Sam Darnold's Remarkable Resurrection: From Four-Time Castoff to 60 Minutes From a Super Bowl Title

There is perhaps no more compelling story in the NFL right now than Sam Darnold's transformation from discarded journeyman to Super Bowl quarterback. On Sunday, Darnold threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns in the NFC Championship Game, leading the Seattle Seahawks to a 31-27 victory over the Los Angeles Rams and a date with the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 60.

As Dan Sileo laid out on The National Football Show, the numbers are staggering — and the narrative they create is impossible to ignore.

The Journeyman's Journey

Darnold was the third overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He was released by the New York Jets. He was released by the Carolina Panthers. He didn't last in San Francisco. He revived his career in Minnesota, only to watch the Vikings let him walk in favor of J.J. McCarthy.

"He got fired from the New York Jets. He got fired from the Carolina Panthers. He got fired from the San Francisco 49ers. He got fired from the Minnesota Vikings. He got fired four times... Now he's 60 minutes from a Super Bowl. What changed? Maybe he's around a good organization." — Dan Sileo

What changed, according to Sileo, is exactly what the analytics-obsessed corners of football often overlook: coaching, environment, and surrounding talent.

31 Wins in Two Years

The raw production speaks for itself. Darnold has won 31 games over the past two seasons between Minnesota and Seattle. He's thrown for over 8,200 yards in that span with more than 60 touchdowns. He's now 2-1 in the playoffs. The Seahawks are 16-3 counting the postseason this year.

"Sam Darnold is going to win the MVP award and he's a journeyman," Sileo said. "What's that say? He's won 31 ball games in two years. If he wins the Super Bowl, he won 32 games in two years, two different franchises."

Sileo drew a pointed comparison to Jalen Hurts, noting that Darnold's 346 yards and three touchdowns in the NFC Championship was "by far a better game than Hurts has ever played in a conference title game." In Hurts' first playoff run in 2022, he threw for 154 yards against the Giants and 120 yards against the 49ers.

The Environment Factor

Sileo's central thesis is one that challenges the quarterback-centric view of modern football: great players need great organizations around them.

"Shows you what good coaching and good players can do for a guy. Can you imagine if Sam Darnold had been parachuted into Seattle from the very start?" — Dan Sileo

Kyle Shanahan saw it when Darnold was briefly in San Francisco. "This dude can play," Shanahan said at the time. "This guy's a special player." Minnesota thought Darnold was a product of their system. Seattle is proving he was the product all along — he just needed the right stage.

Co-host Xander Krause agreed, noting a broader trend: "What's become very evident is having a great team is more important than having a great quarterback." He pointed to the Buffalo Bills — who have a generational talent in Josh Allen but lack the organizational infrastructure to capitalize on it — as the cautionary counter-example.

The Indictment on the Jets and Vikings

If Darnold's success is validation, it's also an indictment. The Jets and Vikings both let him walk. The Jets replaced him with a carousel of failed experiments. The Vikings chose J.J. McCarthy, a quarterback Sileo and Krause say "couldn't throw a football in college."

"If you're the Jets and the Minnesota Vikings fans, what are you thinking right now watching Sam Darnold play? You stayed with J.J. McCarthy — stupid." — Dan Sileo

Krause was equally blunt: "That organization is so stupid. You almost can't judge any quarterback that's ever played there. Throw it out."

Darnold is now 60 minutes from becoming the only USC quarterback to ever start and win a Super Bowl. He's making only $30 million — half of Dak Prescott's salary. And he's about to play for the biggest prize in football. The journeyman has become the destination.