Wacky fantasy football prediction has Seahawks' Sam Darnold cooling off vs. Cardinals

Last time he was on the field, Sam Darnold painted a Picasso. Now some "experts" are making the inexplicable suggestion to take away his brush.

The Seattle Seahawks' MVP-candidate quarterback was almost flawless in last week's blowout victory over the Washington Commanders. He completed his first 17 passes and finished with more touchdowns (4) than incompletions (3).

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He's on such a hot streak that the 12s would like his chances this week against even the legendary '85 Bears defense. But, instead, the Fantasy Football gurus at USA Today are urging owners to keep Darnold out of their lineups Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals at Lumen Field.

In its weekly "Start 'Em Sit 'Em" feature, it actually suggests not playing Darnold.

"Fantasy managers may be tempted to start Darnold after his massive game against the Commanders," USA Today writes in one of the understatements of the year. "This seems like a trap spot, as the Cardinals defense is getting healthier and just limited a high-flying Cowboys offense to seven offensive points on "Monday Night Football."

The 6-2 Seahawks are the NFC's hottest team with a three-game winning streak. They get receiver Cooper Kupp back from a one-game absence, and are welcoming big-play speedster Rashid Shaheed to the arsenal of weapons after a deadline trade. Some, in fact, predict Darnold's new toy will score two touchdowns in his debut.

In Seattle's Week 4 win at Arizona, Darnold was 18 of 26 for 242 yards and a touchdown pass to tight end AJ Barner. The Cardinals' pass defense is ranked 23rd in yards per game. Nonetheless, USA Today remains stubbornly against predicting him having a productive game.

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"Notably, Arizona is one of eight NFL teams to allow fewer than 10 passing touchdowns to quarterbacks in 2025," it reasons. "They have only allowed multiple passing scores in two of their eight games, so Darnold's ceiling isn't as high as some of the other quality streaming options for Week 10."

Sorry, but we're taking our chances on the NFL's hottest quarterback playing for the NFC's hottest team welcoming a new big-play option. Sitting Darnold this week couldn't make any less sense.

AJ Barner | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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