Sam Darnold Reflects on Late-Season Struggles, Eyes Growth with Seahawks
Sam Darnold is embracing a fresh start in Seattle, but he’s not shying away from the tough lessons he learned last season with the Minnesota Vikings. During his introductory press conference with the Seahawks, Darnold was asked about his late-season struggles—particularly the Vikings’ losses to the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams, which cost them the NFC’s No. 1 seed.
“I was waiting for someone to bring that up, by the way,” Darnold said. “I appreciate that. It’s fair. You get all the way to that point, and you have the season that we had offensively as a team, and at the end of the day, only one team can win the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, we weren’t that team. But I learned a ton from those last two games, especially playing Detroit and playing L.A.”
The Vikings bounced back from their midseason losses to both teams, but when it mattered most, they couldn’t overcome them in Week 18 or the Wild Card round. Darnold took much of the blame for the season-ending collapse, particularly for missing open targets in the crucial Week 18 loss that could have secured home-field advantage in the playoffs.
Darnold didn’t dive into specifics on what he took away from those games, but he acknowledged that moving forward, it’s all about learning from experience. Now with Seattle, he’ll get another shot at the Rams twice a year, giving him plenty of opportunities to prove he can handle high-stakes moments. The question remains: when the pressure is on again, will he deliver?
Sam Darnold Vows to Grow from Late-Season Struggles and Bounce Back
