Sam Darnold Has a Super Bowl Ring and The Entire League Is STILL Missing the Point

Holy smokes, 12s, can you even BELIEVE what we're reading right now? Our Seattle Seahawks, fresh off a Super Bowl victory, are officially home to one of the TOP coach-QB duos in the entire NFL! I'm talking about Mike Macdonald and Sam Darnold, and they just rocketed up the rankings, proving all the doubters wrong in the most spectacular way possible!

From Question Marks to Championship Gold

Remember just before the 2025 season? There were so many questions. Macdonald led us to a 10-7 record, which was solid, but we missed the playoffs. Then came the bombshell, the "tough decision" to trade away starting QB Geno Smith and hand the keys to free agent addition Sam Darnold. The criticism was LOUD. Nobody thought it would work. But guess what? We won the Super Bowl, baby! And that silenced EVERYONE. Now, heading into their second year together, Macdonald and Darnold are ranked among the NFL's elite, period.

SI.com's Matt Verderame had them at 21st last season. TWENTY-FIRST! Now? They're sitting pretty at SEVENTH overall in his latest Coach-QB Duo rankings. Verderame still has Darnold ranked 17th at the position, but he says Darnold is "clearly good enough." What does that mean? It means Macdonald, ranked No. 4 among coaches, is doing some serious heavy lifting. "Despite having Geno Smith and Darnold during his two seasons with the Seahawks, Seattle won 10 games and then the Super Bowl, primarily due to a suffocating defense," Verderame wrote. Our D finished 11th in EPA per play (-0.06) in 2024, then jumped to an incredible second (-0.17) last year, allowing a league-best 17.2 points per game. That's Mike Macdonald magic right there!

Darnold's Super Bowl Ring, The League's Blind Spot

And what about Darnold? He was more than solid in the regular season, slinging it for 4,048 yards and 25 touchdowns. But then the playoffs happened, and he absolutely lit it up, throwing for five touchdowns and zero interceptions! That included a MONSTER 346-yard performance in our 31-27 NFC Championship win over the Rams. Verderame says he'll "never be a top-tier quarterback, but he's more than enough."

Honestly, it's wild how slow the narrative is to change around Darnold. We see quarterbacks like Jalen Hurts, whose flaws are explained away because he wins. Then you've got guys like Dak Prescott, who put up elite numbers but get hammered for not winning in the postseason. And here's our guy, Sam Darnold, with a 28-6 record over the past two seasons with two different teams, and a freakin' Super Bowl ring! Yet, he's still seen as "serviceable" instead of a legit winner. You know what? Let them sleep on him! The Seahawks are just fine with Darnold continuing to sneak up on teams. We know what we've got, and it's championship-caliber!

So, get ready, Seattle! With Macdonald and Darnold climbing the ranks, the rest of the league might finally start to pay attention. But we've been here, watching every snap, every tackle, every touchdown. And we're just getting started!

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This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.