Sam Darnold Reflects on Brutal Playoff Loss to Rams

Sam Darnold has a new team, a new offensive coordinator and a new Super Bowl MVP teammate. But there’s a leftover taste in his mouth from how the Rams ended his season, complete with an extra dose of rotten sulfur.

"For lack of a better term, we laid an egg as an offense," the new Seahawks quarterback told Mike Silver of The Athletic in last week an exclusive interview. "And I think, for me personally, that sucks. I felt like we were a really good team, but at the end of the day -- and this is gonna sound a little pessimistic -- but when you get to the end of it and you don't win the whole thing, you failed.

“I feel like I could have played way better, to be completely honest with you. I feel I didn't play up to my standard. I truly feel that way. I feel like if I would have just played better, I would've been able to give the team a chance.”

The Rams didn’t give Darnold a chance, either. They matched a single-game NFL postseason record with nine sacks. Darnold also met the Rams when their defensive was at its best. Chris Shula’s unit dominated the explosive Vikings in a 27-9 wild-card victory, moved to Arizona due to the Los Angeles wildfires.

One of those nine sacks produced a fumble that Jared Verse returned 57 yards for a touchdown. Darnold, who signed a three-year, $100.5-million contract with the Seahawks, got a preview of his future NFC West rivals. In the loss to the Rams, he also lost 82 yards on those sacks, most in a postseason game during the Super Bowl era and most in any NFL contest since Cam Newton lost 91 yards on nine sacks against Philadelphia, Nov. 10, 2014.

Darnold went 14-4 last season as the Vikings’ starter. But half of his losses came at the hands of the Rams. In the playoff loss to Los Angeles, Darnold was 25 of 40 for 245 yards, with a touchdown and a Cobie Durant interception. Darnold’s 77.6 passer rating was his lowest mark over a full game since the end of his 2020 season with the Jets.

Darnold was more effective in the Vikings’ first loss to the Rams, Oct. 24 at SoFi Stadium. In that contest, a 30-20 Rams win, Darnold was 18 of 25 for 240 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Early in the fourth quarter, he engineered a field-goal drive to cut the Rams’ lead to 21-20 with just under 13 minutes left.

Darnold won’t see the Rams again until later this season, Week 11 at SoFi Stadium and Week 16 at Lumen Field. Both Seahawks-Rams meetings fall immediately after big games for Los Angeles. The Rams travel to play San Francisco in Week 10, a week ahead of Seattle’s first trip to SoFi.

Then, Los Angeles needs to travel on a short week to Seattle for a Thursday night game in Week 16, only four days after hosting NFC stalwart Detroit at SoFi Stadium in Week 15.

Sean McVay will need to lean into his .703 December winning percentage, fourth-best in the NFL since he became Rams head coach in 2017. What’s more, according to NFL Research, the  team’s .684 winning percentage on the road in those December games ranks second in the league behind Kansas City (.750).

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