By JANIE McCAULEY
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — How fitting that Sam Darnold delivered the capstone of his topsy-turvy NFL career in the very same place where he recently revived it.
On the sideline of Levi’s Stadium two seasons ago, Darnold patiently paid his dues behind Brock Purdy as San Francisco’s backup quarterback and soaked up every ounce of knowledge he could from the coaches.
Back in the Bay Area on Sunday and beneath the bright lights, Darnold became a Super Bowl champion in his first year under center for the Seattle Seahawks — his fifth team in eight seasons.
Seattle captured the franchise’s second Lombardi Trophy with a dominant 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots. Darnold even dressed in the same locker room Sunday where he once roamed with the 49ers, then took the field and completed 19 of 38 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown.
The 28-year-old Darnold now has an NFL title to his name, and that should be plenty to prove he belongs among the NFL’s elite quarterbacks after a much-criticized beginning to his professional career.
He hung tough for the Seahawks this season through the ups and downs, time and again. Just as he had done so many times before while facing the doubters who largely considered him a bust.
That forgettable, four-interception game in a 21-19 Week 11 road loss to the Rams in mid-November seems so long ago now. Darnold’s teammates stuck by him, and he used that day as fuel to be better: beating the Rams the next two meetings, rallying his team to a 38-37 overtime victory Dec. 18 before a 31-27 triumph in the NFC championship game last month.
Darnold credited that time with San Francisco playing in coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense while learning from Purdy as crucial to reviving his career, then he produced a breakout year with Minnesota last season before heading off to the Pacific Northwest.
Darnold started one game in 2023 for the 49ers and appeared in 10, throwing 46 total passes with 28 completions and a pair of touchdowns. He cherished the guidance he received from quarterbacks coach Brian Griese, an 11-year NFL veteran himself.
It has been quite a journey for Darnold to find his footing in the pros after being drafted third overall by the New York Jets in the first round of the 2018 draft out of USC.
He had a 13-25 record and a 78.6 passer rating over his initial three seasons for the Jets — the second worst in the league among 43 quarterbacks with at least 15 starts from 2018-20.
Across the country in Seattle, Darnold has thrived — still with some of those same San Francisco ties. Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak was the Niners’ passing game coordinator in 2023.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
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