'My favorite Sam Darnold game'

Statistically, Sam Darnold didn’t have his best game of the season in Sunday’s 37-9 Seattle Seahawks win over the Atlanta Falcons.

In fact, when halftime came along, Darnold had thrown an interception while having yet to lead Seattle into the end zone.

But how Darnold responded in the second half speaks volumes to Seattle Sports’ Brock Huard.

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“This was my favorite Sam Darnold game,” said Huard, a longtime football analyst and former Seahawks quarterback himself, in his weekly postgame reaction video.

It didn’t even take the entire second half for Huard to make that declaration, as he said the same thing on social media while the Seahawks were pulling away in the fourth quarter.

“It won’t be his highest QBR or pass efficiency (in a game this season), though it will rate very well,” Huard wrote. “Loved his response to early adversity. Loved his running and extending plays. Loved his pinpoint accuracy downfield. Loved his feet and eyes connection.”

Darnold finished with 249 passing yards and three touchdowns on 20-of-30 passing while taking a pair of sacks for an 111.7 rating, but it was his willingness to be mobile and use his legs to beat the Falcons defense that was perhaps the biggest development from his day.

Darnold had 23 yards on three carries, nearly matching his season-high of 24 rushing yards in a game, which came on a single run in a September win over Arizona. He also found Jaxon Smith-Njigba on a 4-yard pass for Seattle’s final touchdown of the day after running straight out of the pocket to avoid pressure from Atlanta’s defensive front.

It’s like he’s been here before. 🤔#ProBowlVote + @jaxon_smith1

📺: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/Y3JDs7PWMf

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) December 7, 2025

Huard expanded on his point in the video.

“A little bit of adversity early. How are you going to respond? I love the use of his legs. His feet and eyes were tied together. His arm obviously is plenty strong enough and on-point accurate throughout. I mean, what a dominant statement.”

Huard’s overall assessment of the Seahawks’ day sounded similar to his praise of Darnold.

“We have seen some incredible football from the Seahawks here in 2025,” he said. “We’ve not seen a half quite as good as that one, I don’t think, in every phase. Second half is just, I mean, there’s nothing to nitpick. It’s as good as it gets.”

For more analysis from Huard, tune in Monday to Brock and Salk from 6-10 a.m. on Seattle Sports.

‘My favorite Sam Darnold game’

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