Darnold’s path to this pinnacle has been told so many times that there shouldn’t be a serious football follower who doesn’t know it by now. He’s gone from being the third overall pick in the 2018 draft to being a bust for the New York Jets, a player who couldn’t hold a job in Carolina and a backup in San Francisco for the 2023 season. Even a tremendous turnaround in Minnesota last season — when Darnold led the Vikings to a 14-3 record after a knee injury ended rookie J.J. McCarthy‘s year in the preseason — concluded with some familiar disappointment. A blowout loss in the season finale, and another in a wild-card loss to the Rams, left many skeptics wondering what the Seahawks acquired when Darnold signed.
Darnold doesn’t have to answer any more questions about his makeup, his meltdowns or whether he has the mentality to lead a team to glorious outcomes. He made a strong enough statement about his game when he led the Seahawks to the NFC West title, the top seed in the playoffs and a win over those same Rams in this year’s NFC Championship Game. Darnold out-dueled Los Angeles quarterback Matthew Stafford, the eventual league MVP, in that last contest. He didn’t need to do nearly as much against the Patriots, as his defense didn’t allow New England to score until the fourth quarter.
Darnold knew he was joining a team with some components that could help him thrive, including that defense, a blossoming star receiver in Jaxon Smith-Njigba and an offensive coordinator in Klint Kubiak who had known him during his one season with the 49ers. Darnold’s secret to success wasn’t that he had to be a savior upon arrival. He only needed to fit in. When asked how he was able to help this team win a championship, he said, “That’s easy — my teammates and my coaches. They believed in me ever since the beginning of OTA’s and training camp. Every single day we came to work.”
Seattle’s win is also noteworthy because Darnold becomes the second quarterback in as many years to hoist a Lombardi Trophy without being considered elite. Philadelphia did the same thing last season when quarterback Jalen Hurts led the Eagles to a blowout win over Kansas City largely because Philadelphia’s defense terrorized Patrick Mahomes in that contest. The Chiefs had a quarterback who had won three championships and two league MVPs; the Eagles had the more complete roster and a signal-caller who also understood what it took to win in high-pressure situations.
There will never be a day when teams won’t covet a quarterback as talented as Mahomes. That doesn’t mean we aren’t moving into a world where it’s realistic to win championships with more cost-effective quarterbacks who can allow general managers like Seattle’s John Schneider to stock the roster with talent. The three-year, $100.5 million deal Darnold signed in March was far from the money most quarterbacks receive from teams looking for a foundational player. What it did was allow the Seahawks to add valuable veterans who contributed to this championship, players like Shaheed, defensive end Demarcus Lawrence and wide receiver Cooper Kupp.