Brock & Salk: Darnold’s performance should quiet doubters

Even after racking up a combined 28 regular-season wins and back-to-back Pro Bowl campaigns over the past two seasons, the questions continued to linger over Sam Darnold’s ability to succeed on the big stage.

The Seattle Seahawks quarterback’s performance in Sunday night’s NFC Championship should go a long way to silencing those doubts.

Bobo’s TD indicative of season-long trend for Seahawks

With Seattle’s top-ranked scoring defense struggling at times to slow down NFL MVP favorite Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams, Darnold rose to the occasion and led the Seahawks to a 31-27 win that punched their ticket to the Super Bowl. Darnold made a slew of big-time throws and finished 25 of 36 for 346 yards and three touchdowns – and most importantly, he did so without committing a turnover.

“We said last week, is this going to be the game where the team needs Sam to be the guy? Do they need to win on the arm of Sam Darnold?” Mike Salk said on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk. “And they did. They needed him to throw for 346 yards. They needed him to not turn the ball over. They needed him to do all of that to step up in a huge game.

“And, at least for me, this should end any conversation, any doubt, any question mark. This should end any of the trust issues. This should make everyone a believer. That was an incredible performance. … I’m done with the questions. Sam has proven everything he needs. What an incredible game.”

Excelling under pressure

Most notably, all three of Darnold’s touchdown passes came under pressure, according to Next Gen Stats. That makes him the first quarterback with three TD passes under pressure in a playoff game since the Next Gen Stats era began in 2016, per NFL senior researcher Tony Holzman-Escareno.

In the final minute of the first half, Darnold hung in the pocket and delivered a 14-yard TD pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba while taking a hit from two-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Jared Verse.

Guess who?! JSN.

LARvsSEA on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/n5xJggtR4n

— NFL (@NFL) January 26, 2026

Early in the third quarter, Darnold fired a 17-yard TD strike to Jake Bobo while taking a hit from nose tackle Kobie Turner.

Did someone order a Jake Bobo touchdown?

LARvsSEA on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/kQXCvLVIty

— NFL (@NFL) January 26, 2026

And later in the third, with the Rams’ pass rush closing in on a pivotal third-and-3, Darnold found Cooper Kupp for a 13-yard TD pass that proved to be the difference in the game.

“(Sunday) night, he was at his best,” former NFL quarterback Brock Huard said of Darnold. “And I don’t think they win that game if he’s not at his best.”

Listen to the full Brock and Salk conversation at this link or in the audio player near the middle of this story. Tune into Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• Seahawks Injury Updates: The latest on Thomas, Ouzts and more
• Walker ‘set a tone’ for Seattle Seahawks’ NFC Championship win
• Report details Seahawks WR Cooper Kupp’s turmoil with Rams
• Seattle Seahawks had a brilliant way to get JSN open in NFC title win
• Seattle Seahawks’ Emmanwori ‘stood out all game’ in NFC Championship

Related

Matt Hasselbeck part of latest CTE frontier — diagnosing brain disease in the livingEx-Seahawks RB Chris Carson joins Redmond H.S. coaching staffNFC West Check-In: 49ers have several scuffles at joint practice with TitansStacy Rost: 3 ways the Seahawks can still improve in 2026Seahawks on ‘Hard Knocks’: What stood out from episode 2NFC West Check-In: Puka Nucua hurt, Myles Garrett held out of Rams’ joint practice