Winning the Super Bowl won’t change this person’s opinion about Sam Darnold as an elite quarterback. Former NFL safety Ryan Clark was asked by Sports Illustrated on Saturday if the Seattle Seahawks winning today’s Super Bowl would put their quarterback among the top 10 players at his position.
“No, I don’t, I don’t think it’s just about that,” Clark declared (Time Stamp: 0:03).
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The former Super Bowl champion with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2009 season elaborated on what he meant.
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“It’s about the way he plays. It’s about what happens next year as he continues,” added Clark (Time Stamp: 0:07).
He goes on to use last year’s Super Bowl champion, Jalen Hurts, for perspective.
“Think about the conversations surrounding Jalen Hurts. Jalen Hurts was a second finisher in the MVP voting three years ago. Had two amazing Super Bowls, but they’re still the conversation are you in the top 10 because it’s about what you do consistently year in year out,” adds Clark.
Hurts was named Super Bowl MVP in the Philadelphia Eagles 40-22 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs last year, going 17/22 for 221 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception.
Darnold has had two big seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and the Seattle Seahawks, respectively, winning 14 games in both. Only Tom Brady in NFL history has also achieved that rare feat. Darnold try to get the Seahawks their second Super Bowl title today when they battle the New England Patriots at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
Darnold’s former team could regret this
Despite a strong regular season in 2024, a poor playoff showing by the Minnesota Vikings left Sam Darnold out as their quarterback last off-season. At that time, the Vikings had a choice to either stick with the USC Trojan or go to J.J. McCarthy. They chose the latter, a move they may now regret.
Last season McCarhty was 6-4 for Minnesota as they missed the playoffs. Darnold, meanwhile, had a completion percentage this year of 67.7 with a career-high 8.5 yards per pass. McCarthy averaged just 6.7 yards per attempt with a completion percentage of 57.6.
If there’s one drawback Darnold will have playing in this game, it’s the $135,000 he could lose in taxes. The Seahawks have not been to the Super Bowl since the 2014 season, losing to the New England Patriots on a Malcolm Butler interception at the goal line. Their first Super Bowl victory came the previous season.
Edited by Joel Lefevre
