The confetti from their NFC Championship win has barely settled, but the Seattle Seahawks are already facing a major concern regarding their starting quarterback. Despite a commendable performance to take down the Los Angeles Rams, the focus has already shifted to fans demanding fresh updates on how Sam Darnold is doing. However, the latest reports indicate that head coach Mike Macdonald has no clarity on what capacity his quarterback will practice in the coming two weeks.

“Mike Macdonald said he has no early sense of how much Sam Darnold will do in practice the next two weeks as he continues to manage his oblique injury,” insider Brady Henderson reported on X. “The QB was limited all last week. Macdonald, giving context to his three-TD performance postgame, said he “barely practiced.”

According to the reports dominating across media platforms, Darnold has shown improvement, but the issue hasn’t fully gone away. During practice last week, Darnold shared reps with Drew Lock and focused mainly on short and mid-range throws. He chose not to push his arm too hard as a precaution.

Head coach Mike Macdonald confirmed that the team followed a careful plan in practice and noted that Darnold looked better each day. As a result, the championship game saw him throw three touchdowns and guide the Seattle Seahawks past the Los Angeles Rams. He also matched drives with Matthew Stafford late in the game, keeping Seattle in control. The decisive moment came when Devon Witherspoon broke up a fourth-down pass in the end zone.

Darnold stayed aggressive on the final drive as he threw for three first downs to drain the clock. He set the tone early with a 51-yard strike to Rashid Shaheed, leading to a short touchdown run by Kenneth Walker III. Before halftime, Darnold needed just 34 seconds to put Seattle ahead for good. However, he is now expected to receive a pain-killing injection before kickoff, something he also did last week.

The injury first happened just before Seattle’s divisional-round win over the San Francisco 49ers. However, he played efficiently despite the troubles. Despite playing through the issue, Macdonald later provided a more detailed and ultimately reassuring update on his quarterback’s status.

Mike Macdonald said on Seattle Sports’ Brock & Salk that Darnold will feel sore, but the injury is not serious. This turns out to be good news as Seattle gets ready for Super Bowl LX against the New England Patriots. Darnold knows this opponent well from his time with the New York Jets, even if past results weren’t kind. Despite concerns surrounding his form, head coach Mike Macdonald didn’t back down from linking the team’s victory directly with the QB’s performance.

Seahawks rally around Sam Darnold after the championship game

Sam Darnold’s impact was clearly visible in Sunday’s championship game against the Rams. The team earned a Super Bowl slot after an 11-year hiatus, and the roster couldn’t get enough of the celebrations. After a game that saw no turnovers from Sam Darnold, the head coach stepped forward to offer him a big compliment.

“You can’t talk about the game without talking about our quarterback,” Macdonald said. “He shut a lot of people up tonight, so I’m happy for him.”

The team’s wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba also applauded the QB’s resilience. According to him, the endurance Darnold showed despite the injury turned out to be a major highlight of the game.

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“Can’t say enough about Sam, man,” the WR said. “It’s been a great first year. We got one more to go. But for him to overcome what he had to overcome, I’m riding with Sam all day.”

The upcoming Super Bowl will mark the Seahawks’ fourth appearance in franchise history. With Darnold having almost two weeks to recover and prepare for the opportunity, it remains to be seen if he can deliver one more winning performance on the league’s biggest stage.