Grading Seattle Seahawks QB Sam Darnold for the 2025 NFL season

The 2025 season is officially over for the Seattle Seahawks, who won the NFC West and secured the top seed in the NFC in last night's supremely-satisfying win over the San Francisco 49ers.

As it has been all year, Seattle's lethal defense was the headliner, holding a red-hot Niners offense to just three points and 173 total yards. The Seahawks also got another strong performance from their run game, with both Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet filling up the highlight reel with several high-impact plays.

In the middle of it all, they got a clean performance from starting quarterback Sam Darnold, who managed to avoid committing any turnovers and was very accurate with the ball all night.

Thus ends Darnold's first regular season in a Seahawks uniform, one that began with a ton of doubt, but ends on a high note. What grade does Darnold deserve for the season? Let's break it down into two different semesters.

Sam Darnold Weeks 1-9

After a shaky start to the season Darnold settled in around Week 3 and started putting up some impressive numbers. By Week 5 he was indisputably on fire, peaking with a brilliant performance in a shootout with Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers.

All together, Darnold posted 16 touchdown passes to go with five interceptions, leading the Seahawks to a 6-2 record in the first half of the season. Darnold wasn't quite perfect, but he did more than enough to earn himself an "A" grade for this part of the schedule.

Sam Darnold Weeks 10-18

After the blowout over Washington on Sunday Night Football, the schedule got more difficult, and with it Darnold's production took a downward turn. All together he threw nine touchdown passes with nine interceptions, while the Seahawks posted an 8-1 record.

While he wasn't terrible every week, Seattle's defense has to get the lion's share of the credit for those wins. We think Darnold deserves a "C+" grade for the second half of the season.

Sam Darnold final grade

All together, Darnold wound up posting a 14-3 record, making him just the second quarterback in NFL history to do so along with Tom Brady. He finished the year with 4,048 passing yards, a 67.7% completion rate, 25 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, a 99.1 passer rating and a 56.9 QBR.

Darnold's turnovers are an ongoing issue to monitor, but this body of work is good enough to earn him a solid "B+" grade for the entire season.

Looking ahead, Darnold does not have much playoff experience to speak of - and what little there is doesn't inspire a ton of confidence. However, what matters much more is how Darnold is performing right now - and his game last night does offer legitimate hope. Darnold was highly accurate and made good decisions throughout the game, making only one turnover-worthy throw out of 26 attempts.

Given the way Seattle's defense is playing - to say nothing of a resurgent run game - right now that's all this team really needs from him. The Seahawks can go all the way to the Super Bowl and win. All they need is for Darnold to not fall out of the boat.

Jan 3, 2026; Santa Clara, California, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) drops back to pass against the San Francisco 49ers during the first half at Levi's Stadium. | Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

Sam Darnold Weeks 1-9

Sam Darnold Weeks 10-18

Sam Darnold final grade

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