Did Madden slip in a subtle dig at Seahawks QB Sam Darnold?

Sam Darnold completely revitalized in the span of just one year, putting up borderline MVP candidate numbers with the Minnesota Vikings last season and earning a $100 million contract from the Seattle Seahawks in free agency.

Before that, though, the 28-year-old quarterback had some rather infamous moments in the NFL.

On Oct. 21, 2019, Darnold, then with the New York Jets, turned in an absolutely dismal performance in a loss to the New England Patriots on "Monday Night Football," completing just 11 of 32 passes for 86 yards and four interceptions. During the game, a mic caught him saying "I'm seeing ghosts," which quickly became a viral meme in NFL circles.

New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold scrambles against the New England Patriots. | Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com, North Jersey Record via Imagn Content Services, LLC

"When I talk to the coaches, I just got to be straight up and, for me, I just got to see the field a lot better; that's kind of what that means," Darnold told the media of his comment after the game. "It was a rough night out there and obviously I got to be better and learn from the mistakes but we will get better."

Almost six years later, it seems that meme is still relevant, at least to some degree.

While detailing new gameplay mechanics for the upcoming "Madden NFL 26," EA Sports possibly made a subtle dig at Darnold with the name of one of the new player traits.

"Seeing ghosts - After a sack, QBs with this trait will tend to force a pass to their first read for the next three plays, resetting at the end of a drive," EA Sports wrote.

Oh shit 😂 pic.twitter.com/r5GWDvebyo
— Kurt Benkert (@KurtBenkert) June 18, 2025

Of course, Darnold is far from the only quarterback to say he's "seeing ghosts," which is why this is only a possible dig and not a definitive one. However, he is the one most associated with the phrase, so it's very possible the developers had him in mind when naming this trait.

Hopefully for Darnold and the Seahawks, the ghosts are long behind him at this point.

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