Why Trey Wingo is optimistic about Seahawks QB Sam Darnold

All eyes will undoubtedly be on Seattle Seahawks quarterback during Sunday’s NFC Championship at Lumen Field.

Darnold has been at the center of much of the doubt cast on Seattle’s chance of winning the Super Bowl, and he’ll be facing the Los Angeles Rams team that’s given him trouble dating back to last season.

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It all started in last season’s playoffs when Darnold was sacked nine times by the Rams in a loss when he was with the Minnesota Vikings. He then threw four interceptions in Seattle’s first meeting with Los Angeles in Week 11 of this season, and he threw two more picks in their Week 16 clash.

However, Darnold was able to put the Seahawks in position to win both times he faced the Rams. In Week 11, he led a late 84-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter and then drove Seattle from its own 1-yard line into range for a go-ahead 61-yard field goal try from Jason Myers, which missed and allowed the Rams to hold on. In Week 16, Darnold led a game-tying drive in the fourth quarter and a game-winning drive in overtime, which included hitting a walkoff 2-point-conversion pass.

Host of the “Straight Facts Homie!” podcast and former longtime ESPN show host Trey Wingo took notice of the way Darnold bounced back from his rough starts against the Rams this year, and he believes it’s a reason why there should be optimism about the Seahawks’ quarterback, he told Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy on Wednesday.

“The last time they played he was awesome after a shaky start, and the last time they played before that, he was terrible and then did the thing that I think is the hardest thing to do,” Wingo said. “He was terrible in that game at SoFi (Stadium), yet having played terrible, he still found a way with everything on the line on that last drive to give his team an opportunity to win the game. Now granted, it was a long field-goal attempt, but something that certainly was within Myers’ field-goal range. He made that kick before (Myers has a career long of 61 yards). (Darnold) gave them an opportunity.”

Wingo mentioned two takeaways he had from that first Seahawks-Rams matchup in Week 11. One was the resiliency Darnold showed.

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He compared it to when Russell Wilson threw four interceptions against the Green Bay Packers in the 2014 NFC Championship and bounced back to lead the Seahawks to an overtime when, which included hitting the walkoff 35-yard TD pass to Jermaine Kearse in overtime, and also to when Tom Brady led the New England Patriots back from down 28-3 in the third quarter to a victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI.

“Russell was terrible in that game. He was god-awful until the fake field goal, right? And suddenly he had a chance to win. And down the stretch to tie it in the fourth quarter and to win it in overtime, he was a different player,” Wingo said. “Tom Brady in Super Bowl 51 was awful through three quarters against the Falcons. And then when Dont’a Hightower got that strip-sack fumble with 8 minutes to play down 28 to 12, Tom Brady became Tom Brady again.

“To me, that’s the hardest thing in the world to do, is to be terrible and then course correct in the game. And we’ve seen that from Sam on a couple of occasions against the Rams. I think that has to give you optimism.”

Wingo also came away impressed with the Seahawks as a whole back in Week 11 despite their loss.

“(The Rams) got all those turnovers and they barely held on to win,” Wingo said. “That’s a sign of a really good team. If you lose the turnover battle like that, you should get blown out.”

Listen to the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Tune in 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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