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Numbers suggest Sam Darnold will need late lead to succeed with Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks may not be able to count on the comeback much with their new quarterback under center.
Jon Alfano|
Jun 11, 2025; Renton, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) passes the ball during mini-camp at Virginia Mason Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images
Jun 11, 2025; Renton, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) passes the ball during mini-camp at Virginia Mason Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images | Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

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Seattle Seahawks

Since the Seattle Seahawks signed free agent quarterback Sam Darnold to a $100 million deal back in March, there's been widespread debate as to whether or not they made the right decision.

Darnold's defenders will point to his success last year with the Minnesota Vikings, when he threw for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns with only 12 interceptions to earn a trip to the Pro Bowl. On the other hand, Darnold's detractors will point to the fact that he was a career journeyman before that breakout season, and that he's not in nearly as good of a situation in Seattle compared to Minnesota.

Unfortunately, a new eye-opening stat is a point for the detractors.

Sam Darnold's struggles when trailing on full display

minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold
Jan 13, 2025; Glendale, AZ, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) reacts in the closing seconds of the game against the Los Angeles Rams during an NFC wild card game at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis recently posted every starting quarterback's record over the past five years when their team enters the fourth quarter trailing, mostly to point out Patrick Mahomes' late heroics. In doing so, however, he exposed that Darnold has a paltry 2-19 record in those situations.

Perhaps predictably, both of those comebacks came last season with the Vikings. The first came against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 10, where they trailed 7-6 entering the quarter and won 12-7, and the second came against the Arizona Cardinals on Dec. 1, where they trailed 19-13 entering the quarter and won 23-22. Neither of those were exactly a major comeback.

For comparison, Geno Smith won five games such games over his three seaons as the Seahawks' starter. He still lost more games in that situation than he won, just like every quarterback not named Mahomes, but he at least still won a handful of them.

The obvious takeaway for the Seahawks is that they can't afford to fall behind entering the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, they had a bad habit of starting slow last year and it cost them more often than not. Not for every game, mind you, but definitely enough to be an unfortunate trend.

Of course, entering the fourth quarter while trailing isn't a complete death sentence, but unless Darnold can suddenly pull off comebacks more regularly, it's going to be tough sledding if they don't start fast.

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Jon Alfano
JON ALFANO

Jon is a lead writer for Baltimore Ravens On SI and contributes to other sites around the network as well. The Tampa native previously worked with sites such as ClutchPoints and GiveMeSport and earned his journalism degree at the University of Central Florida.

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