Sam Darnold barely misses $500k of $2M bonus in Seahawks' 49ers win, ekes out one

Sam Darnold might have had the most on the line in the NFC West showdown between the Seattle Seahawks vs. the San Francisco 49ers with the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye on the line.

Having resurrected his career last year with the Minnesota Vikings, the two-time Pro Bowler's reputation, even after another great season with Seattle, was still that he could never win the marquee games.

Tonight the 28-year-old former Jets No. 3 overall pick is a bust no more, coming up clutch in a 13-3 win over the 49ers to join Tom Brady, yes the seven-time Super Bowl champion NFL QB GOAT, as the only other quarterback to have back-to-back 14-win seasons.

QBs with back-to-back 14+ win seasons in NFL history:

• Tom Brady (2003-2004)
• Sam Darnold (2024-2025)

That’s the list. https://t.co/VKtzhXl33x pic.twitter.com/wSrqvTUArk
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 4, 2026

But enough about the accolades, let's get to the good stuff. How much of the $2 million in incentives did Darnold capture tonight?

Darnold eked out $500k for one of the bonuses

Before you say Darnold led an offense that scored a pedestrian 13 points, his team missed two field goals, and besides the near disaster, botched snap with running back Zach Charbonnet, the former USC standout was throwing darts all night and made big throws when it mattered most.

Down 10-3 in 3rd quarter, San Francisco 49ers' Yetur Gross-Matos fails to recover a Seattle Seahawks’ fumble deep in Niners' territory. Seahawks would drive for a field goal giving them a 13-3 win in Santa Clara. @sfchronicle photos by @ScottStrazzante pic.twitter.com/vhJRVSelKA
— Scott Strazzante (@ScottStrazzante) January 4, 2026

Career backup QB turned NFL analyst Chase Daniel called it "absolutely surgical."

How about Sam Darnold? Same spot last year & laid and egg…

Was absolutely surgical tonight, went 20-26 for 198yds and was in control all night.

Going to be hard to walk into Seattle with that #1 defense and beat them if Darnold plays like he did tonight
— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) January 4, 2026

That surgical precision barely gave him the $500k completion percentage bonus, ending the regular season at 67.7%, getting passed the 67.5% by the tiniest of margins.

Darnold did not throw a touchdown pass, so that $500k for 28 went out the window, finishing with 25.

Sam Darnold will receive $2 million in incentives if he does the following tonight against the 49ers:

• Throw three passing touchdowns ($500k)
• Throw for 150 passing yards ($500k)
• Reach a 100 passer rating ($500k)
• Reach a 67.5% completion percentage ($500k) pic.twitter.com/3w06QTi6Fh
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) January 3, 2026

And Darnold barely eked out $500k for another

The 4,000 yards bonus, having to throw for 150 tonight, had some breathing room, with Daronld finishing with 198 to end the season with 4,048.

Unfortunately, even with his conquering demons and not seeing ghosts performance, which he had famously admitted, "I'm seeing ghosts," in 2019 as a perceived Jets bust, Darnold missed out on the 100 passer rating by 0.9, finishing the season with a still impressive 99.1 mark.