Sam Darnold gets poor grade despite Seahawks impressive win over Panthers

Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report was once again busy handing out grades for performances by quarterbacks around the NFL. The Seattle Seahawks dominated the Carolina Panthers in the second half during a 27-10 victory at Charlotte. Mike Macdonald’s quarterback wasn’t particularly sharp in the 17-point victory, and he was given a D-plus for his play on Sunday.

“Sam Darnold’s performance over the last month can be described as hit or miss.” said Sobleski. “However, he’s made throws and plays when necessary to keep the Seattle Seahawks on track, with the team winning six straight games. Sunday’s performance against the Carolina Panthers was much of the same, though Seattle still won by three scores.”

Sam Darnold's 25.3 QBR Sunday was his second-worst of the year.

“I know it wasn't Sam's best game of all-time and the stats reflect that," Mike Macdonald said, "but there are some big-time third-down throws with pressure in his face."

Like this third-and-4 in the fourth quarter pic.twitter.com/78xEV4XxdH
— Brady Henderson (@BradyHenderson) December 29, 2025

The eight-year pro connected on two-thirds of his 27 attempts, albeit for only 147 yards. There was a 17-yard TD toss to tight end AJ Barner, but also a pick by Panthers’ cornerback Mike Jackson. Darnold was sacked three times, fumbled twice, and lost one of those drops. It was far from a thing of beauty, but a win is a win.

“Seattle doesn’t need Darnold to be a dominant quarterback,” added Sobleski. “The team can lean on an elite defense and a talented duo of running backs in order to grind out games. The postseason is rapidly approaching, though. Seattle has a chance to claim the NFC’s No. 1 overall seed with a Week 18 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. Eventually, Darnold will need to do more than he has as of late.”

As of late has seen the Seahawks’ signal-caller thrown just as many touchdown passes (9) as interceptions in his last eight games. Darnold has also lost four fumbles over that span. In his first eight appearances this season, there were 16 TD tosses and just seven turnovers. All told, Seattle’s field general has turned over the ball a career-high 20 times in 16 games—not an encouraging statistic to say the least.

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