"You could see what the Patriots were up to from the first drive of the game. They blitzed Sam Darnold without hesitation and instructed the defensive backs to undercut routes as much as possible. A wager was being made: If we make this guy as uncomfortable as possible, eventually the old Sam Darnold will reappear. It wasn't a bad bet."
"Yes, Darnold led his Seahawks team to a 14-3 record and then all the way to the Super Bowl, but he also turned the ball over 20 times in the regular season, and last season's playoff meltdown against the Rams was hard to forget. So too were all those infamous seasons with the Jets, when Darnold was fighting for his life and "seeing ghosts.""
"For a while it felt like Vrabel's bet might hit. Even as the Seahawks kept chipping in field goals, the game was screaming for a momentum-shifting strip sack or interception. Who better to serve one up than the guy who was defined by such mistakes throughout his first six seasons as a pro, and who was now facing a ferocious defense that had tilted all of its focus towards creating a turnover?"
"Darnold never lost his nerve. Nobody will tell stories about how he completed 19 of 38 passes for 205 yards and a touchdown, but neither will they be telling stories about how Darnold cracked under the Patriots' pressure. The story of the Seahawks' Super Bowl win belongs to their own incredible defensive performance and Kenneth Walker's casually destructive runs, but it can't be told in full without mentioning how Darnold displayed quiet competence in a desperate situation."
The Patriots opened with an aggressive plan, blitzing Sam Darnold and asking defensive backs to undercut routes to force turnovers. Darnold's history of 20 regular-season turnovers and a recent playoff meltdown shaped the Patriots' strategy to try to break him. Early pressure created tense moments and opportunities for a game-changing turnover while the Seahawks settled for field goals. Despite the hostility, Darnold stayed composed, finishing 19 of 38 for 205 yards and a touchdown. The Seahawks' victory rested on an outstanding defensive effort and Kenneth Walker's punishing runs, with Darnold delivering steady, mistake-minimizing play.
Read at Defector
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]