Four Lessons From NFL Conference Championships: Sam Darnold’s Wicked Good Now

It’s fitting that Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold should get to play in the Super Bowl against the team that made him utter the infamous seeing ghosts line in 2019.

Darnold doesn’t need to beat the Patriots in Super Bowl LX to prove the doubters wrong because he’s already done that by getting this far. Winning it all would just be icing on the cake after so many pundits spoke and wrote with conviction about Darnold not being good enough to guide a team to the big game. Darnold flamed out as the Jets’ 2018 No. 3 pick and struggled in two seasons with the Panthers. He had success in his lone season with the Vikings in 2024, but the “seeing ghosts” jokes returned after a disastrous wild-card loss to the Rams.

On Sunday, Darnold carved up the Rams, throwing for 346 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Seahawks to a 31–27 win. He proved Seattle right for signing him despite his late-season collapse in Minnesota.

I’ll admit, I’ve been critical of Darnold in the past, but I’ve already sent my apology letter because it was apparent early this season that he was a difference maker for the Seahawks. Even his new team had reservations with a conservative approach in the first quarter of the season, but once the coaching staff realized he was capable of more, Darnold took off with his strong surroundings in Seattle.

But what the Seahawks have built would not have occurred without the hiring of coach Mike Macdonald in 2024. GM John Schneider could have easily gone with another up-and-coming offensive mind after firing Pete Carroll to keep pace with Rams coach Sean McVay and 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan. Instead, Schneider went the opposite route to counter the offensive minds in the NFC West and made hiring defensive coaches cool again.

It’s not a coincidence that the Ravens (Jesse Minter), Titans (Robert Saleh) and Dolphins (Jeff Hafley) all recently hired head coaches with defensive backgrounds. Tennessee and Baltimore didn’t follow the trend of needing an offensive coach to help their respective quarterbacks, Cam Ward and Lamar Jackson. Miami will likely be searching for another quarterback this offseason, and it still hired a defensive coach. That’s the Macdonald effect, and he’s made all the right moves in the past two years.

Schneider cleared the way to allow Macdonald to build one of the best defenses in the league and gave him the green light to fire Ryan Grubb as offensive coordinator after one season and replace him with Klint Kubiak, who’s now a top head-coaching candidate. Then there were the trades of Geno Smith and DK Metcalf to pave the way for the team to sign Darnold and make Jaxon Smith-Njigba the No. 1 wide receiver.

After Macdonald beat the 49ers and Rams in the playoffs, winning the Super Bowl must feel like icing on the cake for everyone associated with this special group in Seattle.

We learned that the Seahawks were right on many pivotal decisions the past two years. The Rams need to bring back Matthew Stafford and go all in on improving the secondary and special teams.

As for the AFC championship game, we found out that Broncos coach Sean Payton cost his team with a poor fourth-down decision before the snowstorm arrived, which prevented Denver from scoring in the 10–7 loss. Also, the Patriots are going to need improvements from Drake Maye if they’re going to have a chance of hanging with the Seahawks in Santa Clara on Feb. 8. But it’s also time to believe in Mike Vrabel’s Patriots.

Below is everything else we learned from championship Sunday.

Seahawks’ Emmanwori on the fast track to superstar status

Rookie safety Nick Emmanwori should get used to the spotlight he’s about to receive in the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl because he’s on the fast track to superstardom.

The second-round pick out of South Carolina was a problem for the Rams’ receiving duo of Davante Adams and Puka Nacua. He often got in their way whenever the star receivers broke free from the cornerbacks. Late in the first half, Emmanwori flashed his high upside, breaking up passes intended for Nacua and Adams, and leaving enough time on the clock for Darnold to hit his star receiver, Smith-Njigba, for a critical touchdown before halftime.

Emmanwori finished with three passes defensed, five combined tackles, and most importantly, was often stride for stride with McVay’s play designs on the field. The Seahawks nailed this draft pick and quickly unlocked Emmanwori’s vast skill set, which resembles the likes of All-Pros Kyle Hamilton and Derwin James.

Woolen’s disastrous sequence could cost him in free agency

Seahawks cornerback and pending free agent Riq Woolen might have cost himself plenty of money during a brutal sequence late in the third quarter.

First, Woolen made a boneheaded decision to taunt the Rams on their sideline, which led to a 15-yard penalty and bailed out L.A. on a fourth-and-12 play. That was followed by Woolen allowing a 34-yard touchdown pass to Nacua, trimming Seattle’s lead to 31–27 with 2:06 left in the third quarter.

Sequences like that are likely why Macdonald has struggled to get consistency from Woolen the past two years, one of the rare things he hasn’t gotten right since arriving in Seattle. Woolen did play well in the second half of the 2025 season, but he reminded potential suitors about his erratic ways on the field after his rough third quarter.

Also, it’s not a good sign that one of the brightest defensive minds failed to get Woolen to return to his rookie form when he had a league-high six interceptions in 2022. One team will take a chance on Woolen’s enticing skill set, but it wouldn’t be a stretch to say he hurt his value on Sunday.

Broncos’ stagnant rushing attack hurt them at the worst time

Even with starting backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham, the Broncos had several advantages over the Patriots, including a stout offensive line and a raucous home environment in a snowstorm.

But Denver couldn’t take full advantage because it hasn’t had a running game since J.K. Dobbins injured his foot in November. Dobbins returned to practice in the week leading up to the AFC championship game, but the team ultimately decided he wasn’t ready to be activated from the injured reserve list.

The Broncos could have desperately used Dobbins while both offenses stalled in the second half due to the heavy snow. And it didn’t help that Stidham didn’t offer the same mobility as Bo Nix, whose athleticism made up for the rough performances from rookie running back RJ Harvey, the second-round pick who entered Sunday averaging only 3.7 yards per carry.

The Patriots benefited from Rhamondre Stevenson’s physical running style, providing enough balance for Maye to take advantage of the running lanes near the line of scrimmage. Stevenson (25 carries, 71 yards ) and Maye (10 carries, 65 yards) combined for most of the Patriots’ 141 rushing yards. Denver had only 79 rushing yards, with Harvey contributing a team-high 37 yards on 13 carries.

It made some sense before Nix’s injury for the Broncos to show patience with Harvey as the starter, given that they had arguably the best offensive line in the league and home-field advantage throughout the AFC postseason. But in the end, the team hurt itself by not finding a better running back option long before Sunday’s sudden snowstorm.

Patriots need a better plan for Campbell’s growing pains

It’s been a brutal postseason for rookie left tackle Will Campbell, who’s had to face edge rushers Nik Bonitto, Will Anderson Jr. and Khalil Mack in the first three rounds.

It won’t get any easier for Campbell in Super Bowl LX against the Seahawks’ loaded defensive front.

While Campbell will likely develop into a cornerstone player, the Patriots need to consider benching him or adding more help on the left side ahead of the Super Bowl. Campbell doesn’t have the luxury of leaning on veteran help because third-round rookie Jared Wilson is patrolling left guard. Campbell, the No. 4 pick, hasn’t been the same since missing four consecutive games due to a knee injury sustained in Week 12.

With two weeks to prepare, maybe the Patriots should consider moving Campbell to guard and shuffling other line positions. Right guard Mike Onwenu has experience at tackle, and right tackle Morgan Moses can move to the left side to add a veteran presence.

Regardless of what the Patriots decide, they’re going to need a lot more offense than what they produced in the AFC playoffs to hang with the Seahawks. That won’t occur without vast improvements from Campbell.

Seahawks’ Emmanwori on the fast track to superstar status

Woolen’s disastrous sequence could cost him in free agency

Broncos’ stagnant rushing attack hurt them at the worst time

Patriots need a better plan for Campbell’s growing pains

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