Do Seahawks’ hopes in NFC Championship hinge on Sam Darnold?
There is still doubt being cast upon Seattle Seahawks QB Sam Darnold, but ESPN's Field Yates has a different way of looking at him going into the NFC Championship.
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There is a lot of confidence behind the Seattle Seahawks as they enter the NFC Championship on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams.
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The Seahawks have gained national attention with their suffocating defense and current eight-game winning streak, but it’s that defense that’s getting the majority of the attention. And if there are concerns, they have tended to be sent in the same direction: toward quarterback Sam Darnold.
With Saturday’s NFC Divisional Round victory by the Seahawks over the San Francisco 49ers, Darnold finally won his first playoff game eight years into his NFL career. And he didn’t have to do much, completing just 12 of 17 passes for 124 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions.
Darnold’s output has been a bit modest in his last three games overall, as he hasn’t eclipsed 200 yards passing since the Seahawks and Rams went to overtime in Week 16. And that’s probably why analysts and pundits including ESPN’s Cam Newton, Stephen A. Smith, Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon have all cast doubt this week upon Darnold – and by extension the Seahawks – heading into the NFC Championship.
On First Take, Newton wondered why the edge in the NFC Championship isn’t being given to the Rams considering Darnold has a history of struggling against them, including a total of six interceptions thrown against LA in two games this season. Also on First Take, Smith echoed Newton’s thoughts by saying the Rams have been Darnold’s kryptonite. And on Pardon the Interruption, Kornheiser said more will be asked of Darnold against the Rams while Wilbon said that he has not yet quieted the narrative that he doesn’t perform well in big game.
But how right is all of that? Do the Seahawks’ hopes on Sunday hinge that much on Darnold?
There’s another way to look at the situation, as ESPN NFL analyst Field Yates did Tuesday when he joined Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob and pointed at three star QBs all around Darnold’s age.
“I don’t think anybody would argue against the notion that (Buffalo’s) Josh Allen and (Baltimore’s) Lamar Jackson are two of the five best quarterbacks in the entire NFL. You could probably put (Cincinnati’s) Joe Burrow in that category as well,” Yates said. “Those three have combined for zero Super Bowl wins, because this is the ultimate team game. That is to take nothing away from what those guys are. They still are amongst the very best players on the planet. It’s just a reminder that the formula can be a little bit different for each team.”
And the important thing with Darnold and the Seahawks is that, in Yates’ estimation, they’re a perfect fit for each other.
“Sam I think just has to function within the infrastructure that Seattle has right now because of their defense, because of the special teams contributions they’ve gotten, because they’re playing at home with one of the great home-field advantages in all of professional sports,” Yates said. “Sam to me has been rock solid all season.”
Yates praised Seahawks general manager John Schneider’s decision to trade previous QB Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders and sign Darnold out of free agency last spring.
“(Signing Darnold) has been a masterstroke of a move,” Yates said. “We can go through each team and find their best move, but I’d be hard-pressed to find a better single transaction amongst players only this past offseason than Sam Darnold being signed, while they also added a third-round pick in the Geno Smith trade. It was an excellent gamble by John Schneider and the entire Seahawks franchise.”
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Comments
1 Comments
Lets not get too over confidant about this game, some are already speaking as if it's a forgone conclusion that the Seahawks are going to the super bowl. To me this is the worse case scenario for the hawks having to play the rams again, some have already ignored the fact that the Hawks were losing in the third quarter 30 -14 in the last meeting. It's expected for local media to hype up the game and the teams prospects, one in particular carries the broadcast on radio so there's that. The rams have not been playing very well of late but have now won three in a row despite their poor play . To me this is the super bowl as I do not think the AFC is that good, certainly not as strong as the NFC west, I feel much better about the winner of this game taking it all, I'll give the hawks the edge at home .