Sam Darnold, the quarterback once famously caught on camera declaring he was “seeing ghosts” during a dismal 2019 Monday night game, is now poised to lead the NFC champion Seattle Seahawks into Super Bowl LX.
The remarkable turnaround sees him face the very team that inflicted that humiliating defeat: the New England Patriots.
That infamous 2019 encounter saw Darnold, then with the New York Jets, endure a brutal 33-0 loss, completing just 11 of 32 passes for 86 yards, throwing four interceptions, and losing a fumble.
The comment, made to his coaches on the sideline, became a defining, and often mocking, moment in his early career.
Since then, Darnold has embarked on a nomadic journey through the NFL, playing for the Carolina Panthers, San Francisco 49ers, and Minnesota Vikings before signing with the Seahawks last March.
His path to the Super Bowl, set to take place in Santa Clara, California, has been anything but conventional.
Reflecting on his career during Super Bowl Opening Night, Darnold stated: “I take every experience as its own, no matter what happens. I was really blessed to get drafted to the Jets and obviously things didn’t work out the way I wanted to there and then went to the Carolina Panthers, where I made a lot of really great friends and learned some great football as well. Just part of my journey.”
He continued: “Then went to San Francisco and was able to be a backup there for a great player in Brock Purdy, learned under a great coach in Kyle Shanahan, Brian Griese, the Kubiaks obviously, then went to Minnesota and was with some really great coaches and really great players as well.
“Everything I do, I just take one day at a time and I think that’s the mantra for myself and what I’ve been able to do over the past couple of years.”
A significant factor in Darnold’s recent success, which includes winning 14-plus games in each of the past two seasons – a unique feat for a quarterback with different teams – has been a consistently strong running game.
Unlike his stints with the Jets or Panthers, where no running back surpassed 1,000 yards, Aaron Jones achieved this for the Vikings last season, and Kenneth Walker III replicated it for the Seahawks this year.
NFL Network analyst Michael Robinson even suggested Walker acts as Darnold’s “Ghostbuster.”
Darnold also credited the Seahawks’ formidable “Dark Side” defense, which topped the league in fewest points allowed during the regular season.
“Having a really good defense helps a lot,” he explained. “It makes those decisions down in the red zone or when you’re in field-goal range a lot easier. I never feel like I have to force the ball.”
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, the No. 3 overall pick in 2024, who met Darnold at last season’s Pro Bowl, expressed admiration for his perseverance.
“What a career he’s had,” Maye remarked on Monday. “He’s made them pay ever since (other teams moved on).”
