could avoid costly mistakes.
Wonder no more.
In the biggest game of his eight-year NFL career, Darnold answered those questions brilliantly, throwing three touchdown passes with zero turnovers to power Seattle. win 31-27 Above Los Angeles Rams Sunday night in the NFC Championship Game at Lumen Field.
Darnold can win the big game — despite playing at less than 100 percent, and even on a night when Seattle’s elite defense didn’t have its best stuff. The quarterback has his team in the biggest game ever, with the Seahawks set to play new England Patriots Super Bowl LX on February 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Seahawks coach Mike McDonald said, “You can’t talk about the game without talking about our quarterback.” “He shut a lot of people up tonight, so I’m really happy for him.”
Darnold was missing his second consecutive game after suffering a left oblique injury during practice on January 15. when the seahawks beat them san francisco 49ers 41–6 in the divisional round two days later, he attempted only 17 passes, but was fouled with about nine minutes remaining and the game nearly over.
The Seahawks needed a lot more from Darnold on Sunday night against the Rams defense that has been his nemesis, and Seattle’s Pro Bowl quarterback delivered. He completed 25 of 36 attempts for 346 yards, playing aggressively without losing the ball. He has gone three consecutive games without a turnover.
Darnold was particularly effective in the deep passing game. According to ESPN Research, he completed seven attempts thrown more than 10 yards from the line of scrimmage, including five Jackson Smith-Njigba For 96 yards and a touchdown. In two regular season meetings with the Rams, he had eight such completions with three interceptions. In those meetings, he had a total of six interceptions and two touchdown passes.
The Rams won the first meeting 21–19 at SoFi Stadium in Week 11. Seattle won 38–37 in overtime at Lumen Field in Week 16. Darnold led the Seahawks to a victory in Round 3 despite limited participation in practice on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday as he continued to manage an injured oblique. Sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Darnold received a pain-relieving injection before the game, as he received last week.
“to come out [and play] The way he played, barely practiced, barely threw the ball, it was really unbelievable,” McDonald said. “I think it should go down as one of the best performances in playoff history. It’s hard to stack it up, but I can’t imagine anyone playing better.”
Darnold, who picked up another $500,000 in incentives with the win, said he was “feeling good” and was not worried about his lack of reps until Sunday.
“I think in the middle of the season, in Week 9 or 10, it would have been a big problem,” he said. “But with all the reps we’ve accumulated throughout the season and during training camp, OTAs, all those things, I wasn’t really worried about timing on certain routes or anything like that.”
Smith-Njigba, who led the league in receiving yards during the regular season, had 10 catches for 153 yards and caught the first of Darnold’s three touchdown passes to give Seattle a 17–13 lead in the second quarter. Darnold also threw a TD pass to the former Rams receiver Cooper Kupp – Los Angeles’ Super Bowl LVI MVP win – and reserve wideout jake bobo.
“I’ve been hanging out with Sam all day,” Smith-Njigba said. “We believe in him. The building believes in him. The city believes in him. It’s amazing to run on the field with him.”
Kenneth Walker III played a big role after Zach CharbonnetSeattle’s new primary back is on the move again after suffering a torn ACL last week. After finishing with three touchdowns in the divisional round, he scored Seattle’s first TD on Sunday and passed for 111 yards on a season-high 23 touches — eight more than his average during the regular season while sharing time with Charbonnet.
“He just worked, that’s all he did,” MacDonald said. “Now, he has an opportunity to really carry the load, and he’s doing a great job. We’ll need him for one more game.”
Earlier this week, the Seahawks’ social media department posted a video with a clip of McDonald asking his players to imagine hosting the NFC Championship Game on a wet and windy day in Seattle, and also explaining how they would “be a team that won’t die, that won’t quit.”
He was prescient about everything except the weather.
The Seahawks trailed 13-10 Sunday in the second quarter before responding with Darnold’s touchdown pass to Smith-Njigba. They were ahead for most of the game despite again struggling to keep their top-ranked scoring defense in check puka nakuaWho caught nine passes for 165 yards and one touchdown, 44 of which came on a first-quarter catch by the Pro Bowl cornerback. devon witherspoon.
Witherspoon missed another big game davante adams. But with the game on the line, Witherspoon’s broken Matthew StaffordThe pass is intended for the tight end terence ferguson On fourth-and-goal from the 4th in the end zone with just under five minutes remaining.
“That’s Devon Witherspoon,” McDonald said. “He’s the same. We didn’t really execute that play well on fourth down, either, but he covered his man forever and refused to let his man catch the ball. He’s the same. He’s like that every day. … Incredibly proud of him.”
The Rams finished with 479 total yards.
Adams beats cornerback rick woolen For a 34-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter that cut the Rams’ deficit to four points. It was part of a disastrous sequence for Seattle’s fourth-year cornerback. He forced Seattle’s defense off the field momentarily by breaking up Stafford’s pass on third down, but was flagged for taunting, giving the Rams 15 yards and a new set of downs. Adams scored on the next play.
“Rick has done a great job for us,” McDonald said. “Yeah, you’re frustrated right now with what’s going on. But he just made an emotional decision. But we have to pick him up. This is no time to be upset at all. You’ve got to go play the next game. I know they’ve played the next game and you’ve got to rebound and come back. Rick came back and played well the rest of the game.”
Darnold was signed after being traded by the Seahawks in March. geno smith till las vegas raidersBecame the first player in NFL history to win at least 14 games in consecutive seasons with different teams. Darnold made his second consecutive Pro Bowl despite leading all players with 20 turnovers during the regular season.
After finishing first in Darnold’s total QBR through the first 10 weeks of the season, he threw four interceptions in the Seahawks’ loss to the Rams in Week 11. After that game, linebacker Ernest Jones IV Fervently defended the quarterback, saying that Darnold was “balling” and should not be defined by a poor performance.
“I stand by everything I said,” Jones said Sunday, holding a victory cigar in his right hand. “Sam’s a baller, like I said. Doubt Sam if you want. Sam will do well every time. That’s what we know, and that’s why I stood over that knife for him, and I would do it all again.”
The Seahawks will play in the Super Bowl for the fourth time in the franchise’s 50-year history. They’ll get a rematch of their loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX malcolm butler caught Russell WilsonThrew a pass at the goal line to end Seattle’s hopes of winning consecutive titles.
Darnold has his own history with the Patriots. while playing for New York Jets In 2019, in his second NFL season, the mic’d up quarterback was heard telling coaches he was “seeing ghosts” during a 33–0 loss to New England on “Monday Night Football.”
“I almost forgot about it, so thanks,” Darnold said with a laugh when the moment came up after Sunday’s game. “No, you’re good. I think there was a lot for me that I didn’t know then, so I’m going to continue to learn and grow in this great game. There’s a lot of things I can do better today. I think I missed some throws that I shouldn’t have missed. There were some things offensively that I think we can do better. So, we’re always trying to get better. I’m always trying to get better. That’s the best thing you can do in this game. Win NFC championships and you win games throughout the season, but there are always ways you can get better.”
As the diminutive Darnold spoke politely about his performance against the Rams, his teammates and coaches were happy to enjoy his stellar performance.
“Everyone wants to make a story about this guy, but he’s been the same guy since he walked in the door,” Macdonald said. “You don’t want me to write stories because I wouldn’t write the narratives that are out there. That would be really boring. It would be like, this guy is the guy and his teammates love him and he’s competitive as fuck and he’s tough and he’s really talented, and he’s a winner. That’s what the story would be.”
