What Sam Darnold said about his oblique injury after Seahawks trample 49ers

There was a lot of pressure on the No. 1 seed in the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday as they hosted the No. 6-seeded San Francisco 49ers. There might have been more pressure on quarterback Sam Darnold, as his reputation and the narrative surrounding his career had even more pressure.

It didn’t help that Darnold reportedly suffered an oblique injury in his left shoulder on Thursday that made him questionable for the game. There was a legitimate concern that Darnold wouldn’t be able to play, especially after backup quarterback Drew Lock took the first-team reps in the final two practices leading up to Saturday.

Darnold’s oblique injury wasn’t much of a concern as he and the Seahawks crushed the 49ers 41-6. For the second time in three weeks, the Seahawks’ defense and rushing offense dominated the 49ers. San Francisco turned the ball over three times and was held to 236 total yards.

Seattle accounted for 175 yards on 33 carries for an average of 5.3 yards per carry. Running back Kenneth Walker III was the offensive player of the game, rushing for 116 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries.

The Seahawks didn’t need an elite performance from Darnold, but he did enough to get the key first downs and scores needed for the offense to get the momentum rolling. Darnold completed 12-of-17 of his passes for 124 yards, a touchdown, a QBR of 63.3, and a quarterback rating of 110.9.

Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold at the line of scrimmage in the Divisional Round win over the San Francisco 49ers. — Jan 17, 2026; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) calls a play at the line of scrimmage against the San Francisco 49ers during the first half in an NFC Divisional Round game at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

If given the opportunity or if the game needed a more explosive passing game, Darnold could’ve gotten more output. The Seahawks, however, not only preserved his workload, but they did it with domination over their divisional rival.

After the game, Darnold talked about his oblique injury, how he prepared,d and how it really didn’t affect him.

“I felt great.” He went on to talk about when he knew he was going to play with no problem, “I got to throwing here (the locker room), did the routine here, did the same things, did my routine in here, just wanted to throw, Make sure that once I put the pads on and got the first padded warm up, I wanted to be rolling."

"And I didn’t want to waste any time getting warm on the field and coming in and having 40 minutes to get warm again and then go back out. I just wanted to get warm once and then go back out there in the pads.”

Darnold talked about using the big locker room to his advantage of warming up.

“We have a ton of space, I was just throwing back and forth, got warm and was able to go out there in pads and throw.”

The Seahawks have advanced to the NFC Championship game, where they will host Sunday’s Divisional game between the No. 2 Chicago Bears and the No. 5 Los Angeles Rams.

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