After seven years of bouncing around the NFL, Sam Darnold officially became a Super Bowl Champion in Year 8, leading the Seattle Seahawks to a 29-13 win over the New England Patriots in Santa Clara, California.
Once considered the next great quarterback prospect after a highly-touted career at USC, Darnold saw ghosts in New York with the Jets, was benched in Carolina by the Panthers, and couldn’t even earn a second contract with the Minnesota Vikings despite being in serious contention for league MVP thanks to his strong play.
Now etched in NFL history for his unique path to Super Bowl glory, Ryan Clark gave Darnold props on ESPN’s NFL Live for rewriting his narrative, showing fans young and old that anything is possible if you believe in yourself.
“For Sam Donald, it’s more about the get back than the fall off. To me, many people want to talk about what he was, but let’s talk about what he is. He’s a Super Bowl champion. He’s a quarterback that the Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl because of, not in spite of, and when Dan talks about amnesia, it brings this to mind. He never spoke about where he came from. He spoke about those who supported him,” Clark said.
“He spoke about his parents always believing in him and why he believed in himself, even when you think about the turnovers from early on this year. If you begin to have paralysis by analysis, you don’t make that throw to Barner against Marcus Jones. You don’t make that throw to Cooper Kupp against Marcus Jones across the field. You don’t put the ball in harm’s way to go make a play and be aggressive. And so Sam Donald truly is a testament to believing in yourself, and it’s not necessarily about a chip on your shoulder, but it’s about understanding that everything in my life, everything in my career led me to that moment, and you saw that gratitude.”
While Darnold’s stat line won’t break any Super Bowl records, completing 19 of his 38 attempts for 202 yards and a touchdown, with Kenneth Walker III earning the MVP for his 135-yard rushing performance, Darnold stayed cool under pressure and kept the mistakes to a minimum. If he doesn’t produce when his number is called, who knows? Maybe there are a few of Foxboro’s finest at Disneyland instead of the USC product and his MVP backfield mate.
“Sam Darnold truly, is a testament to believing in yourself.”@Realrclark25 on Sam Darnold and the Seahawks after defeating the Patriots in Super Bowl XL pic.twitter.com/uVH5C4GSLy
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) February 9, 2026
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