Super Bowl LX Preview: A Shot at Redemption for Sam Darnold and the Seahawks

“I’m seeing ghosts.” 

It’s 2019, and Sam Darnold is having an awful day. The captain and quarterback of the New York Jets just can’t get out of his own way against the Tom Brady-led Patriots. Though it’s only the second quarter, Darnold has turned the ball over three times, and the Jets are getting steamrolled 24-0. 

Talking to himself on the bench, Darnold makes a bad day worse. Somehow forgetting that he was mic’d up for a nationally broadcast football game, Darnold lets an ill-considered comment slip — announcing to the ESPN broadcast that he was, in fact, seeing ghosts (not exactly what Jets fans wanted to hear from their former first-round pick). 

The Jets limped to a 33-0 bludgeoning, with Darnold throwing for a measly 86 yards while turning the ball over five times, but that wasn’t the headline. No, the headline was that Sam Darnold wouldn’t cut it in the NFL: He was too slow in the pocket, too turnover-prone, and he forced passes into tight windows, but the real issue was that he lacked the character NFL quarterbacks need. A quarterback who appears skittish, scared, who looks lost, even, is dead upon arrival in the NFL. And on that day, Darnold was all of those things. 

That was 2019, the nadir of Darnold’s career. If you had claimed then that Darnold would later lead a team to the Super Bowl, you would have been laughed out of the room. Perhaps someone would have asked exactly which “Sam Darnold” you were talking about. But now, remarkably, Darnold has done just that. Four teams, seven seasons, and a career resurgence later, Darnold and the Seahawks are seeking to bring Seattle its second-ever title when they face off against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8.

Sam Darnold only made it to Seattle because Mike Macdonald didn’t get complacent. Mike Macdonald took over in Seattle last season, his first-ever NFL head-coaching job. Steering the Seahawks to a 10-7 record in his first season, he just missed the playoffs. Seattle’s defense was formidable, its special teams good, but it lacked offensive firepower, which kept them from reaching the next level. As such, a decision was made in the offseason: Seattle was going to shake it up. 

Gone were franchise stalwarts DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. In their lieu, Seattle brought in Cooper Kupp and gave Jaxon Smith-Njigba the keys to the receiver room. Macdonald shuffled around the offensive line, which had been one of the league’s worst in 2024, and doubled down on his tandem running back approach. Perhaps most boldly, though, Seattle traded away quarterback Geno Smith. Never mind that Smith had just played the best season of his career, or that he was something of a fan favorite. His ceiling was not high enough for where Seattle wanted to go. But who was Seattle going to bring in?

Last season in Minnesota, Darnold had just finished a 14-3 season with the Vikings. Despite their great regular season record, Minnesota got blown out in the postseason and concluded that Darnold wasn’t the future, so they parted ways with him after the season. That’s when Macdonald gave Darnold the call.

Now, don’t get me wrong, Seattle’s success is partially a result of its improved rushing attack, good special teams, and elite defense. The Seahawks have the best scoring defense in the league and a pass rush that consistently generates pressure without forcing defensive coordinator Aden Durde to blitz, allowing the Seahawks to sit back in coverage and punish opposing offenses — a style reminiscent of the “Legion of Boom” days. Beyond just stifling opposing offenses, the defense, with the help of an elite special teams unit, consistently gifts Seattle’s offense short fields and easy scoring opportunities. They have helped.

So too has the development of Kyle Walker, Zach Charbonnet, the offensive line, and the Seahawks running game. Maturing over the season, the ground game picked up the slack in the final weeks of the regular season as the passing game floundered. Kyle Walker rushed for over 1,000 yards, and, in the Divisional Round against the San Francisco 49ers, the run game ran rampant over an injured Niners defense. A complementary offense is a better offense.

But Sam Darnold is essential. That has never been clearer than this year in the NFC Championship game against the Los Angeles Rams. After running back Zach Charbonnet tore his ACL the week prior, the Seahawks mustered only 75 rushing yards. Their defense, a strength all year, also surrendered 479 yards. But with a trip to the championship on the line, Darnold turned in a career-defining performance. Twenty-five completions. Three hundred forty-six yards. Three touchdowns. The win. 

Did the former draft pick bust, a career backup, the guy who didn’t pan out for the Jets or the Carolina Panthers, carry his team to the Super Bowl? Yes. His veteran leadership, arm-strength, and resiliency all grounded this Seahawks team, but never will more be asked of him than in next Sunday’s matchup. 

The Patriots are the ultimate foil in this story. It was a Pats defense that broke Darnold in 2019. It was the Patriots who beat the Seahawks the last time they played for a championship in 2014 (could have just handed the ball off). And it's the Patriots who await Darnold and the Seahawks in Super Bowl LX. 

The Patriots have a great offense — young, but excellent. Seattle’s defense will have its hands full stopping them. The Patriots also have a phenomenal defense —  one of the few in the NFL that matches up to Seattle’s. 

Can Sam Darnold weather the storm? Can he take advantage of the opportunities Seattle’s defense, skills players, special teams, and coaching staff will give him? He certainly won’t be seeing ghosts again — he’s no longer that player — but he also hasn’t proven he’s a Super Bowl winner yet either. 

Yet…