Seahawks QB Sam Darnold shows both the worst and the best of himself against Falcons

The Seattle Seahawks' offense was a mess in the first half on the road against the Atlanta Falcons. It was especially a mess with quarterback Sam Darnold, who had a horrible set of situations throwing the ball and staying in the pocket. In the second half, it was a completely different tale as he helped lead the Seahawks to a 37-9 win.

Through most of the first half, Darnold continued his recent habits of falling into the pressure of the Falcons’ defense. The Falcons sent out multiple blitzes to either sack Darnold, force incompletions, or force a pick. Within the first four drives, Darnold completed 5-of-11 for 37 yards and an interception.

Once Darnold and the offensive line composed themselves in the final quick drive of the first half, the Seahawks found some momentum. Darnold was 4-of-4 for 28 yards and had two rushes for 15 yards to help set up a game-tying 48-yard field goal from Jason Myers.

Darnold's bad habits from the previous three games played continued until the last drive of the first half. He was forcing his passes out, he panicked and took some risks rather than make the quick play, and he wasn’t focused on finding the perfect throwing window to open receivers.

Dec 7, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) runs the ball against the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

All that changed in the second half. Darnold was near-perfect in the second half of the game, completing 11-of-15 for 184 yards and three touchdowns. He found great connections to star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Rashid Shaheed, Cooper Kupp, and tight end A.J. Barner.

Darnold finished the game completing 20-of-30 of his passes for 249 yards, three touchdowns, an interception, and a quarterback rating of 111.7. It's the most yards he has thrown in a win since the Seahawks dominated the Washington Commanders 38-14 in Week 9 on Sunday Night Football. The Seahawks relied on him to get drives going when the run game was suppressed significantly.

This was the best performance, at least in the second half, since the 44-22 Week 9 home win over the Arizona Cardinals. Darnold was confident and consistent in his decision-making, which is something the team wanted to see for multiple drives.

The late start and the near-disastrous first half are areas that need to improve, especially when the Seahawks play four consecutive teams with winning records to end the regular season. On the positive side, Darnold rekindled some momentum to get the offense back on track.

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