All eyes had been on Sam Darnold even earlier than he popped up on the harm report Thursday with an indirect difficulty that he suffered throughout follow.
Darnold eased issues that he would possibly miss Saturday evening’s Divisional Spherical playoff recreation in opposition to the San Francisco 49ers, describing the probabilities as “closer to zero,” despite the fact that backup Drew Lock took some first-team follow reps.
But the eye on the Seattle Seahawks’ quarterback stays.
That’s as a result of Darnold, 28, seeks his first-ever playoff victory — and his capacity to rise to the event is the largest query nonetheless going through the top-seeded Seahawks.
“It’s an important game,” Darnold stated. “We don’t get it twisted at all. We understand the implications of the game and the playoffs.”
Now in his eighth NFL season, Darnold is far improved because the Jets drafted him No. 3 general again in 2018 and all however anointed him the franchise savior.
Darnold fizzled over three years with the Jets, going simply 13-25 earlier than they traded him to the Carolina Panthers and drafted his alternative, Zach Wilson, in 2021.
Two years in Carolina and one other as a backup in San Francisco adopted earlier than Darnold broke out final season with the Minnesota Vikings, going 14-3 with a career-high 35 landing passes.
However Darnold struggled within the Vikings’ two largest video games — a Week 18 loss to the Detroit Lions with the division on the road, adopted by a 27-9 drubbing by the Los Angeles Rams in his playoff debut.
Darnold was sacked 9 instances, threw an interception and misplaced a fumble that the Rams returned for a landing in that lopsided loss.
“For me, it’s just continuing to treat it as another week,” Darnold stated this week when requested what he discovered from final yr’s postseason expertise.
“Just like I did last year, but just having that same mindset and letting the guys know, maybe, it’s just another game. Obviously, you prepare the same way, but when we get out there, we know Lumen [Field is] gonna be rocking.”
Minnesota moved ahead with J.J. McCarthy at quarterback, whereas Darnold signed a three-year, $100.5 million contract with the Seahawks within the offseason.
Darnold then led Seattle to a 14-3 document and the NFC West crown. Over the previous two common seasons, Darnold is 28-6 as a starter, totaled 60 landing passes in opposition to 26 interceptions, and earned a Professional Bowl choice each years.
This season, Darnold led a Seahawks unit that completed eighth in whole offense (351.4 yards per recreation) and third in scoring (28.4 factors per recreation).
He helped unlock third-year vast receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who led the NFL with 1,793 receiving yards.
And he proved to be the lacking piece on a Seattle staff that boasts the NFL’s stingiest protection, permitting a league-low 17.2 factors per recreation within the common season.
However long-awaited playoff success would additional validate Darnold as one of many NFL’s prime QBs.
And the stress is on, contemplating Seattle enters as a 7.5-point favourite.
The injury-plagued Niners are compromised with out the likes of George Kittle, Nick Bosa, Fred Warner and others, however they continue to be harmful behind the new play of Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey.
San Francisco already pulled off a street upset within the Wild Card spherical, eliminating the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles, 23-19.
“It’s the playoffs, but this is Week 19. This is the 19th week of the season for us,” Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald stated, preaching the same mantra as Darnold.
“That’s what I expect our team to be thinking about: What can we accomplish right now within our power to get ready for our Week 19 game? You start making it bigger and you start including all the other stuff out there, that takes you away from how we want to play and how we want to operate.”
That begins with Darnold, who took a step in the proper path with a clear efficiency in Seattle’s 13-3 win over the 49ers within the regular-season finale. That victory clinched the division, the NFC’s prime seed and a first-round bye for the Seahawks, whereas the 49ers (12-5) settled in as a Wild Card staff.
Darnold stated the high-stakes Week 18 conflict felt like a playoff recreation. However the actual factor begins Saturday.
“It’s awesome,” Darnold stated, “to be playing in games like this.”
