When the Seahawks face the Panthers on Sunday, Sam Darnold will be trying to help his team win its 13th game of the season, and if Seattle can make that happen, Darnold will become just the fifth quarterback in NFL history to win at least 13 games in consecutive seasons along with Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers. Darnold, who was selected to a second straight Pro Bowl earlier this week, already became the first quarterback to win 12 or more games in consecutive seasons with two different teams.
So yes, it’s safe to say a lot has changed for Darnold since the last time he played a game at Bank of America Stadium back when he was the Panthers’ starting quarterback to close out the 2022 season.
Darnold, the No. 3 pick in the 2018 draft, was traded by the Jets to the Panthers in 2021, with the Jets electing to turn to that year’s No. 2 pick, Zach Wilson, at quarterback. He started 12 games that season before being sidelined by an injury, then came into the 2022 season as the backup to Baker Mayfield before also dealing with a high ankle sprain suffered in the preseason. Darnold got his chance to start late in the season, and while the Panthers were out of contention, he was able to show himself, and perhaps some decision makers around the NFL, that he could be a winning quarterback. Over those final six games with Darnold starting, the Panthers went 4-2, including a win in Seattle over a playoff-bound Seahawks squad, and he threw seven touchdown passes with three interceptions over that stretch, posting a passer rating over 100 in four of those six games.
From there, Darnold spent a season in San Francisco learning under Kyle Shanahan as Brock Purdy’s backup, then had his breakout Pro-Bowl season with the Vikings in 2024 before signing with the Seahawks this year, where he showed last season was anything but a fluke. And while Darnold’s physical talents, work ethic and reliance very well might have helped him reach these heights regardless of what happened earlier this decade, he sees that time in Carolina as imperative for his development into the player he is now.
