The Reincarnation of Sam Darnold

 

It has been a rollercoaster of a career so far for Sam Darnold, but in his 8th year in the NFL, he will be competing on the biggest stage for the first time in his career. Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks are headed to the Super Bowl.

Darnold was the 3rd overall pick to the New York Jets back in 2018. After three miserable years in the Big Apple, it was time for a fresh start somewhere else. Darnold packed his bags for Carolina, but that experiment only lasted 2 seasons.

The career changing move for Sam Darnold was signing with the San Francisco 49ers in 2023. Despite Darnold backing up Brock Purdy, it was his first time where he could learn from the sidelines instead of being rushed in too quickly like he was in New York and Carolina.

Darnold learned from the best with Kyle Shanahan as his head coach and Brock Purdy starting for the Niners in their run to the Super Bowl that season. After falling short in the Super Bowl, Darnold's brief stint in San Francisco came to an end, but the start of his career had just begun. 

The Minnesota Vikings signed Darnold to a 1-year deal, thinking that he would backup their newly drafted quarterback JJ McCarthy. Instead, McCarthy suffered a season-ending injury before the season even began, and Darnold was ruled the Week 1 starter and never looked back. 

Darnold lead the Vikings to a 14-3 record, putting up his best career numbers after throwing for 4,300 yards and 35 touchdowns. Yet for some reason the Vikings decided it would be in their best interest to not renew Darnold's contract and let him walk. 

Seattle ended up signing Darnold in the 2025 offseason to a three year, $100.5 million deal. Darnold put up yet another career year with over 4,000 passing yards and 25 touchdowns. Like in Minnesota, Darnold led Seattle to a 14-3 record, but this time around it came with a first-round bye and home field advantage. 

On the other hand, Minnesota finished their season with a 9-8 record and missed the playoffs as well. 5 less wins and no playoff berth, I think Minnesota wishes they rethought their decisions. 

Fast forward to this past weekend, Sam Darnold played possibly his best game of his career in the biggest game of his career as he propelled the Seahawks to their first Super Bowl berth in over a decade. 

Sam Darnold's career turnaround is one of the most remarkable NFL stories in some time. To go from absolutely rock bottom in New York and Carolina, to earning an $100 million contract and winning an NFC Conference Championship. But if you ask him, he's right where he's meant to be. 

NFL Playoff Preview: Rams vs Seahawks

 

The NFC Championship comes down to two NFC West divisional opponents as the Los Angeles Rams head north to face off with the no. 1 seeded Seattle Seahawks. 

These two teams met twice in the regular season and split both matchups in dramatic fashion. The Rams victory over Seattle in November was a narrow 2 point victory, and Seattle's win in December was a 1 point win off of a game-winning two-point conversion. 

In both matchups, LA lead by a sizable margin and allowed Seattle to creep their way back into each game. The first game LA was able to hold on, but the second game was the opposite story. 

Seattle comes into this matchup after a total beatdown of the San Francisco 49ers. The game was decided 13 seconds in as San Francisco was unable to respond back to the Seahawks opening kick return touchdown. Seattle ended up winning by a whopping 35 points, the largest victory out of any team this postseason. 

On the other hand, the Rams divisional matchup was slightly closer. Los Angeles was able to narrowly pull out a gritty win over the Chicago Bears in overtime. That being said, Los Angeles didn't play anywhere near their best brand of football. Going up against Seattle, they must come ready to play early and often. 

It will be fascinating to see this Rams offense against this Seattle defense. LA comes into this matchup with one of the highest scoring offenses in the NFL, while Seattle comes in with the highest scoring defense in the NFL. One of these groups will have to give. 

This matchup will feature arguably the two best wide receivers in the sport in Puka Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Nacua played a huge role in the Rams dramatic victory over Chicago, while JSN didn't have to do much during Seattle's domination. 

A lot of people have been saying that the winner of this game will be the heavy favorite in the Super Bowl. Both of these teams have beyond what it takes to represent the NFC in the biggest game of the season, but who will prevail on Sunday?

NFL Playoff Preview: Patriots vs Broncos

It really is 2016 all over again, as for the first time in a decade, the Patriots and Broncos will meet in the AFC Championship with the opportunity to go to Santa Clara to play for the Super Bowl. 

The main headline in this matchup is the Broncos quarterback situation. Late in their divisional round matchup against Buffalo, Bo Nix fractured his ankle and was ruled out for the remainder of the playoffs. One of the most brutal blows that a team has ever suffered this late into the season.

With Nix sidelined, backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham will take over the reins for Denver. Stidham has not started an NFL game since 2023, making this even more unprecedented. The 29-year-old entered the league in 2019 when he was coincidentally drafted by the team who he will face on Sunday. 

Despite losing Nix, I believe that Denver still has a good fighting chance at coming out of this game with the victory. This game being in the Mile High City is very significant, and additionally Denver's defense is no joke and is going to give Drake Maye nightmares.

Coming off of a sloppy victory over the Houston Texans, the Patriots are coming into this game very confident. Their offense shut down all of the rumors that the Texans defense was too much for New England to handle and their defense balled out as well.

However, New England did rack up a couple of injuries in their win this past weekend. Significant names such as Treyveon Henderson, Hunter Henry, Harold Landry, and others all landed on this week's injury report. Being the AFC Championship, I expect these guys are going to do whatever it takes to play, but none of them are going to be 100 percent healthy. 

Last time it was Manning vs Brady. This time it's Stidham vs Maye. Despite the injuries, this game is going to be one for the ages. The top two teams in the AFC will compete for the right to go to the Super Bowl this Sunday in Denver. 

 

NFL Playoff Preview: Texans vs Patriots

 

After both teams prevented their opponents from scoring a singular touchdown in the Wild Card Round, the Houston Texans will travel north to Foxboro to take on the New England Patriots in the Divisional Round. 

Houston comes into this matchup after a dominant showing in Pittsburgh last Monday. They sent the Steelers into the offseason, and possibly Aaron Rodgers into retirement, after a 30-6 beatdown. Like most of the season, it was the defense that did the talking after putting together not one but two defensive touchdowns. 

In addition to the two defensive scores, the Texans recorded 4 sacks, 8 tackles for loss, and an interception. New England is going to face a tall and treacherous task going up against this unbelievably well put together defense by DeMeco Ryans. 

However, on the other side of the ball, Houston did struggle to put up efficient numbers. Quarterback CJ Stroud fumbled the football 5 different times, while fortunately only losing the ball on two of those occasions. Stroud and the Texans are going to have to do a better job at holding onto the football in yet another hostile environment. 

The Texans will also be without their star wide receiver Nico Collins. Collins suffered a brutal concussion during their win against Pittsburgh and has yet to clear concussion protocol. After putting up monster numbers last game, Christian Kirk will once again be a heavily relied upon target for CJ Stroud. 

New England is also coming off of a no sweat victory. In their 16-3 victory against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Patriots racked up 5 sacks and an enormous amount of pressures on opposing quarterback Justin Herbert. 

If it wasn't for an early Drake Maye interception, the Patriots would have possibly shutout LA. Like Houston, while New England's defense thrived, the offense was stuck in the mud. For success against this brutal Texans defense, the Patriots will need to establish the run game early and often. 

The Patriots come into this matchup with a mostly clean bill of health as they look to get to their first AFC Championship since 2019. Along with Bears head coach Ben Johnson, Mike Vrabel is the only other remaining first year head coach alive in the playoff picture. 

Houston is looking to make history with the possibility of making their first ever AFC Championship appearance as a franchise with a win over New England. It should be a fun one in Foxboro as the Texans and the Patriots meet in the playoffs for the first time since 2017. 

NFL Playoff Preview: Bills vs Broncos

A rematch of last year's AFC Wild Card matchup, except this time the roles are reversed as the Bills will head to Denver to take on the no. 1 seeded Broncos. Denver locked down home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs for the first time since 2015 when they took home the Lombardi Trophy. 

Just a season ago, the Bills welcomed rookie Bo Nix and the Broncos into the playoffs with a dominant 31-7 win at home. Since that matchup, the Broncos have only gotten better. Nix has asserted himself as one of the league's top quarterbacks and the defense has not and will never let the foot off of the pedal.

After defeating Jacksonville in dramatic fashion last weekend, the no. 6 seed Bills will have to face one of the toughest home field advantages throughout the NFL. Not only will the fans and altitude make a huge difference, but the Bills will be going up against the NFL's best defense to offer.

If Buffalo can get out of Denver alive, there is no reason why they shouldn't be in Santa Clara in early February competing for their first Super Bowl. This is the first year where Josh Allen doesn't have to worry about facing Patrick Mahomes, who he has yet to beat in the playoffs.

There has been a ton of criticism surrounding Denver this season despite their league-best 14-3 record. 11 of those 14 wins came by just one score or fewer. In addition, 10 of those 14 wins came against non-playoff teams. So are the Broncos really that good, or have they not faced any legitimate competition yet?

The defensive numbers speak for themselves as Denver has let up the least amount of touchdowns out of any team this season. On the other hand, the Denver offense has been nothing better than average. The Broncos rank towards the middle of the league in both their passing and rushing offense. 

The saying is that "Defense Wins Championships", and if the Broncos are to advance to the AFC Championship and further, then this saying will definitely hold up. It should be a fun one to kick off the divisional round as the Buffalo Bills head to the Mile High city looking to upset the Denver Broncos. 

NFL Playoff Preview: 49ers vs Seahawks

 

The lone matchup between teams coming from the same division will take place in Seattle this Saturday as the 49ers battle the Seahawks in one of the most hostile environments throughout the NFL. 

These two teams met in the final week of the regular season when Seattle took down San Francisco en route to clinching the no. 1 overall seed in the NFC. After a week off, Seattle looks to fend off a hungry 49ers team that just flew across the country and beat the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles in Philadelphia. 

In addition to their Week 18 matchup, Seattle and San Francisco also met in Week 1 where the 49ers actually came into Seattle and started off their season 1-0. Both matchups were very low-scoring as both teams failed to score 20 points respectively in both games. 

San Francisco comes into this matchup extremely injured. They just lost George Kittle to an achilles tear last week in Philadelphia, and that is without mentioning the absences of Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, and others. 

Despite the injuries, the Niners have continued to prevail and fend off the doubters throughout their adventurous season. San Fran comes into this matchup winners of seven of their last eight games with their sole loss coming to Seattle, leaving a bitter taste in their mouths. 

On the other hand, Seattle enters the divisional round of the playoffs after an historic regular season. They finished the campaign with a 14-3 record and the three losses each came by just one score each. The Seahawks have not dropped a game since mid-November. 

The connection between Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba was absolutely magical to watch this past season. JSN lead the league in receiving yards with nearly 1,800. Sam Darnold impressed in his first year in the Pacific Northwest, despite his 14 interceptions. 

Seattle's defense is not one to be reckoned with coming off a great season. It's very tough to score on this defense and the stats prove it. Seattle allowed just around 17 points per game to opposing offenses, ranking no. 1 in the NFL.

In the two matchups with San Francisco, the Seattle defense let up just 20 combined points. I am expecting another defensive bloodbath between these two NFC West foes with a trip to the NFC Championship on the line this Saturday. 

NFL Playoff Preview: Rams vs Bears

After both the Rams and Bears capped off dramatic victories this past Saturday, the two teams will now match up in the Divisional Round of the NFC Playoffs in Chicago. 

For Los Angeles, it was a back and forth battle in Carolina as they eventually took down the Panthers. Los Angeles was trailing late, but Matthew's Stafford game-winning drive heroics put them over the top and onto the next round. 

For Chicago, it was a different story and a little more dramatic. After facing an 18 point deficit in the second half, the Bears scored 25 fourth quarter points to catapult them over their division rival Green Bay Packers. 

Despite being the no. 2 seed, the Bears have played their best football when trailing late in games. Caleb Williams and Chicago have had seven come from behind victories this season, proving that Chicago can physically and literally never be counted out of any game. 

After facing off with Green Bay for the third time this season, Chicago will face a Rams team that they have yet to see. The Rams are arguably the most explosive and experienced team left in these playoffs. It wasn't too long ago when Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford lead Los Angeles to a Lombardi Trophy. 

This game will be experience vs youth, as Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams will each enter only their second career playoff games as head coach and quarterback respectively. 

I'm looking forward to see if the Bears can put together a complete game of football. Coming behind from that large of a deficit in one quarter isn't always going to work out, especially against Los Angeles. 

The winner of this anticipated showdown will face the winner of the opposite matchup in the NFC featuring the 49ers and the Seahawks. I expect this to be another thrilling game that will once again come down to the wire.  

 

NFL Playoff Preview: 49ers vs Eagles

 

The San Francisco 49ers will head to Philadelphia to take on the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles. After narrowly losing the NFC West and a first round bye, the 49ers fell to the no. 6 seed and now have to travel across the country for their matchup with Philadelphia. 

San Francisco and Philadelphia met up in the playoffs just three years ago in the NFC Conference Championship in a game that the Niners would not like to reminisce on. Over the past three years, the NFC has been represented by one of these teams in the Super Bowl. 

These two teams went in completely opposite directions to end the 2025 campaign. San Francisco ended the season winning 6 of their last 7 games, while the Eagles dropped 4 of their last 7 games. 

Both of these teams contradict each other in terms of where they excel. San Francisco ranks in the top 10 for total offense throughout the NFL, while Philadelphia is all the way down in the bottom third of the league. 

On the other hand, it has been Philadelphia's defense that has won them a lot of games this season. The 49ers have been very banged up, with All-Pros such as Fred Warner and Nick Bosa ruled out for the season due to injuries, causing them to struggle to get stops. 

In the four matchups between defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, Fangio has a 3-1 record and his defenses have allowed just 41 points to Shanahan's offenses. Shanahan will look to rewrite the script this Sunday if the 49ers want any chance at escaping Philadelphia alive. 

Like they have all season, San Francisco is going to rely heavily on their future Hall of Fame running back Christian McCaffrey. CMC not only leads his team in rushing yards, but also holds the lead for receiving yards as well. 

He nearly accomplished an unheard of feat of having over 1,000 rushing and receiving yards in one season. CMC leads the NFL in total touches with 413 on the season. Coincidentally, Saquon Barkley held that title a year ago for the Eagles during their run to their second Super Bowl title.

The two teams that have headlined the NFC in recent history will collide this Saturday in one of the most hostile environments in sports. Will the Niners pull off the upset, or will the Eagles continue their quest for back to back titles?

NFL Playoff Preview: Packers vs Bears

 

For the 213th time, the oldest rivalry in the NFL writes a new chapter this upcoming Saturday, as the Green Bay Packers head to Chicago to take on the Bears in the Wild Card round. The two teams met twice during the regular season and split each matchup in dramatic fashion. 

Green Bay comes into the NFC Playoffs as the no. 7 seed for the third consecutive year. On the other hand, Chicago clinched their first playoff berth since 2020 and took home the NFC North for the first time since 2018 as well. 

The biggest factor that could sway this matchup either way is health. The Packers are pretty banged up as Jordan Love was unable to finish the last couple games in the regular season, Josh Jacobs has been hurt since Week 11, and their top receiver Christian Watson is questionable. That's without even mentioning that they are without Micah Parsons for a long time as well. 

Chicago is also not 100 percent with CJ Gardner-Johnson already ruled out and their receiver room, which is already paper thin, is played through injuries as well. To put it simply, Chicago and Green Bay have experienced a long and successful but brutal past 18 weeks. 

The previous two matchups between the Bears and Packers both were decided by one possession. The first matchup in Green Bay was sealed with a game-winning interception by Green Bay in the end zone with minimal time left, while the one in Chicago was decided by a 46 yard DJ Moore touchdown in overtime. 

Green Bay lead for a majority of the previous matchup despite Jordan Love suffering an injury that sidelined him for most of the game. Love has not played a snap since that game in Chicago almost 4 weeks ago. 

Love sat out the final games of the season against Baltimore and Minnesota, both games in which the Packers dropped. In fact, Green Bay ended the regular season on a 4-game losing streak. They come into the playoffs as arguably the coldest team in the bracket. 

In year one under Ben Johnson, the Bears look like a completely new team. The rise of Caleb Williams, the deadly one-two punch of DeAndre Swift and Kyle Monangai, and a league-leading 32 interceptions is what has gotten the Bears this far. 

I expect this game to be pretty reminiscent to the previous two matchups between Green Bay and Chicago. If Jordan Love is able to play like his regular self, don't be surprised if the Packers march into Soldier Field and end this magical season by the Bears. 

NFL Playoff Preview: Rams vs Panthers

 

A rematch of a cinematic game back in late November, the Los Angeles Rams will head across the country to Charlotte to take on the NFC South Champion Carolina Panthers. 

Back in November, the Panthers beat the Rams by a score of 31-28 in surprising fashion. Los Angeles had come into that game winners of six straight games until Carolina knocked them off. Ultimately, the Panthers were the cause of the Rams' late season troubles as they dropped three of their last six games after starting off 9-2. 

Los Angeles heads into Carolina with a record of 12-5 after finishing second in the NFC West. Despite being the road team in a playoff game, the Rams come in as heavy favorites over the Panthers to advance to the next round. 

The Rams successes have been due to their excellent quarterback Matthew Stafford. Stafford has cemented himself as one of the top MVP candidates after posting the most passing touchdowns and passing yards as well.

LA certainly has what it takes to raise another Lombardi Trophy this upcoming February. The Rams ranked no. 1 in total offense this past season along with the most offensive touchdowns. Looking up and down the depth chart, Los Angeles has household names everywhere on their offense. 

The offense can put up numbers against any given team, but the defense wasn't too shabby either. LA ranked in the top 10 in total rushing defense, an area that the Panthers love to utilize on offense. 

Carolina comes into this matchup as the only playoff team with a sub .500 record after finishing the 2025 campaign 8-9. The Panthers wrapped up their first NFC South title since 2015 when they made it all the way to the Super Bowl. 

In all honesty, the 2015 Panthers are not in the same league with the 2025 Panthers. Bryce Young has shown impressive strides in just his third professional season, but Carolina needs to do a better job surrounding him with more weapons in 2026. 

Overall, nothing really jumps out on paper about this Panthers team. They are a very young squad that probably made the playoffs slightly before they were due to. However, it will be a good experience builder for this young team because they will be a threat across the league for years to come. 

NFL Playoff Preview: Chargers vs Patriots

 

For the first time since a guy named Tom Brady was the quarterback of the team, the New England Patriots are ready to host a home playoff game against the Los Angeles Chargers. 

After taking home their first division title since 2019, the Patriots enter the AFC Playoffs as the no. 2 seed hosting the no. 7 seeded Chargers. New England's jump from a 4-13 record in 2024 to a 14-3 finish in 2025 has been absolutely remarkable to witness. 

The coach and quarterback duo of Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel has been eerily similar to the hall of fame duo of Brady and Belichick that Patriots fans had been so accustomed to witnessing every Sunday. In year one, Vrabel has made unheard of strides to this New England football team. 

In only his second professional year and first complete season as a starter, Drake Maye has poised himself as one of the top options in the MVP race. Maye finished with a league high QBR, just under 4,400 passing yards, and 35 total touchdowns. 

The offensive additions of Stefon Diggs and Treyveon Henderson have been monumental towards the Pats success in 2025. In their first years in Foxborough, both Diggs and Henderson lead the team in receiving and rushing yards respectively. 

Coming into this game, New England currently has the 4th best odds to take home the Lombardi Trophy and the 2nd-best in the AFC behind the no. 1 seed Denver Broncos. However, they will have a tough task in hosting the Los Angeles Chargers.

Los Angeles, headlined by their head coach Jim Harbaugh and outstanding quarterback Justin Herbert will face a tall task going into New England on Sunday. The Chargers ranked no. 5 in total defense throughout the NFL giving them a slight edge in that category over the Pats. 

LA's superb defense lead by Derwin James is going to have to make it tough on Drake Maye and co. in order to have a shot in this game. Justin Herbert is also playing a little banged up on his non-throwing hand. If this plays a big role on Sunday, it could be a long night and long plane ride back home for the Chargers. 

All three of the AFC first round matchups feature showdowns that did not occur in the regular season. As a fan, expect the unexpected because not only is it the playoffs, but the AFC is going to be a rollercoaster, so hang on. 

NFL Playoff Preview: Bills vs Jaguars

 

This upcoming Sunday, the AFC South Champion Jacksonville Jaguars will host the Buffalo Bills in a heavily anticipated first round playoff matchup. After propelling the Jaguars to a division title in his first season as head coach, Liam Coen and his team are looking to make noise in the AFC Playoffs. 

The Buffalo Bills entered this season with sky high expectations, yet they ended the regular season as the no. 6 seed in the AFC. For a team that had controlled the AFC East for five consecutive seasons, this season was a shock to fans all across the National Football League. 

Regardless of the seeding, the Bills still have Josh Allen. Allen, one year removed from his first MVP, enters his first postseason without the threat of facing Patrick Mahomes. Year after year, the Bills never failed to fall to Patrick Mahomes, but without him in the way could this finally be their year?

Buffalo ended the regular season winning five of their last six games. Their offense, headlined by Josh Allen and James Cook, has the ability to take over any game. Allen and Cook combined for 2,200 rushing yards in 2025. 

However, when Buffalo heads south to Duval County, they will face the no. 1 rushing defense in the NFL. The Jaguars allow just under an average of 86 rushing yards per game. Buffalo's best offense this season has come from Josh Allen, James Cook, and the rest of the running back room putting their legs to the test. 

Not only did Buffalo end their season well, but Jacksonville ended their campaign on an eight-game winning streak. Trevor Lawrence had arguably his best season as a professional after throwing for over 4,000 yards along with 38 total touchdowns as well. 

Lawrence has done a fantastic job at getting his entire offense involved all season. Parker Washington and Brenton Strange's developments have been great to watch while coinciding with Travis Etienne and Brian Thomas Jr. 

In addition, the Jags have done all of this without their no. 2 pick from a year ago in Travis Hunter. Liam Coen, amidst his first season in Jacksonville, is in heavy contention for NFL Coach of the Year. 

It's an absolute tragedy that one of these two teams has to go home after Sunday because they are both poised for big runs this postseason if not for this matchup. Tune into CBS this upcoming Sunday, you are not going to want to miss this matchup. 

NFL Playoff Preview: Texans vs Steelers

 

After a thrilling upset over the Baltimore Ravens during the final game of the 2025 NFL regular season, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been crowned champions of the AFC North. As the no. 4 seed in the AFC, Pittsburgh will host the no. 5 seeded Houston Texans in the first round of the NFL Playoffs. 

Houston's playoff chances looked bleak after Week 3, but a 12-2 finish propelled the Texans to the top Wild Card spot in the AFC. Houston will come into Pittsburgh after finishing the regular season on an eight-game winning streak. 

The Texans have not lost a game since November 2nd when they fell to the now no. 1 seed in the AFC: the Denver Broncos. Four out of the five losses for the Texans were to playoff teams and the one that wasn't came at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who narrowly lost the NFC South. 

One might ask, how did the Texans get so hot? Houston possesses the NFL's top ranked defense, as opponents averaged less than 280 total yards against them all season. There were only three instances this season where Houston allowed 27 or more points. 

DeMeco Ryans and the Texans are living and dying by the motto that "defenses win championships." Danielle Hunter, Derek Stingley, and Will Anderson Jr. will look to continue this unbelievable stretch they have been on since November. 

Pittsburgh came away with an unbelievable finish over the Baltimore Ravens to secure their spot in the playoffs. Led by 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers, the Steelers will host their first playoff game since the 2020 season. In addition, Pittsburgh will look to win their first playoff game since the 2016 season. 

Unlike the Texans, the Steelers started off the regular season on a roll after going 4-1 through their first five games. However, their midseason struggles took a toll on them, but they were able to win four of their last five games to clinch a playoff spot on the final day of the regular season. 

DK Metcalf will make his return to the Steelers after sitting out the previous 2 games due to a suspension. Metcalf will provide a huge boost for this Steelers offense and I wouldn't be surprised if he provides Pittsburgh with some game changing plays.

The NFL Playoffs have arrived, and they have left us nothing but great matchups all weekend. Although Pittsburgh and Houston will face off on Monday, the wait will be very much worth it for this cinematic matchup.