Sam Darnold vs. Russell Wilson: Seattle's two Super Bowl QBs
Twelve years apart, two very different quarterbacks gave Seattle its only two titles. Side by side, the routes, the games and the numbers tell you more than the legacy arguments do.
Before December 2025, the Seahawks had lost all 172 games in which they trailed by 15 or more points in the fourth quarter. Then Sam Darnold erased a 16-point deficit against the Rams and won 38-37 in overtime. That comeback put Seattle on course for the NFC's top seed, and about seven weeks later the franchise had its second Super Bowl. Its first belonged to Russell Wilson, who retired on June 3, 2026. I understand why fans want to rank the two. I think the more useful move is to lay them side by side.
Two routes to the same parade
They reached Seattle from opposite ends of the football world. Wilson was a third-round pick, 75th overall in 2012, whom many teams had doubted because of his height; he started as a rookie and never gave the job back. Darnold went third overall to the New York Jets in 2018, then wound through Carolina, San Francisco and Minnesota, where a 2024 breakout ended a long stretch of being called a bust. Seattle signed him on March 13, 2025, to a three-year, $100.5 million deal. His fifth team. First ring.
| Russell Wilson | Sam Darnold | |
|---|---|---|
| How he arrived | 2012 draft, round 3, pick 75 | 2025 free agent, fifth NFL team |
| Title season record | 13-3 (2013) | 14 wins (2025) |
| Super Bowl | XLVIII, Feb. 2, 2014, MetLife Stadium | LX, Feb. 8, 2026, Levi's Stadium |
| Final score | Seattle 43, Denver 8 | Seattle 29, New England 13 |
| His passing line | 18 of 25, 206 yards, 2 TD | 19 of 38, 202 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT |
| Game MVP | Linebacker Malcolm Smith | Running back Kenneth Walker III |
The games looked more alike than the men
Look at that table long enough and a pattern appears. Neither quarterback was the MVP. Both title games were won by a defense and a ground game, and both quarterbacks threw for barely 200 yards. Wilson's night was more efficient, 18 of 25 with two touchdowns, but his team led 22-0 at halftime and the game started with a safety 12 seconds in, the quickest score in Super Bowl history. Darnold's line reads flatter, yet the most important number in it is the zero. He had led the league with 20 turnovers in the regular season and committed none in the playoffs.
Their regular seasons were close too. Wilson's 2013 produced 3,357 yards, 26 touchdowns and a 101.2 rating. Darnold's 2025 produced 4,048 yards, 25 touchdowns and a 99.1 rating. We would not read much into that similarity, since twelve years separate the two offenses, but it is a closer match than most of the takes suggest.
Where the comparison breaks
Wilson's Seattle story is a decade long: ten seasons, 158 straight starts in games he played, 292 touchdown passes, a second Super Bowl trip that ended at the goal line against New England. Darnold's is one season old. Comparing a career with a campaign is not a fair fight, and I am not sure it is the right fight.
Where Darnold has the edge is the story itself. The 12th Man Rising blog argued in August 2026 that he could still win more titles in Seattle than Wilson did, partly because his style tends to age well. That is a forecast, not a fact, and it depends on seasons nobody has played yet.
The part that should make both fan bases smile
Wilson left Seattle in a 2022 trade to Denver. After the NFC Championship Game in January 2026, he posted on X that Darnold's comeback over the previous two years had been one of the most inspirational things to watch, and told him he hoped he won it all, according to MyNorthwest. After the Super Bowl, Yahoo Sports noted a shorter message: "Go Hawks!" with two trophy emojis.
Two trophies. One for each of them, as far as I am concerned.
Sources
Every factual claim above traces to one of these. Links open in a new tab.
