Old friend of the program, Sam Darnold
Panthers fans are already familiar with Sam Darnold, the quarterback who was here in 2021-2022. Since then, he has spent a year backing up Brock Purdy with the 49ers, before finding a resurgence with the Minnesota Vikings, stepping in as the starter after JJ McCarthy was injured in the preseason.
The Darnold redemption arc in Minnesota earned him a multi-year deal with the Seahawks. With an offense that includes Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Kenneth Walker, Darnold has thrived. He is fifth in the league with 3,703 passing yards. He has a 67.2 completion percentage and has thrown for 24 touchdowns to 13 interceptions.
Six of those interceptions came in two games against the Rams, but Darnold also took over in the fourth quarter and overtime of the Week 16 matchup between the two teams to deliver a win.
Smith-Njigba is dominating at the top of the league in receiving yardage. He has 1,637 receiving yards, leading all receivers, on 104 receptions. He’s hauled in 10 touchdowns and converted 71 first downs. The latter is second in the entire league.
One reason the Seattle offense and Darnold have been able to operate at such a high level this season is the emergence of Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet. The two have each surpassed 500 yards, with Walker sitting at 879 yards on 190 carries.