Analyst says the quiet part out loud about Seahawks QB Sam Darnold

After Week 1, it looked like the Sam Darnold experiment wasn't going to go so well with Seattle's offense. But in Weeks 2 and 3, the ship was more than righted. Darnold has been excellent in the two consecutive wins.

"With back-to-back impressive victories over the Pittsburgh Steelers and Saints, quarterback Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks look legit. The quarterback is doing what was expected of him after signing a big free-agent deal this fall," Bleacher Report's Brent Sobleski said, giving Darnold an A grade for his Week 3 performance.

Darnold completed 77.8% of his passes on Sunday, including a ridiculous stretch in the first half with one incompletion in 11 attempts. He had two touchdowns in that time, too. Up 38-6 at halftime, the Seahawks didn't need Darnold after that.

Darnold was particularly effective pushing the ball downfield. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, he completed six of eight passes with 10 or more air yards. Interestingly, Tory Horton had more targets than Cooper Kupp," Sobleski said.

The newest Seahawks QB has been quietly elite this year. Maybe it's buoyed by the Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers not having elite defenses, and the reality is somewhere in between the Week 1 and Weeks 2/3 performances.

Either way, Darnold clearly hasn't lost whatever he gained during his Pro Bowl season in 2024. He is deserving of all the praise he's gotten so far, and he, along with a stifling defense, have the Seahawks in a good position to get back to the playoffs, which was no sure thing when Seattle decided to trade Geno Smith and sign Darnold for three seasons.