Lights flickered in the Northwest. A powerful wind swept across the state of Washington, threatening to add widespread power outages to a region already grappling with devastating floods. In the midst of this demonstration of nature’s force, a football game took place. The whole nation would watch as the two best teams in the NFL clashed under the lights of Lumen Field. Energy pulsed through the stadium in anticipation of this titanic rematch. There was hope. There was fear. What transpired over the next four hours was something even Mother Nature would appreciate, as unique as a snowflake. Hope flickered. Fears were realized. Perilously close to the darkest day of the year, another sort of Big Dark loomed in Seattle. But this was not a night for horror stories. Forty-eight men instead authored a fairy tale. A stadium that has been home to Beast Quakes and Fail Marys reminded everyone what magic feels like. The Seahawks are 12-3. The lights never went out. They just got brighter.
This was a night that rekindled lost love or started it anew. Strangers hugged. A region united in celebration. Kids discovered why mom and dad yell at the TV and wear weird costumes on Sunday. At the heart of this story is Sam Darnold.
Darnold is the everyman. His demeanor is reserved and impish. The wry grin when questioned hints of more substance behind the curtain than he chooses to reveal. He is Americana. His grandfather was the original “Marlboro Man.” His father worked as a plumber. It was from these roots that the humble, crimson-haired quarterback grew. His football career has been a series of highs and lows. A former top pick, he failed repeatedly in his first NFL stop. His rise from the ashes last year in Minnesota came crashing down in two final games that cost him a job and millions in free agency.
Reborn in Seattle, Darnold was near the top of every MVP discussion before facing the Rams the first time. Disaster struck. His four-interception performance left the outside world dismissing him again. Few seemed to notice that he nearly helped win that game for his team even on his worst day.
The weeks that followed created a rift in the Seahawks fanbase. Seattle won every game. They were in position to accomplish things this franchise has not seen in over a decade. Yet, many fans were hesitant to hitch their hearts to a team with Darnold at the helm. He was too erratic. Better to keep your distance than risk being made a fool by believing something special was possible. It all culminated in this game.
Darnold helped author an opening drive touchdown with an explosive screen pass to Ken Walker III. The offense stalled for two drives, and then a great throw by Darnold was fumbled by Cooper Kupp as the team looked to be driving for at least a field goal before the half.
It was clear the coaches were trying to take some of the burden off his shoulders with a better run game and less risky throws. The plan was working, in the sense that Darnold had not put the ball in harm’s way. Another explosive play from Walker after halftime put the Seahawks ahead 14-13. They were winning as a team.
The game ultimately required more of Darnold. He was not up to the task. Rams corner Josh Wallace abandoned his coverage responsibilities to jump a pass and nearly return the interception for a touchdown. Later, trailing by 16 points in the 4th quarter, Darnold was hammered by a Rams defender and threw the ball directly to a dropping defensive lineman for a second interception.
Seattle had a 3% chance to win the game, per NFL Next Gen Stats. That felt generous. Skeptical fans felt vindicated. Faithful fans were despondent. The questions were not going to be whether Darnold could recover from this performance, but whether the Seahawks could justify keeping him as a starter in years to come.
Newcomer Rashid Shaheed may have brought voodoo with him from New Orleans, as he helped bring the dead back to life for the second time in three games on special teams. His punt return for a touchdown gave Darnold a do-over at nearly the same spot where he threw his last pick. This time, he found Kupp for a two-point conversion, and the game was impossibly within one score with over eight minutes remaining.
Shaheed again sparked life with a 31-yard end-around that preceded a perfect parabola from Darnold to tight end A.J. Barner for a touchdown. It was his first touchdown pass in seven quarters.
The two-point try that followed was so bizarre, it already has been given a name. Darnold attempted to hit Zach Charbonnet on a screen, but the pass ricocheted off the helmet of a Rams defender and fell harmlessly to the ground in the end zone. Charbonnet casually strolled over to pick up the loose ball and give it to an official. Fairy dust must have fallen briefly instead of rain, as replays confirmed the pass went backwards, making it a fumble instead of an incomplete pass. Charbonnet making a clear recovery in the end zone meant Seattle had completed the most unlikely two-point conversion since, well, Russell Wilson tossed a ball into the atmosphere before it fell into the hands of Luke Willson in almost the exact same spot where Charbonnet recovered the fumble. Now dubbed The Zachwards Pass.
It was almost the perfect way to fuse the absurdity of improbable moments from the Seahawks’ glorious past with the promise of this future. A baptism by silliness. Anger and despair were replaced with elation in a way that only sports seems to provide.
Darnold was not done. Tasked with bringing the team from behind once more after the defense surrendered a touchdown in overtime, Darnold had no margin for error. Seattle not only needed a touchdown, they needed a third two-point conversion to own the tiebreaker over the Rams and have a shot at the #1 overall seed in the NFC.
He found Jaxon Smith-Njigba on a beautiful throw and catch along the sideline before delivering maybe his best throw of the night to Kupp along the same sideline while a defender slammed into his chest. The ball was perfectly placed over the outstretched arms of one defender and settled into the arms of Kupp. A few plays later, Darnold would find Smith-Njigba again for a touchdown along the back end line.
It was fitting that the final play of the game was in Darnold’s hands. The power of doubt is that all a doubter needs is a shred of evidence to feed their narrative. Even with all Darnold had done right to get the Seahawks to 11 wins and back to the point in this game where his team was in position to take control of the conference, any play that resulted in failure would have been used like a sledgehammer to pound him back into the pigeonhole they want him in.
Patiently, Darnold went through his progressions. His feet and shoulders moved in unison as he clicked through his first, second, and third read. All were covered. Finally, his fourth read, tight end Eric Saubert, released from a block and found himself wide open for a winning conversion that will be talked about for generations.
There is poetry in how this game played out. Darnold’s errors will likely be remembered more than his contributions to the tapestry of great plays across the team that resulted in the win. He will forever face doubters, waiting to pounce and prove themselves right. Darnold operates outside the purview of doubt. His greatest superpower is his ability to let go of his mistakes in pursuit of the next great play. It has helped him revive a career that was left for dead, and lead two different franchises to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. He has a chance to lead both teams to 14 wins, which would be the first time a QB has done that in consecutive seasons since Tom Brady in 2003 and 2004.
Darnold is not the face of this team. This team remains largely faceless. He is the lightning rod. Storms will continue to swirl. Opponents are beginning to realize that while Darnold is able to thrive in spite of repeated strikes, they may not survive what comes next.