Sam Darnold is another week removed from his oblique injury that didn’t keep him out of the divisional round playoff game for the Seattle Seahawks. However, the veteran QB wasn’t asked to do much in the win over the San Francisco 49ers.
Darnold completed 12 of 17 passes for 124 passing yards and one touchdown. Seattle had an impressive ground game and special teams to help with the scoring, along with a dominant defense that didn’t allow the 49ers’ offense to accomplish anything.
Now, in the NFC title game, that could be a different story. While the Seahawks might be looking to replicate the same formula against the Los Angeles Rams, Darnold might need to make a couple of more plays to help Seattle punch their ticket to the Super Bowl.
As a result, head coach Mike Macdonald provided the latest injury update on his QB.
“He feels better than he did going into the [49ers] game, and he showed that he could throw [the ball] then,” Macdonald told reporters on Jan. 22. “We’d like him to get some throws before Sunday.”
Kenneth Walker III was all the offense that the Seahawks needed against San Francisco. Walker ran for 116 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground. With the injury to Zach Charbonnet, Walker will be counted on even more, along with taking the offensive responsibilities off Darnold’s shoulders.
Rams Have Been a Thorn in the Side of Seahawks’ Sam Darnold
The Rams gave Darnold the most trouble this 2025 season. Darnold had a passer rating of 62.4, 549 passing yards, two touchdowns, and six interceptions in two games against the Rams this season, per StatMuse.
As a result, former Seahawks star Richard Sherman believes that Darnold will need to overcome this hurdle that plagued him this season to get Seattle to Santa Clara for Super Bowl LX.
“If you’re Sam Darnold, you thought you overcame your nightmares with the Rams,“ Sherman said on the Jan. 19 edition of “The Richard Sherman Podcast.” “You thought you had overcome them. You thought, ‘Hey, I only had to see it once. I killed Freddy Krueger. I killed him. He’s dead.’
“… But he’s going to have to overcome. They’re going to bring back all the stats about the Rams’ pressure and how Sam Darnold struggled against it. And so, as high as we are for the Seattle Seahawks right now, they’re on the moon. They are freaking playing lights-out football defensively.”
Sam Darnold Could Have the Confidence to Face Rams
Darnold’s two touchdowns came in the Seahawks’ comeback overtime win on Dec. 18, which put Seattle in the driver’s seat to win the NFC West and secure the No. 1 seed in the conference. Because of that performance late in the regular season, Darnold could have the belief that he can perform well for four quarters against Los Angeles.
“Now, if I’m Sam Darnold, I watched the last drive in the fourth quarter of that game against the Rams, and I feel pretty good, “ Sherman added. “You were cooking with grease. You were James Harden in the clutch, cooking. So, let’s get back to cooking. Run the football. [Kenneth Walker III] is running as good as he has in his entire career.
“Had three touchdowns in the last game, tying Shaun Alexander for the franchise record [in a postseason game]. If they can do that let that defense just eat, Seattle Seahawks back in the Super Bowl.”
Seahawks Deliver Sam Darnold Injury Update Before Rams Game