Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold has been battling an oblique injury throughout the postseason, playing through the ailment, though as Super Bowl LX approaches, the injury has re-entered the spotlight.
Darnold is the driving force of the offense, distributing the ball to stars like Jaxson Smith-Njigba.
He has continued to build momentum with the Seahawks following his time with the Minnesota Vikings, becoming one of the better starting quarterbacks in the league.
Entering the last two playoff games, he has been limited in practice and has taken painkillers and injections to play since injuring his oblique.
However, his performances have not shown much of an effect, and according to ESPN’s Jeff Darlington, the organization feels good about where their quarterback is at entering the Super Bowl.
“Now, the last two games that Darnold has played in, he has taken pain-killing shots before those games and didn’t really practice very much leading up to them,” Darlington said.
“But Darnold himself has made very clear he was never concerned about his ability to play in those games and to do so at a high level.
“John Schneider, Mike McDonald, both saying that they were so impressed by the way Darnold handled all of it. He was never nervous, never concerned. He was full go all along.
“They were always kind of wondering whether he’d be at that full capacity, and he was. So they have no concern going into this game. They’ll probably continue to limit his throws, but every week that he is getting further away from that injury, he continues to feel closer to 100%.”
How has Sam Darnold played heading into the Super Bowl?
In the NFC Divisional round, Darnold did not have much to do, only attempting 17 passes and passing for 124 yards, along with one touchdown and, importantly, no interceptions.
The Seahawks rolled through the San Francisco 49ers, but the Los Angeles Rams game was a massive test for the former USC signal caller.
The NFC Championship game was a great performance from Darnold, throwing 346 yards on 25-of-36 attempts, with three touchdowns. He was lights out for the most part and kept up with the MVP favorite on the Rams, Matthew Stafford.
Against the New England Patriots, the Seahawks might need something in the middle from Darnold’s two performances, as the Seattle defense should dictate the game, with Darnold only responsible for making big plays when the defense gives them to him.
