"Based on Roquan Smith's pre-snap alignment and the type of zone coverage it suggested, Darnold would be able to hit receiver Ronnie Bell on a slant route between the Baltimore linebacker and the safety who was playing over the top. Darnold took the shotgun snap, hit his back foot and threw over Smith's head to a leaping Bell for a touchdown."
"Twenty months later, the Seahawks' new quarterback cited that play and one that would immediately follow as moments where he could tell that everything he was learning during his career-altering season with the 49ers was starting to click. Still facing Ravens starters on the next possession, he hit WR Brandon Aiyuk for 24 yards, putting the ball on the money despite not having time to set his feet with an unblocked blitzer in his face. Darnold would take the 49ers down to Baltimore's 1, threatening to turn a blowout into a nailbiter."
Sam Darnold executed a designed play versus the Baltimore Ravens in December 2023 by reading Roquan Smith's pre-snap alignment and delivering a slant to Ronnie Bell for a touchdown. The Ravens' defense had dominated the game under coordinator Mike Macdonald. Darnold replaced a banged-up Brock Purdy and followed Kyle Shanahan's preparation to exploit a specific zone look. On the next possession he completed a 24-yard pass to Brandon Aiyuk and drove to Baltimore's 1, briefly threatening a comeback. Twenty months later, Darnold identified those sequences as signs that his 49ers-developed fundamentals were beginning to click.
Read at ESPN.com
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