Congratulations to Sam Darnold, the first USC quarterback to win the Super Bowl. I will always remember Sam's amazing performance in the 2017 Rose Bowl game against Penn State. Sam was a redshirt freshman that year. He had the heart of a champion then and still does now. Sam Darnold's odyssey, from first-round bust to Super Bowl champion, is straight out of a Hollywood movie.
If we are to take stories first from Sportico's Michael McCann and Robert Raiola and later Forbes' Nathan Goldman as actual factuals, and all involved have made their reputations on knowing the whatabouts and whereabouts of money, Sam Darnold's greatest moment as a professional athlete gave us one answer to the question, "What price glory?" The answer here is apparently seventy grand.
Sam Darnold was a game manager Sunday evening and is fine with it. A system quarterback who reached the pinnacle of his profession at Levi's Stadium. He probably feels a lot like Peyton Manning did 10 years ago when his arm was hanging by a thread and the Denver Broncos beat Carolina 24-10 in Super Bowl 50 at Levi's. Or Tom Brady in Super Bowl 53 when the New England Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams 13-3.
He probably feels a lot like Peyton Manning did 10 years ago when his arm was hanging by a thread and the Denver Broncos beat Carolina 24-10 in Super Bowl 50 at Levi's. Or Tom Brady in Super Bowl 53 when the New England Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams 13-3. How about Terry Bradshaw (9 of 14, 86 yards) for Pittsburgh in a 16-6 win over Minnesota in Super Bowl 9?
Los Angeles Rams star Puka Nacua was brutally roasted for mocking Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold during the Super Bowl on Sunday. Darnold and the Seahawks took on the New England Patriots in the 2025-26 season finale at Levi's Stadium. Much of the game was dominated by the two teams' defenses, with the first touchdown not coming until Darnold connected with tight end AJ Barner for a 16-yard score in the fourth quarter.
As long as you believe in yourself, anything is possible, Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold said after his side defeated the New England Patriots 29-13 to win Super Bowl LX. Six years ago, as a member of the New York Jets, Darnold, facing those very same Patriots on Monday Night Football, uttered the words, I'm seeing ghosts. On Sunday night, he hoisted the Lombardi Trophy as a Seahawk to beat them.
Several reporters visited the table he shared with another San Francisco 49ers teammate throughout the week of Super Bowl media availability, but many more maneuvered around it on their way to talk to someone more important. Darnold was just a backup hidden in a maze of dozens of tables. He wasn't the star anymore, and he had chosen to fade into the background for his own good.
Sam Darnold can look forward to being in his comfort zone Sunday at Levi's Stadium. It's a safe haven where Darnold watched and learned in giving his career a needed jump-start after difficult stretches with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers. Odds of him getting his old locker space in the far corner near the trainer's room are slim. I haven't put in that request, Darnold said Wednesday.
Ricky Pearsall Jr. is back in uniform and active for the 49ers' NFL divisional playoff game today against the Seattle Seahawks. Also active is Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold, who was late getting out for warmups with fellow quarterbacks Drew Lock and Jalen Milroe. Inactives for the 49ers included safety Ji'Ayir Brown, a starting safety who missed practice all week with a hamstring strain. He'll be replaced by Marques Sigle, a rookie who had eight tackles in 40 snaps in the 49ers' wild-card win over Philadelphia.
On back-to-back fourth quarter plays last week in Green Bay, McCarthy twice had his head slam into the ground -- the first when he was tackled by Packers linebacker Isaiah McDuffie, and then on the next play when he was chased and tackled by Green Bay defensive end Kingsley Enagbare. McCarthy self reported his symptoms on the flight back to Minnesota from Green Bay, and then found himself in concussion protocol, where he now remains, sources told ESPN.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, who had played at a near-MVP level this season for the most part, did absolutely nothing to help his team and plenty to hurt them. Darnold matched his career high with four interceptions, completing 29 of 44 passes for 279 yards, no touchdowns, those picks, and a passer rating of 45.5. The last time Darnold faced the Rams it was when he was with the Minnesota Vikings in last season's playoffs, and he endured a 60-minute nightmare.
With apologies to Jonathan Taylor, we know how this story goes. MVP doesn't stand for Most Valuable Player anymore. It stands for Most Valuable Quarterback on a 12-win team with a nice storyline. That gives us three frontrunners: Matthew Stafford, Drake Maye and Darnold. Stafford is on the kind of run that could see him clinch the award by the end of the year. But right now, Darnold is the pick.
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Week 7 has a weighty feel to it. It no longer feels early in the NFL season. We're in the thick of it now, with nearly two months' worth of evidence to support our opinions of these teams and these players. What might have felt like an overreaction in Week 2 feels less so now. This is also the point in the season where coaches get tired of underreacting. On Sunday, Jets coach Aaron Glenn seemed to have finally grown tired of watching Justin Fields' complete inability to sense or react to pressure, as he benched Fields for Tyrod Taylor on the second half of New York's latest lackluster loss.
