Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald makes a great point about Sam Darnold

Coming into the 2025 season, a lot of analysts doubted that the Seattle Seahawks' investment in Sam Darnold would pay off. They argued that Darnold would not be able to carry over what he did well with the Minnesota Vikings last year - and that he still couldn't win big games.

In the first half of the season the first part of that argument got obliterated, as Darnold played even better than he did in 2024 with the Vikings and was a part of the early MVP conversation.

Darnold dropped off a bit from Weeks 11-15, coinciding with some tough matchups against defenses that do the things that Darnold struggles against well. However, Darnold blasted the idea that he can't win big games in Thursday night's overtime victory.

Ask head coach Mike Madonald and he'll tell you that Darnold had already won multiple big games this season for the Seahawks.

Mike Macdonald on Sam Darnold's big games

Mike Macdonald on @SeattleSports pushed back on notion that Sam Darnold needed to prove he can deliver in a big game. Cited SF, AZ (Week 4), LA (W11) & Colts games as instances of Sam coming thru.

"Show me the times where in big moments this guy hasn't responded, as a Seahawk." pic.twitter.com/c0cJCPug8f
— Dugar, Michael-Shawn (@MikeDugar) December 20, 2025

Of course not all big games are created equal - and Thursday night's victory counts for a lot more than early wins over Arizona and Houston. Darnold's clutch antics against an elite Rams defense showed that he can thrive even against teams that have his number and are poor matchps for him.

What comes next is finishing the job. The Seahawks should be heavy favorites for next weekend's road game against the Carolina Panthers - but it would be a mistake to write them off. The Panthers have pulled off unlikely upsets twice this season against the NFC leaders, taking down the Packers and the Rams despite being double-digit underdogs in both cases.

After that is the season finale at home against the San Francisco 49ers - which may wind up deciding who holds the No. 1 seed in the conference. Darnold played relatively well against the Niners in the season opener, but finished on a down note as he fumbled on the dropback that might be sealed a Seattle win.

The Niners are hanging tough, but they have also lost a lot of important pieces since that Week 1 matchup. Meanwhile, the Seahawks have found their footing and are much tougher now than they were then. Assuming they take care of business in Charlotte, a victory to close the season will set Seattle up for a return to the Super Bowl for the first time in 11 years.

Mike Macdonald on Sam Darnold's big games

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