Scrambling Sam Darnold Rediscovers Mojo in Seahawks’ Blowout Win in Atlanta
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Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) runs the ball against the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images [/caption]
ATLANTA, Ga. - Cooling off substantially after a hot start, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold’s performance has been under the microscope in recent weeks as turnovers and sacks have piled up in bunches and a top-five offense suddenly started to struggle putting points on the scoreboard.
After only managing to muster one touchdown drive in a 26-0 win over the Vikings last weekend and throwing for just 128 yards with a lost fumble, Darnold’s fortunes didn’t appear to be on the verge of changing Sunday against the Falcons. Still under siege by another aggressive, blitz-happy defense, he took a third down sack on the opening series and then threw an interception trying to connect with tight end Elijah Arroyo on a play action bootleg two series later, factoring into just six points by halftime on two Jason Myers field goals.
Mired in quite the slump and believing he had been trying to do too much as of late, Darnold turned to arguably the most underrated part of his game coming out of halftime, leaning on his scrambling and improvising skills rather than forcing the issue entrusting too much confidence in his arm. The pivot proved to be a game changer, as the veteran quarterback ran three times for 23 yards, used his legs to extend several other plays, and tossed three touchdowns in the second half to engineer a 37-9 rout for the Seahawks, transforming a tight game into a yawner.
“I just tried to take some of the opportunities that the defense gave me,” Darnold said after the game. “I was going through my reads, and if something wasn't there, it was just not panicking and just understanding that I could get out of the pocket and make something happen with my legs.”
Leading up to Sunday’s matchup in Atlanta, Darnold had thrown four interceptions and lost a fumble in his previous three starts, and Seattle’s offense started to have issues with finishing drives. In a 21-19 loss to the Los Angeles Rams and the aforementioned win over Minnesota, the unit combined to score just two touchdowns, regularly having to send Myers out onto the field in the red zone when possessions stalled out.
In those games, Darnold had several instances where he could have tucked and ran rather than trying to squeeze the ball into a tight window downfield, which led to three of his four interceptions in an ugly showing against the Rams. He rushed a grand total of three times for 10 yards, rarely following his own advice from Sunday to not panic and use his running ability to, at minimum, live to fight another down rather than uncork a costly turnover.
But against the Falcons, aided in part by offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak calling more designed rollouts to move the launching point for his quarterback, Darnold got back to playing the role of creator in and out of the pocket. After a 100-yard kickoff return by Rashid Shaheed and a fumble recovery by Devon Witherspoon, the signal caller went to work, starting off an impressive drive by with back-to-back completions to AJ Barner and Shaheed.
On the third play of the series, Darnold took a straight drop back from under center and scanned the field, but nobody came open initially and multiple Falcons defenders came bearing down on him in the pocket. He scrambled out to his right to escape the pressure, delivering a strike to Cody White on a crossing route to turn a potential sack into a nine-yard gain on first down.
Two snaps later, with three straight completions and bit of out of pocket movement helping him get dialed in, Darnold fired a dart over the middle to Jaxon Smith-Njigba off a play action concept, hitting the star receiver in stride for a 30-yard gain. On a similar play, he connected with Smith-Njigba again two snaps later on another crossing route, and the wideout did the rest breaking a tackle and coasting into the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown to push Seattle’s lead to 14.
While Darnold’s explosive throws to Smith-Njigba understandably will draw the attention, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald loved to see his quarterback trusting his athleticism and playmaking capabilities as he did earlier on the drive to evade multiple oncoming pass rushers and hit White for a nice completion.
“He's so good at extending plays. Just go be a playmaker, man,” Macdonald said of Darnold. “Go do the things that you do. Get excited about it. Just kind of build him up on that front. You can't make too big of these things. Just encourage him to go do what he does and make it happen.”
Sparked by the much-needed touchdown drive, Darnold came alive for the remainder of the half, demonstrating the pocket presence and movement skills that helped him get off to a quick start in his first year as a Seahawk.
Up 23-9 early in the fourth quarter, Darnold stepped up in the pocket to evade a rusher that had whipped past tackle Abraham Lucas, allowing him time to drop a 3rd and 6 dime to Shaheed on a deep sail route for 33 yards. On the ensuing snap, after glancing at two different receivers and opting not to pull the trigger, he vacated the pocket to his left and took off, sliding into second base for an eight-yard gain.
Continuing to shine on the move, Darnold put a cherry on top of the drive two plays later as he rolled out off play action and dumped off an easy pass in the flats to Cooper Kupp for an 11-yard touchdown. All but sealing the win, he would add one more touchdown pass to Smith-Njigba later in the quarter, masterfully stepping up in the pocket to avoid numerous rushers closing in on him before unloading a four-yard scoring toss as he approached the line of scrimmage.
“It’s just going through the read, understanding that it wasn't really there and just trying to make a play,” Darnold explained. “Escaping up instead of up and out, which is something that I've been working on. But again, it's just kind of the opportunities that you get throughout a game. I just felt like the other edge rushers were getting around a little bit, so I just tried to get up the middle and obviously made a play. And Jax did a great job of getting open.”
By the time the final whistle blew, Darnold had turned in one of his more efficient outings of the season, throwing for 249 yards with his first three touchdown game since a Week 9 road win in Washington and a sterling 111.7 passer rating. With his mobility accentuated by Kubiak’s play calls, the quarterback finally found a way to get back into a groove after a near-month long lull, showing he could indeed find success against an attacking defense such as the Falcons that loves to send extra pressure.
Time will tell whether that third and fourth quarter surge carries over into a tough final four game slate for the Seahawks, starting with two games in five days against the Colts and the Rams. Indianapolis’ defense has not been as stout over the past month with key players sidelined, but the team still ranks 13th in scoring defense, while Los Angeles sits just behind Seattle allowing a paltry 17.5 points per game and already had a field day against Darnold last month.
After that gauntlet, the Seahawks will hit the road to face a rapidly improving Panthers squad in Charlotte and close out the season with the 49ers, who sit just a game behind them in the NFC West and also boast a top-10 scoring defense. In other words, Darnold will have to play at his best against the best, including a Rams squad that has long had his number, thus remaining the biggest obstacle that he has yet to hurdle over during his career renaissance that started a year ago in Minnesota.
However, if Sunday serves as any indication, Seattle and Darnold may have found the formula for ensuring that he stays on track with the playoffs within reach. While he won’t be mistaken for Lamar Jackson by any means, Kubiak has to continue catering his game plans to presenting opportunities for his quarterback to run, and the player himself hopefully will see how things transpired in Atlanta and be more willing to take off rather than make dangerous throws into contested windows moving forward.
