Seattle Seahawk star gets another chance at redemption this weekend against 49ers

There’s a scene in the just-released critical darling Marty Supreme where Milton Rockwell, played quite effectively by businessman Kevin O’Leary, tells the titular Marty Mauser that “there are no second chances”. If this statement is true, then nobody has told QB Sam Darnold, because he’s stacking plenty of second chances on top of each other right now.

Less than two weeks ago, Darnold got a second chance to take out the Los Angeles Rams, a month after a brutal four interception game and sluggish last minute drive led to a loss against them. It wasn’t a smooth ride for Darnold, who threw two more interceptions, but he made just enough plays to keep it close, and then found a game winning overtime drive.

It was a comeback win that completely flipped the NFC playoff picture. The Rams were on the verge of basically locking up the NFC West and the top seed in the conference with that win, relegating Seattle to a wild card spot. Instead, Los Angeles is locked into the wild card and two other teams are playing for the division title to wrap up the season.

One good second chance deserves another. And this Saturday evening, Sam Darnold is getting another, and this one goes down multiple layers. On the surface, it’s a rematch against the San Francisco 49ers, who were the opponent that Darnold faced back in Week One, his first game as a Seahawk, which ended in bitter and frustrating defeat.

Darnold passed for a mere 150 yards and Seattle ran for only 84, the offense as a whole running all of 50 total plays and scoring just 13 points. Sam was able to avoid turnovers and sacks until the final offensive play of the game, where both happened at the worst possible moment. Darnold was strip-sacked by Bosa at the nine-yard-line to end the comeback attempt.

Since that loss, Seattle has gone 13-2, but it has lingered as a very impactful moment, since it’s allowed San Francisco to stay within striking distance of the division crown. It also damaged Seattle’s ability to win tiebreakers, since it was a divisional loss. And now, they’re the team that Darnold must beat in the season finale to take the division and the top NFC seed.

Darnold got off on the wrong foot to start the 2025 season courtesy of San Francisco. — Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) looks to make a pass against San Francisco 49ers. | Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

But the element of a second chance runs deeper than just that. You see, Sam Darnold found himself in a remarkably similar situation this time last season. Week Eighteen, playing for the division title and number one seed against a division rival that had beaten him earlier that season. It’s almost eerie that he switched teams just to find himself in the same spot now.

In that season finale about a year ago, Darnold didn’t have it. He completed well under half of his passes, put up 166 yards, led the Vikings to just nine points (six of which came off short fields after interceptions), and went 0-4 in the redzone. It was a disaster, almost certainly Darnold’s worst game of the season, and sent Minnesota to the wild card despite 14 wins.

You know the rest. Darnold and his Vikings were blown out in that wild card game by the Rams, and the aftereffects of the two game sequence were so big it’s likely that it led to Darnold not being retained by Minnesota in the offseason. Had Sam come through in that Lions match, I seriously doubt he’s wearing anything other than a Vikings jersey right now.

So this game is a second chance for Sam from multiple perspectives. He can vanquish the demons of Week One this season and Week Eighteen last season all in one game. Based on what we have seen of the 49ers in the last few weeks, he will probably have to really earn it as well, as San Francisco has seemed unstoppable offensively but vulnerable defensively.

It’s a great opportunity for him, and one that I’m sure he’s thrilled to have. And when you think about it, Sam Darnold’s whole career right now is built on second chances. In fact, depending on how you feel about what the Vikings did last offseason, Sam might currently be on his fifth chance with Seattle. New York, Carolina, San Francisco, Minnesota…it’s been a ride.

Of course, unlike Marty Mauser, Sam Darnold doesn’t have a screenwriter putting this all together. This is an organic second chance, and it will have an organic conclusion, meaning that there’s no guarantee that Darnold makes good on it. Sam will have to hit the field in Santa Clara this weekend and perform at a high level if he wants the Hollywood ending.

And regardless of the outcome, we’ll do this all again in the next couple weeks, when he gets another second chance to prove his playoff chops, a year after the previously mentioned no-show in Los Angeles. And based on how Darnold has cashed in on his previous second chance opportunities, I wouldn’t bet against him to cash in on these.

We know he can come through, but will he? — Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) hugs offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

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