Sam Darnold wasted no time setting the record straight after Super Bowl LX. Despite the commanding 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots, the Seattle Seahawks quarterback delivered a straightforward message to Mike Macdonald and his teammates as they hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
“I’m so proud of our guys. Our defense, I can’t say enough good things about out defense and special teams. I know we won the Super Bowl, but we could’ve been a little bit better offensively. But I don’t care about that right now,” Darnold admitted during his postgame interview on the field.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling. I’m just so happy for the guys in the locker room, the coaches that put in so much effort through the whole season. All my teammates, all my coaches I’ve ever had always believed in me, and I’ve always believed in myself because of my family and friends. It’s as simple as that, as long as you believe in yourself, anything is possible.”
Darnold gets his ring
The former third overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft once became a nationwide meme as he admitted to seeing ghosts during a game. Now, he’s become a symbol of perseverance and never giving up.
Hoisting his first Super Bowl at 28, Darnold is a long ways from reaching greats like Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes, who had won several rings by the age of 28, but one has got to start somewhere. For Darnold, it took a while, but his story has come to a perfect ending—except it’s only getting started.
What a journey
Many believed the die was cast for Darnold. After a rough start to his career with the New York Jets, followed by uneventful stints with the Carolina Panthers and the San Francisco 49ers, Darnold proved he could command an offense when the Minnesota Vikings took him in ahead of the 2024 NFL season.
Still, belief in him always seemed short-leashed, with organizations keeping a wary eye on him and his turnover meltdowns. Even as he led the Seahawks to a 14–3 record, finishing atop the NFC and reaching Super Bowl LX, many across the league believed Darnold would revert to his rookie, wet-behind-the-ears version on the biggest stage.
On February 8, on national television, Darnold proved the world wrong. For immortality, a Super Bowl ring will silence every critic. Darnold is indeed a franchise quarterback in the NFL, and he can lead a team to a Super Bowl. In fact, he now has.