When quarterback Sam Darnold threw his second interception in the fourth quarter against the Rams on Thursday night with a 16-point deficit, it looked like he was on the verge of getting the kind of results that have helped define his past two seasons.
Darnold’s return to the starting lineup with the Vikings and Seahawks resulted in a lot of good things and a lot of wins, but it also saw him fail to perform at a high level in the most important moments of the season. Darnold struggled in two straight losses last season, costing the Vikings the division title and knocking them out of the playoffs. Earlier this season, he had four interceptions in Los Angeles’ 21-19 loss to the Rams.
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On Thursday night, however, things took the opposite turn. Darnold went 8-for-12 for 101 yards, two touchdowns and two two-point conversions after his second interception as the Seahawks won 38-37 in overtime and moved into first place in the NFC West with two games left in the regular season.
“I have games like this In the past, I haven’t necessarily been able to play my best football and turn the ball over, but at the end of the game you see yourself on the other side,” Darnold said via the team’s website. “When you have interceptions and turnovers, it’s not good. You want to limit this. But all you can do is fight back. For us, I’m just going to keep working hard and get the ball to the open receiver and make my reads. “
Seahawks head coach Mike McDonald said after the game that “our story has remained the same from Day 1” when it comes to Darnold’s ability, but his previous big-game results left plenty of other questions. Thursday night will eliminate some of them, and an extended postseason will send just about everyone to bed.
