Sam Darnold makes his Seattle Seahawks debut momentarily as the team’s new starting quarterback and offensive captain against his former team, the San Francisco 49ers.

Darnold spent 2023 with San Francisco, where he was primarily a backup and scout team quarterback. He played against their defense- which features many of the same players and the same scheme today- consistently in practice. He became the starter for the Minnesota Vikings in 2024 and faced the 49ers in Week 2, where he posted a 109.1 passer rating and led his team to a 23-17 win.

Advertisement

That game helped announce Darnold’s resurgence to the rest of the NFL last season. He finally became a starter in his sixth season in the league after struggling to develop with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers for years- but when he finally got with a renowned offensive mind in Kevin O’Connell, they put together gameplans that clicked week after week and took full advantage of Minnesota’s offensive weaponry. Kubiak and Darnold’s connection will finally be on full display today, and they can use some of the same tricks that worked last year to beat the 49ers again today.

Darnold’s passer rating was aided by a 17-26(65.4%) completion rate. O’Connell’s willingness to let him get comfortable passing the ball short early allowed them to take a deep shot to Justin Jefferson for a long touchdown in the second quarter. The 49ers are an aggressive defense who likes to bite on short plays, and you can catch them off guard with deep balls once you stretch them to the sidelines. Hitting the short passes Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp are known for will get the offense humming and create big-play potential.

The Seahawks will also need to establish the run against the aggressive 49ers defense, but this will also come as the short passes create space between the linebackers. If they don’t feel the need to back up, they have the talent and experience to stop the run for several quarters.

Follow @TheSeahawksWire on twitter to keep up as the battle for the 2025 NFC West crown begins.

This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Sam Darnold: How the Seahawks new QB can exact revenge on the 49ers