Do Rams have the number of Seahawks QB Darnold?

For Sam Darnold, the Seattle Seahawks’ critical Thursday night battle with the Los Angeles Rams offers a chance for redemption.

Breaking down everything at stake in Seahawks-Rams showdown

The past two matchups between the eighth-year quarterback and the Rams certainly haven’t gone his way.

When Darnold was a member of the Minnesota Vikings a season ago, he was sacked a whopping nine times and turned the ball over twice during a 27-9 loss to Los Angeles in the wild-card round of the NFC playoffs. It was the second rough performance in a big game in a row for Darnold, though his offensive line shouldered some of the blame, and cast doubt on his remarkable turnaround campaign.

And when Darnold and the Seahawks met the Rams in Los Angeles last month, he threw four costly interceptions in a 21-19 loss that’s been his worst game with Seattle thus far.

Darnold has a chance to erase those bad memories with a winning performance on Thursday that would give the Seahawks sole possession of first place in the NFC West and the inside track on the conference’s top seed.

But it is fair to wonder, do the Rams simply have his number? Rams play-by-play voice J.B. Long thinks only person knows the answer to that question. He shared his thoughts with Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy on Tuesday.

“I remember saying prior to the first matchup that none of the history between Darnold and the Vikings and the Rams matters unless it matters to him, right?” Long said. “Like if it’s echoing around his head, then it matters. But if it doesn’t bother him, then it shouldn’t impact the game. But when you go out and have a four-interception performance, now I think it certainly does look like it matters to him and it’s something that he’s thinking about.

“Whether that’s true or not, only he can say whether that factors into a Thursday night contest. Just a few more sleeps and we’ll know one way or another.”

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Long went on to make the point that perhaps that four-interception game in November gave the Seahawks some doubt about their quarterback.

“If there was a true takeaway from that first matchup, it’s did the Rams cast doubt in the minds of the Seahawks that they can get through January with this quarterback?” Long said. “That, though they’ve built a championship roster – and I think it’s a championship roster – do they have the quarterback who can navigate it to a Lombardi Trophy? … I think Thursday night will be maybe the most important data point in that conversion.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

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