From “seeing ghosts” against the New England Patriots during the New York Jets days to now heading to the Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks to face the Same Patriots, Sam Darnold’s career arc is a long way from where he started. Still, even with Seattle’s postseason run, plenty of people still weren’t sold on Darnold as a legitimate Super Bowl–level quarterback heading into the NFC Championship game.

Doubt followed him right up until kickoff. And now, with the result settled, at least one of those skeptics has already stepped forward to admit he got it wrong. “Congratulations to Sam Darnold, because I didn’t believe! You shut me the f**k up! I’m looking forward to watching you play in the Super Bowl!” The Dallas Cowboys legend, Dez Bryant, shared via his official ‘x’ handle.

To Bryant’s credit, the skepticism didn’t come out of nowhere. Seattle’s 2025 offseason raised more than a few eyebrows. The Seahawks moved on from Geno Smith and parted ways with both Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf, then handed Darnold a three-year, $100.5 million deal. It felt risky. But Darnold backed it up. Yes, the interception issues never fully disappeared.

Still, Darnold led Seattle to the NFC’s top seed. In the process, he threw for 4,048 yards, completed 67.7% of his passes, and accounted for 25 touchdowns in the regular season. However, the doubts around him never settled. If anything, they grew louder once he was listed with an oblique injury ahead of the Divisional Round.

ESPN’s Ryan Clark wasn’t buying the injury designation. Instead, the outspoken analyst leaned into controversy, suggesting, “It sounds like the setup for an excuse.” But despite the injury, the quarterback knocked out the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round and advanced to the NFC Championship game. But then again, heading into the championship game against the Los Angeles Rams, skepticism surrounding Darnold and the Seahawks was widespread.

Part of that stemmed from what had already happened. In Week 11, the Rams beat Seattle 21–19 at SoFi Stadium after pressuring Darnold into a career-worst four interceptions. Seattle did respond in Week 16, rallying from a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit to get revenge. Still, that wasn’t enough to flip the narrative. In fact, eight of 12 CBS analysts picked the Rams to win the NFC Championship and reach the Super Bowl, leaving Seattle with just four votes.

But fast forward to now, and those predictions no longer matter. The Rams are done, and Sam Darnold has the Seahawks headed to Santa Clara in February to face the Patriots on the sport’s biggest stage.

Sam Darnold shut a lot of people down, as per his head coach

After being let go by the Jets and then the Minnesota Vikings, Sam Darnold has now helped the Seahawks reach the fourth Super Bowl in franchise history, and their first in eleven years. The last time Seattle made it this far, they ran into the Patriots and came up short. Fittingly, that’s the same opponent waiting for them again at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara this February.

Darnold delivered when it mattered most. He finished the night 25-of-36 for 346 yards, threw three touchdowns, avoided interceptions, and absorbed three sacks. Along the way, he became the first quarterback from the 2018 draft class to reach the Super Bowl, getting there ahead of Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Baker Mayfield.

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

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With that, Championship Weekend has officially set the stage for a Super Bowl rematch of the 2015 season. This time, an eight-year veteran in Darnold will line up against second-year quarterback Drake Maye and the Patriots. Whether he can rewrite that ending is a question that won’t stay unanswered for long.