After eight seasons in the NFL, former USC quarterback Sam Darnold finally has his first playoff win. On Saturday night, Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks dominated the San Francisco 49ers 41-6 to advance to the NFC Championship Game.
While Darnold deserves credit for not making any major mistakes, he did not actually have to do all that much to help his team win the game. Instead, it was Seattle’s defense and running game that stole the show, dominating a 49ers team that was extremely depleted by injuries.
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One of the defensive standouts of the game was former USC defensive lineman Leonard Williams. Williams recorded two quarterback hits and a sack in the contest.
Williams and Darnold never played together at USC. Williams declared for the NFL draft following his 2014 junior season, and Darnold did not arrive on campus until 2015. A decade later, however, they are teaming up in the Pacific Northwest in pursuit of a Super Bowl.
Seattle will face the winner of Sunday’s game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Chicago Bears next week. If Chicago wins, it would be a matchup of two former USC quarterbacks—Darnold and Caleb Williams—with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC’s Leonard Williams comes up big for Sam Darnold and Seahawks