Seahawks should be wary of Sam Darnold's empty playoff resume

The Seattle Seahawks may be the favorites to win Super Bowl LX, but as the NFL's Wild Card Weekend begins the field appears to be wide open. Mainly, because of a situation at the top rarely seen in NFL history.

Both No. 1 seeds - the Seahawks and Denver Broncos - have starting quarterbacks who have never won a playoff game. As good as they were during the regular season, both the Seahawks' Sam Darnold and Denver's Bo Nix are are seeking their first career postseason win.

It's strange to have such strong teams - they went 28-6 in the regular season - led by quarterbacks with such flimsy playoff pedigrees. It's a testament to the Seahawks' and Broncos' defenses. After enjoying the Bye as the No. 1 seed this weekend, both Darnold and Nix will head into their Divisional Round games with career playoff records of 0-1.

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Sure, both quarterbacks have the talent - and teammates - to lead their teams to the Super Bowl. But until they both take that first step by proving they can perform in the NFL's most pressurized environment, a certain amount of uneasiness will exist.

Darnold has thrown 60 touchdown passes over the last two seasons, but there remain critics who predict the bigger the game the bigger his mistakes. In his only playoff appearance - a year ago with the Minnesota Vikings - he completed 25 of 40 passes, threw an interception and was shockingly sacked nine times. After a 14-3 regular season, the Vikings lost to the Los Angeles Rams, 27-9.

Last season as a rookie, Nix lead the Broncos into the Wild Card at Buffalo. He threw a 42-yard touchdown pass on the game's fifth play to give his team a 7-0 lead over the Bills. But he threw for only 102 yards the rest of the game as Denver lost, 31-7.

With home-field advantage and a week of rest, Darnold and Nix have the best routes to the Super Bowl. But they certainly don't own the field's best resumes.

A look at the playoff records of QBs in the 2025 NFL Playoffs:

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Jalen Hurts, Eagles 6-3

Brock Purdy, 49ers 4-2

Aaron Rodgers, Steelers 11-10

Josh Allen, Bills 7-6

Matthew Stafford, Rams 5-5

C.J. Stroud, Texans 2-2

Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars 1-1

Jordan Love, Packers 1-2

Drake Maye, Patriots 0-0

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