What Seahawks QB Sam Darnold said about facing the Rams for Round 3

A year ago, the Los Angeles Rams ended Sam Darnold’s first Pro Bowl season. As a member of the Minnesota Vikings, he and his teammates were on the wrong end of a 27-9 loss in an NFC wild card tilt that was relocated to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

In that 18-point setback, Darnold completed 25-of-40 throws for 245 yards and one score. He was also sacked nine times, picked off once, and had a fumble returned 57 yards for a score by the Rams’ Jared Verse.

JARED VERSE SCOOP & SCORE OFF THE DARNOLD FUMBLE 😱

Hit the Superman dive into the end zone 😮#MINvsLAR | ABC, ESPN, ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/bH07aTqmjW
— ESPN (@espn) January 14, 2025

Now the eight-year veteran and his team hope to avoid a case of déjà vu when the Seattle Seahawks and Rams clash for the NFC title today at Lumen Field.

For Darnold, it’s the fifth meeting with Sean McVay’s team dating back to 2024. The 2025 Pro Bowler had this to say about coordinator Chris Shula’s unit. “Really good team, really good defense, really good scheme,” said the Seahawks’ signal-caller (via Brady Henderson of ESPN). “Good players. So like always, we're really excited about this opportunity to play these guys. We've just got to have a really good week of practice.

For me," added Darnold, "I've got to continue to attack all the things that I need to attack, just get ready to play these guys, but also just getting my body right to be ready for Sunday.”

Sam Darnold at Ram — Nov 16, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) runs away from Los Angeles Rams linebacker Byron Young (0) during the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Recently, Darnold has been dealing with an oblique injury. Later today, he gets yet another crack at Shula’s defense. “They do a good job of disguising shell (alignment) and all those things, I feel like their pass rush, their linebackers, their safeties all being on the same page and playing really good football, they do it at a high level. They seem like really smart players. But again, those are self-inflicted wounds, turning the ball over like that. Sometimes it's better just to try to throw the ball away or even take a sack when nothing is there.”

Those “self-inflicted wounds” are a total of eight turnovers (7 interceptions, 1 lost fumble) in his last four meetings with the Rams. In those contests, Darnold has actually completed 65.7 percent of his throws for 1,034 yards and five touchdowns. But along with the miscues, he’s been sacked a whopping 16 times in those outings.

Of course, all of that previous ugliness will be forgotten if the Seahawks knock off the Rams for the second time this season and punch their ticket to Super Bowl LX.

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