Sam Darnold will be starting in the Super Bowl before Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen and the rest of the NFL’s Class of 2018 quarterbacks.
It took Darnold five teams and eight seasons to get here.
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Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold speaks during a news conference after the NFC Championship NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold warms up before the NFC Championship NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold throws during the first half of the NFC Championship NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, celebrates next to Michael Strahan, left, after a win over the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Darnold led the Seattle Seahawks to a 14-3 record, a division title, the No. 1 seed and was at his best in the NFC championship game.
Despite an oblique injury, Darnold threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns in Seattle’s 31-27 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. He completed 25 of 36 passes and had no turnovers.
“He just shut a lot of people up,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. “Really happy for him.”
Labeled a bust early in his career, Darnold was still doubted by critics following his impressive turnaround.
Now, he’s one win away from hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The Seahawks are 4 1/2-point favorites over the New England Patriots on BetMGM Sportsbook.
Darnold was picked No. 3 overall by the New York Jets in 2018. Baker Mayfield went first to the Cleveland Browns. Allen went to the Buffalo Bills at No. 7. Josh Rosen was chosen 10th by the Arizona Cardinals. The Baltimore Ravens selected Jackson with the final pick of the first round at No. 32.
Jackson has won two AP NFL MVP awards and is 0-1 in the AFC championship game. Allen is the reigning NFL MVP and twice lost to the Chiefs in the AFC title game.
Mayfield led the Browns to their only playoff victory this century and has won two division titles and one playoff game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, his fourth team.
Rosen was traded by Arizona after going 3-10 as a rookie and is out of the NFL after starting just three more games.
Darnold’s success doesn’t make others failures. Football is a team sport and there are several reasons why Allen, Jackson and Mayfield have come up short. Both Allen and Jackson saw their coaches fired this month because their teams didn’t live up to expectations.
Darnold’s story is about perseverance and redemption. It’s another clear example why coaching matters.
Darnold struggled mightily during three seasons with the Jets playing for coaches Todd Bowles and Adam Gase, and offensive coordinators Jeremy Bates and Dowell Loggains. His 78.2 passer rating during that time ranked third worst among 53 QBs with at least 500 attempts.
Darnold went to Carolina and played two seasons for coaches Matt Rhule and Steve Wilks, and coordinators Jeff Nixon, Joe Brady and Ben McAdoo.
None of them could unlock his potential. He didn’t have the right coaching or supporting cast, and his teams lacked stability.
Then he spent a season with Kyle Shanahan and assistants Klint and Klay Kubiak in San Francisco in 2023. Darnold backed up Brock Purdy on a 49ers team that reached the Super Bowl. He got a chance to watch, learn and study in an environment that fostered growth.
Shanahan praised Darnold’s arm talent, his ability to read defenses and run the offensive scheme.
Darnold went to Minnesota and thrived under coach Kevin O’Connell. He had a breakthrough season in 2024, throwing for 4,319 yards and 35 TDs while having a 102.5 passer rating and leading the Vikings to 14 wins.
But Minnesota chose to stick with J.J. McCarthy, whose injury opened the door for Darnold to play and flourish.
Based off his success with the Vikings, the Seahawks gave Darnold a three-year, $100.5 million contract to replace Geno Smith. He became the first quarterback in NFL history to lead two different teams to 14 wins in consecutive seasons. Tom Brady did it with the Patriots.
“We believe in him. The building believes in him. The city believes in him. It’s awesome to run out onto the field with him,” All-Pro wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba said.
Darnold has come a long way since telling coaches he was “seeing ghosts” during a lopsided loss to the Patriots in his second season.
“There was a lot that I didn’t know back then, so I’m just going to continue to learn and grow in this great game,” Darnold said. “There is a lot of stuff that I can get better from today even. I feel like I missed some throws out there that I shouldn’t miss. There were some things offensively that I feel like we can do better. So, we’re always looking to get better. I’m always looking to get better. That’s the great part about this game is you win an NFC championship and you win games throughout the season, but there is always ways that you can look to get better.”
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Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold speaks during a news conference after the NFC Championship NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold warms up before the NFC Championship NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold throws during the first half of the NFC Championship NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, celebrates next to Michael Strahan, left, after a win over the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Trump administration officials swiftly sought to portray 37-year-old Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse, as an armed disruptor intent on doing harm to federal agents when he brought his own gun to a Minneapolis street where officers clashed with protesters over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Video shot by bystanders and reviewed by The Associated Press appears to contradict some of those statements.
Trump himself weighed in on social media after the shooting, sharing images of the gun that immigration officials said was recovered from Pretti and asking: “What is that all about? Where are the local Police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE Officers?”
However, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stressed during a briefing Monday that she had “not heard the president characterize” Pretti as a domestic terrorist, as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had suggested a day earlier, or use such words as assassin, as deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller did.
In their own words, this is what the Trump administration has said about Pretti and the circumstances around his death, and what is shown on videos of the shooting:
Greg Bovino, the Border Patrol commander leading Trump’s crackdown, told reporters Saturday that federal officers fired defensive shots after an individual “approached” with a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun.
Also Saturday, Noem said several times that Pretti “came with a weapon and dozens of rounds of ammunition and attacked” officers, who took action to “defend their lives.”
WHAT WE KNOW: While questions remained about the confrontation, use-of-force experts told the AP that bystander video undermined federal authorities’ claim that Pretti approached with a firearm and that the officer opened fire defensively.
Pretti can be seen with only a phone in his hand. No footage has been made public that appears to show him brandishing a weapon in the moments before or during the confrontation.
Pretti is seen held down by officers for several seconds when someone is heard saying, “gun, gun.” An officer appears to pull a handgun from Pretti’s waist area and begins moving away.
Then the first shot is fired by a Border Patrol officer. There’s a slight pause, and then the same officer fires several more times into Pretti’s back. Multiple officers back off. Within seconds, Pretti is motionless on the street.
Pretti was licensed to carry a concealed weapon.
Also Saturday, Bovino said that Pretti “violently resisted” when agents tried to disarm him.
Noem said Sunday on Fox News Channel that officers tried to get Pretti to disengage, but Pretti “became aggressive and resisted them throughout that process.”
WHAT WE KNOW: The videos show Pretti stepping in after an immigration officer shoves a woman. Pretti appears to be holding his phone, but there’s no sign he’s holding a weapon.
Pretti moves between the two and reaches his hands out toward the officer. The officer deploys pepper spray. Pretti is seen turning his face away and raising an empty hand. The officer grabs Pretti’s hand to bring it behind his back and deploys the pepper spray again, pushing him away.
Pretti is next to the other protester when the officer grabs hold of Pretti and they struggle. The officer is then joined by several others and they force Pretti to the ground. An officer holding a canister strikes him several times.
The shooting Saturday occurred when officers were on a commercial street pursuing a man in the country illegally and wanted for domestic assault, Bovino said.
He said that Pretti was there “to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.” In a Department of Homeland Security statement, spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin used the same words.
Noem emphasized Saturday that Pretti “wasn’t there to peacefully protest. He was there to perpetuate violence.” She said Sunday that Pretti “impeded a law enforcement operation, which is against federal law.”
WHAT WE KNOW: Pretti was one of many protesters on the street Saturday morning. In a seven-minute video obtained by the AP that shows the moments leading up to Pretti’s killing, he and others are holding up phones, apparently recording officer activity. Protesters are yelling out at the officers. Pretti is not visible the whole time, but he at one point can be seen talking to an officer, who pushes him back to the sidewalk. It’s not clear what Pretti is saying.
On Sunday, the Republican president in two lengthy social media posts said that Democrats had encouraged people to obstruct law enforcement operations, and called on officials in Minnesota to work with immigration officers and “turn over” people who were in the U.S. illegally.
“Tragically, two American Citizens have lost their lives as a result of this Democrat ensued chaos,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social media network.
Trump also said in a post Saturday that there had been a coordinated “cover up” to distract from billions being stolen from the state in a series of fraud cases involving government programs in which most of the defendants have roots in the east African country of Somalia. Trump accused Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey of “inciting Insurrection.”
Trump officials say Walz and Frey both repeatedly use inflammatory language, including Walz last year referring to federal immigration officers as “Trump’s modern-day Gestapo.”
WHAT WE KNOW: Minnesota, Minneapolis and St. Paul are all subjects of a September lawsuit by the Trump administration over their so-called sanctuary policies that the agency says interfere with the federal government’s authority to enforce immigration policies.
Minneapolis and St. Paul restrict the extent to which their law officers and other employees can cooperate with immigration enforcement, the lawsuit noted.
Walz last year rejected the assertion that Minnesota is a sanctuary state, with no statewide law protecting immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally from deportation. He has sharply criticized the administration’s operation in Minnesota as a “campaign of organized brutality,” which he repeated Saturday. Walz also has encouraged people to protest “loudly, urgent, but also peacefully,” he said in remarks after Renee Good’s killing by an immigration officer.
After Good’s killing, Frey used profanity in telling ICE to get out of Minneapolis.
“We do not want you here,” he said.
After the deadly shooting Saturday, both Walz and Frey pointed to the thousands of Minnesotans who peacefully protested the day prior.
“We want calm and peace and normalcy back to our lives. They want chaos,” Walz said. “We cannot and we will not give them what they want by meeting violence with violence.”
Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a news conference at Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino walks with Federal agents outside a convenience store on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)
U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino stands during a news conference Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)
People gather near the scene where Alex Pretti was fatally shot by a U.S. Border Patrol officer yesterday, in Minneapolis, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
