Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold and San Francisco 49ers signal-caller Brock Purdy will go up against each other on Saturday, January 3, in one of the most important games of the NFL’s Week 18 schedule.
The implications for this game are large. The winner gets the division title and crucial NFC top seed, giving them a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the course of the playoffs. The loser only gets a wild-card spot and has to play difficult road games.
So, while the final week of the NFL’s regular season is often packed with games that don’t matter, this one does. The team who wins on Saturday will have a major leg up going into the postseason.
Seattle Seahawks QB Sam Darnold and San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy Go Way Back
As it turns out, Darnold and Purdy have a significant history together. When Darnold came to Seattle, he was reunited with new Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. The two worked together in San Francisco during the 2023-24 season, when Kubiak was the 49ers’ passing game coordinator and Darnold was actually Purdy’s backup quarterback. That team reached the big game, and it was a significant moment for both Purdy and Darnold.
Now, these two go up against each other with high stakes, but they’re on opposing teams. No longer the understudy, Darnold is now the franchise quarterback for the Seahawks. If he could get them to the big game his first year with the team, it would be an MVP-worthy move.
“It’s the people, first and foremost,” Darnold said after signing his contract with the Seahawks in March 2025. “I’m just very excited to get in the building, meet everyone. You kind of hear rumors when you’re playing on other teams about the good organizations and the places to be, and this was definitely one of them for me. So when the Geno (Smith) trade went down, I knew that this could potentially be a really good spot for me.”
He added, “I’m so excited to be able to work with Klint and all the weapons we have on offense, the offensive line. Just ready to get this thing rolling.”
Sam Darnold’s NFL History
Darnold was the Jets’ No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 draft out of USC. He started in 38 games during his first three NFL seasons before being traded to the Panthers in 2021. He started in 15 games over two seasons with Carolina before signing with the 49ers in 2023. From there, he went to the Vikings and, finally, Seahawks.
With the Vikings, he snagged his first Pro-Bowl selection and a career-best 102.5 passer rating, according to NFL research. Also, speaking to the Seahawks about his time with the Vikings, he said it was “a confidence booster, I guess you could say, but I always knew I had it in me.”
“So just to be able to string all those games together and consistently play good football,” he added, “that was the biggest thing I was looking forward to, and to be able to do that last year and put myself in a good position to continue to have that success was huge for me.”
Sam Darnold and Brock Purdy Have Storied History Together