Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald stands up for Sam Darnold after NFC Championship win

"You can't talk about the game without talking about our quarterback," Macdonald said, via Eric Edholm of NFL.com. "I mean he just shut a lot of people up tonight, so I'm really happy for him. Every time they went and scored, he came back. Made some big-time throws on third down, the two-minute drive, the four-minute drive. The guy barely practiced all week. Just really happy for him. He deserves it. He's been a rock for us the whole year. Just really happy for him."

Darnold threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns while throwing no interceptions or fumbling the ball. Darnold's top receiver, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, caught 153 (10 receptions) of Darnold's 346 yards and one of his touchdown passes. 

Sam Darnold credited teammates for Seahawks' success 

Despite being the star of the game, Darnold remained humble when the spotlight was on him, making sure to shine the light on the rest of his team.

"It's great. I feel that support. Not only with their words, but with how everyone treats each other in the building," Darnold said. "I'm happy to be a part of this team, this group and this coaching staff, I'm really happy to be here. I'm happy to be in this position. I'm just gonna continue to do the best that I can to put this team in positions to win football games."

Sam Darnold can officially put to bed the "bust" label

Even if the Seahawks don't win the Super Bowl, Darnold can hang his head high knowing that he officially has discarded the "bust" label that loomed over him. The third overall pick by the New York Jets in 2018, Darnold got off to a rocky start to his career. He threw for 12,064 yards and 63 touchdowns while throwing 56 interceptions and getting sacked 149 times between the Jets, Panthers and 49ers. 

Darnold found success in 2024 with the Minnesota Vikings, throwing for over 4,000 yards for the first time in his career (4,319) while having the best touchdown-to-interception ratio of his career as well (35:12). This impressive season with the Vikings helped Darnold secure a three-year, $100.5 million contract with the Seahawks ($55 million guaranteed).

In his first season in Seattle, Darnold showed that his 2024 season wasn't a fluke, throwing for over 4,000 yards again (4,048) and matching a decent passing ratio (25:14). With a chance to win it all, Darnold has now entered the conversation as one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL.