Stunned NFL fans crown Sam Darnold MVP after astonishing performance in Seahawks' win over Commanders
Sam Darnold was so good in the first half of the Seattle Seahawks' 38-14 win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday night that NFL fans are ready to crown him MVP.
The 28-year-old, a former No. 3 overall pick, went from struggling with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers to having a standout season for the Minnesota Vikings in 2024.
The Seahawks then rewarded him with a three-year, $100.5million contract this summer and he has not disappointed.
Darnold has been of the best quarterbacks in the NFL this season, leading Seattle to a 5-2 start going into Sunday night's primetime game in America's capital.
And he certainly lived up to the hype once again, producing a literally perfect first half performance to blow Jayden Daniels and the Commanders away.
Darnold completed all 15 of the 15 passes he attempted for 256 yards and threw four touchdown passes: two were scored by Tory Horton while Cody White and Elijah Arroyo both grabbed one.
Sam Darnold was so good for the Seahawks that NFL fans are ready to crown him MVP
Darnold completed 15 of 15 passes for 256 yards and four touchdown passes in the first half
The performance led to wild praise for Darnold on social media and fans were ready to name him the NFL's best player of the season.
A viewer commented: 'I've been screaming this... Sam Darnold is the current MVP of the NFL and the Seattle Seahawks are a Super Bowl caliber team with him. The Vikings let this dude walk away for nothing.'
Another wrote: 'It's a primetime game, is Sam Darnold the new MVP favorite?'
A third added: 'I can't believe the Minnesota Vikings let Sam Darnold walk out the door. I would be so angry as a fan.'
'I'm on the Sam Darnold MVP train,' another fan posted, while another wrote 'Sam Darnold for MVP' and compared him to New Orleans Saints legend Drew Brees.
One bold fan said: 'We might have just seen the greatest first half by any quarterback in the history of the NFL by Sam Darnold.'
Another impressed fan claimed: 'Sam Darnold somehow took another huge leap and now is a top eight quarterback in the league. I was so wrong about him, (Las Vegas) Raiders should've gotten him in hindsight.'
The shellshocked Commanders managed to finally get on the scoreboard just before halftime when Daniels scored a touchdown.
The first blemish of Darnold's night finally arrived in the third quarter when he thew a pass that was intercepted by Mike Sainristil. Before that, he had tied the franchise record with 17 straight completions.
Undeterred though, Darnold once again led the Seahawks downfield and extended their lead to 38-7 when tight end AJ Barner barreled into the end zone.
Darnold finished with 330 yards passing before being withdrawn midway through the fourth quarter. That was something the Commanders should have done after their franchise quarterback, Jayden Daniels, suffered a sickening elbow injury.
Daniels was rushing towards the end zone in an attempt to score a consolation touchdown when he was tackled by Seahawks linebacker Drake Thomas.
As Thomas brought Daniels to the ground, the Commanders quarterback put his left arm down to break his fall.
But something appeared to snap in the elbow region as he did so, causing a devastating injury to the second-year star. Fortunately for Daniels, it was not his throwing arm.
Medics rushed over to help Daniels and devastated Commanders teammates quickly gathered around and took a knee as he received treatment.
Daniels was put into a padded brace and managed to walk off the field before going immediately to the locker room for tests.
