"He might've silenced the critics in his head": Ryan Clark gives Sam Darnold reality check after Seahawks QB's 2 INT game vs Rams

Sam Darnold led the Seattle Seahawks to a crucial win against the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night in a contest that could be tagged ‘Game of the Year.’ The Seahawks came from behind in the thrilling game to secure a 38-37 win in overtime at Lumen Field.

Darnold completed 22 of 34 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns in the Week 16 encounter. However, he threw two interceptions and was sacked four times. In a Friday episode of “First Take,” Ryan was asked if the quarterback had silenced critics with the performance.

“No, if anything, Sam Darnold's critics are louder, but he might have silenced the critics in his head,” Clark said And here’s why … If I'm with the Rams, I'm saying to myself, ‘Every time we play him, we got it.’ He got lucky towards the end. “If I'm the Vikings, when I see him again, ‘We got him. We know what it is.’ If I'm the Colts, ‘We got him. We know what it is.’ “But for Sam Darnold to start that game the way he started that game, … to do what he was doing last night and find a way to win, that builds confidence in Sam Darnold. That builds confidence in the Seattle Seahawks. But absolutely, every team walking in isn’t going to watch the end of that film, but they're going to watch those first three quarters and say, ‘This is what we have to do to rattle him.’”

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Irrespective of the feelings around Sam Darnold, his signing seems to have paid off for the Seahawks. The win pulled the team one game ahead of the Rams in the NFC West with two games to go, while also placing them in pole position to secure the conference No. 1 seed.

Sam Darnold credits team effort for the Thursday win

While there’s been mixed opinion about his performance on Thursday night, Sam Darnold credited the crucial win to team effort. The quarterback had a lot of praise for the way in which his teammates in all three phases of the game reacted to the slow start.

“Obviously, in the first half, we didn't get off to the start that we wanted to, offensively,” Darnold said. “I think we did most of everything that we wanted to, we just didn't finish in the red zone. And so I think for us, that's kind of been a theme. “We just got to continue to finish in the red zone and harp on that throughout the week. But we did a great job in the second half of coming back and finishing the game strong. And I feel like our defense and obviously our special teams, the way that they started the second half is unbelievable.”

The Seahawks are set to receive the NFC’s first-round bye if they win their final two games of the season against the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers. The team undoubtedly has its eyes on the ultimate prize after a brilliant regular season.

Edited by Farouk Yusuf