Seahawks' Sam Darnold rebounds big-time in new NFL quarterback power rankings

Sam Darnold's latest start for the Seattle Seahawks got off on the wrong foot. In the first half against the Atlanta Falcons, Darnold continued to struggle as he had in his previous three games.

He was out of syn with his receivers, especially Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He wasn't seeing the field well and he was forcing balls into tight windows, one of which got deflected and picked off for his 11th interception of the 2025 season.

However, Rashid Shaheed's electrifying 100-yard kickoff touchdown to start the third quarter brought the rest of the Seahawks to life, including Darnold - who came out a completely different quarterback in the second half. He wound up with a strong line, including three touchdowns and a 64.4 QBR.

For his efforts, Darnold earned a significant jump in CBS Sports' weekly quarterback power rankings. He heads into Week 15 at No. 7, up four spots from last week.

"Sam Darnold used the Atlanta Falcons as much-needed slump buster in Week 14, throwing for 249 yards, three touchdowns and an interception on 20 of 30 passing in a 37-9 victory. His league-leading 15 turnovers are preventing him from being truly considered as a top five QB, but both his expected points added (EPA) per dropback (0.14, eighth-best in the NFL) and passer rating (103.8, fifth-best in the NFL) have him securely inside the top 10."

Darnold also put his legs to good use for the first time this season, totaling 23 rushing yards on three impressive scrambles against the Falcons.

That 64.4 QBR he posted also matches his mark for the season, which ranks 8th-best in the league.

By now the dynamic for Darnold should be apparent. On his best days Darnold is top-two, not-two, and when he's off he's somewhere in the middle of the pack among the league's top-32 starters. That comes out to roughly 7th or 8th-best in the NFL - which is roughly where he's been since joining Minnesota at the start of the 2024 season.

More Seahawks on SI stories