Sam Darnold Leads Seahawks to Super Bowl

Sam Darnold answers critics, makes history as Trojan QB

Allen Wallace  —  Sam Darnold will become the first USC Trojan quarterback to start a Super Bowl by leading the Seattle Seahawks to Super Bowl LX with a 31-27 nail-biter over the LA Rams.

USC holds the all-time record for the most college football players to appear on Super Bowl-winning teams, with a total of 64 Trojans as of early 2025. But the all-important quarterback position has been a gap for USC, until Darnold QBd the Seahawks to victory yesterday.

Darnold, originally chosen #3 by the New York Jets, is also the first quarterback from the 2018 NFL Draft class to start a Super Bowl, preceding others such as Baker Mayfield (1st ), Josh Allen (7th) and Lamar Jackson (32nd). 

Darnold, who’s often been hounded  by questions about his big-game ability while with five NFL teams and has been dogged by nightmare NFL situations and questionable coaching, finally blew down his critics with the game of his professional career.

USC’s 2017 Rose Bowl MVP from Dana Point, Calif., completed 25 of 36 passes for 346 yards with 3 touchdowns. And, unlike in some of his previous high-profile debacles, Darnold avoided any turn overs.

The Seahawks scored a touchdown on their first possession, capped by a run by Kenneth Walker III. Los Angeles fought back to take a 13-10 lead late in the second quarter. But Darnold quickly drove the Seahawks 74 yards in 36 seconds, finding Jaxon Smith-Njigba for his first touchdown pass of the game to send Seattle into halftime with a 17-13 lead.

He then connected with Jake Bobo for another TD early in the third quarter after a bungled Rams punt return set up Seattle in the red zone. Darnold’s third touchdown pass, this one to former Ram All-Pro Cooper Kupp, gave Seattle a 31-20 lead with 4:52 remaining in the third quarter.

Smith-Njigba starred alongside Darnold with 10 catches for 153 yards and a touchdown, extending a breakout season in which he led the NFL in receiving yards.

Seahawks survive late taunting blunder

The Rams led the league in scoring in the regular season and again severely tested the vaunted Seahawks defense by putting up 479 yards of total offense. A taunting penalty on Seattle CB Tariq Woolen extended a late third-quarter Rams drive after a third-and-12 stop, allowing LA to score on a deep throw from Matthew Stafford to Puka Nacua on the very next play.

But Seattle’s defense came up with two crucial stops in the last five minutes. Darnold and Seattle were finally able to shut the door on a Rams comeback.

Their prize is a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX with the Patriots, who beat the Denver Broncos in Sunday’s AFC championship. It’s a redo that’s 11 years in the making  — the two organizations played a classic Super Bowl XLIX 11 years ago, with Malcolm Butler’s stunning over-the-middle-goal-line pick preserving a 28-24 New England win over Pete Carroll’s Seahawks, who were seeking their second straight Super Bowl win in 2015.

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