Usually, when a team has a quarterback over the middle, they stick with it at all costs, even though deep down they know they can’t go to a Super Bowl with him. Those making the decision often don’t have enough time to make a quarterback change and can’t survive without an immediate significant impact. So they proceed with caution.
The Seattle Seahawks have made two bold moves at quarterback over the past few years. So they’re going to the Super Bowl.
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Credit to Seahawks general manager John Schneider, Seattle’s general manager since 2010, for not being intimidated. Also acknowledged the patience shown by Seattle’s ownership in both high-profile trades. The first trade was to trade Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos in March 2022. Even if Wilson is slowing down and the Seahawks know it, many teams wouldn’t make a trade like this. The Seahawks received two first-round picks, two second-round picks, a fifth-round pick, and a few players back in the deal. Those picks turned into players like tackle Charles Cross and cornerback Devin Witherspoon who were important parts of their fantasy seasons.
Geno Smith was a stopgap. He had a few good seasons, but the Seahawks looked elsewhere. Teams like the Las Vegas Raiders were happy to take a 35-year-old quarterback with a low ceiling, and they traded a third-round pick to Seattle for Smith. Smith’s performance in Las Vegas was terrible, and the Seahawks may have seen this coming. The Seahawks decided to upgrade Sam Darnold after his stellar 2024 season with the Minnesota Vikings, and they were right to sign him to a three-year, $100.5 million contract. Darnold will be the Seahawks’ starter in Super Bowl X.
In addition to the quarterback change, the Seahawks also made big head coaching changes. Pete Carroll had a stellar season in Seattle, but the Seahawks fired him two years ago after consecutive 9-8 seasons. Teams are also often too worried to take this action. But the Seahawks hired Mike Macdonald as Carroll’s replacement, already a star defensive guru who turned the Seahawks into an NFC champion.
Maybe the Seahawks will light the way for other poor teams unwilling to admit their mistakes or see a better path forward. They stick with the status quo because it’s easy, and those who make the decisions think that radical moves will cost them their jobs…and they’re usually right, because the owners of these franchises don’t see a long-term plan. So these teams may not follow the Seahawks model. Although Seattle just proved it can work, and with great results.
Sam Darnold signed with the Seahawks last offseason and led the team to Super Bowl X. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
(Michael Owens via Getty Images)
Here are the winners and losers of the conference championship game:
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Winner
Robert Craft: Most things in football are blamed on the owners. The recent trend of enshrining them in the Pro Football Hall of Fame is odd.
But as Kraft became one of the Hall of Fame owners, his status was elevated considerably.
It’s one thing for Kraft’s team to lead Bill Belichick and Tom Brady to six Super Bowls. Teaming up with Mike Vrabel and Derek Meyer again looks good for the Patriots owner, especially after he made the bold decision to fire Jarrod Mayo after one season because he wasn’t happy with the direction Mayo took the team in one season. He said firing Mayo cost him financially, but he believed Vrabel’s chances were best from a football perspective.
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“I’m a fan first and foremost and I don’t think this is the right situation and that’s my responsibility,” Kraft said on “The Quick Snap” podcast. “Jerrod is a great guy, but I just don’t want to have to go through what happened again. I really believe hiring Mike gives us the opportunity to quickly get the team back to where it was.”
This decision changed the trajectory of the team.
Jaxson Smith-Njiba: Smith-Ngiba is having a great season with the Seattle Seahawks and will likely win the NFL Offensive Player of the Year in less than two weeks. But a Super Bowl appearance will truly establish him as one of the best receivers in the NFL.
JSN will receive a lot of praise in the coming weeks, as he led the NFL with 1,793 receiving yards during the regular season and had 153 yards and a touchdown as the Seahawks won the NFC Championship Game. Smith-Ngiba is a 2023 first-round pick who improved in his second season and then took a huge leap in his third. He’s about to be one of the headliners of Super Bowl X. A wider audience will hear how he earned his reputation as the top receiver in football.
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Josh McDaniels: As head coach, McDaniels had two opportunities to underperform. As a coordinator, he was on the verge of making history.
Steve Spagnuolo earned a record four Super Bowl rings as coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs. McDaniels could tie him if the Patriots win Super Bowl X. He played on six championship teams with the Patriots, three of which he was the offensive coordinator.
McDaniels’ role in Derek Meyer’s meteoric development has been one of the key stories of the NFL season. McDaniels won with Tom Brady, but Brady is widely considered the best quarterback of all time. Doing that with a new quarterback and on the verge of winning his fourth ring as a coordinator before turning 50 would be a huge accomplishment.
loser
Sean Payton: Payton has done a great job getting the Broncos back into contention. It’s even more impressive when you realize that his highest-paid player the past two seasons has been Russell Wilson, who isn’t even on the roster.
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But in an AFC Championship game with no room for error, Payton made a regrettable decision.
Payton’s missed shot on fourth-and-1 in the second quarter will be talked about in Denver for a while. The Broncos could have jumped out to a 10-0 lead, and with the inclement weather in the second half, those points would have been valuable. Payton went all out and when the Patriots had six players on the line, they changed the call from the run to the pass and the game went nowhere. Jarrett Stidham threw an incomplete throw under pressure. The Broncos never scored again.
Maybe Payton will be back in the AFC Championship Game, but there’s no guarantee. If Stidham replaces Bonix in the Super Bowl, his legacy will be even greater. The opportunity had passed and he now had plenty of time to reconsider the decision.
Matthew Stafford: Stafford was outstanding in the NFC Championship Game. He threw for 374 yards against one of the best defenses in the NFL. He did everything he could. The loss was not on him, not even close to it.
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But a Super Bowl win would take Stafford’s career to the next level after a season where he’s likely to win the NFL MVP award. That would give him two Super Bowl appearances and a chance for a second ring. If Stafford continues to play, the Rams should be one of the best teams in the NFL again, but there are no guarantees. Especially Stafford, who will be 38 next season. At this age, quarterbacks can decline quickly, even if Stafford looks to have a few elite seasons left.
The NFC Championship Game was a great game that ended with the Seahawks defense holding a fourth down inside the 10-yard line late in the fourth quarter. The result could be two things. But the Rams fell short, and looking back, this may have been Stafford’s last chance to make it to the Super Bowl.
Tennessee Titans: The Titans know what they have in Mike Vrabel. He won NFL Coach of the Year with them. He consistently pushed his teams to perform beyond their talent level. Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk fired him, siding with a general manager who was no longer in the power struggle.
The Titans won six games in two seasons after firing Vrabel. The Patriots have won 17 games this season, including the playoffs, and are headed to the Super Bowl. Vrabel was considered one of the best coaches in the NFL during his time at Tennessee, and he rose through the ranks in his first season in New England. The Titans hired Robert Saleh as head coach, and it looks like a good choice. But Saleh is unlikely to be as good as Vrabel.
