Seahawks' Sam Darnold Talks Beating Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson in Super Bowl Race

With the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks and the rest of the league watched the New York Jets take quarterback Sam Darnold out of USC.

In the first few years of his career, critics blasted the Jets for taking Darnold over future MVP winners Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, who were both first-round picks taken by the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens. While Allen and Jackson have had great starts to their respective careers, Darnold is the first one to lead a team to the Super Bowl.

"It's unbelievable, man. Just obviously those are great players, but just it's more so the team just the heart work we put in throughout this season. OTAs, training camp," Darnold said of being the first in his draft class to head to a Super Bowl. "I talk about it a lot and I know every team works really hard in that offseason when we're just working together, but to be able to go against that defense every single day, you know, that got us better as an offense.

"I know they could say the same thing about us. So, yeah, we take it day by day and that's the beauty about this team and these guys in this locker room, this coaching staff, is we're going celebrate tonight. We're going to celebrate tomorrow in the meeting and move on and everyone is going to look to see how they can get better for this game coming up in a couple weeks."

New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold talks to the media as the players clean their lockers. | Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Sam Darnold Could Make History With Seahawks

The trip to the Super Bowl signifies Darnold's turnaround from the start of his career. He may not have gotten off to the greatest of starts with the Jets, but it is clear now that the coaching staff did not put him in the right position to win. Since then, the Minnesota Vikings and Seahawks have figured out how to put Darnold in a successful offense and Seattle is proving that it could possibly win a Super Bowl.

Darnold has grown a lot since his Jets days and being one of the league's top backups for a few years definitely helped shape his career, but regardless of what happened before, the Seahawks have him and they need him to play his best football against the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.

Kickoff between Seahawks and Patriots is scheduled for Sunday, Feb 7 at 3:30 p.m. PT inside Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara. Fans can watch the game on NBC or stream it on Peacock.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold looks on before the NFC Championship Game against the Los Angeles Rams. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Sam Darnold Could Make History With Seahawks

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