The Seattle Seahawks are out here setting NFL records left and right in the aftermath of their Super Bowl 60 domination. MVPs, kicker stats, and now an actual NFL first:
The Seahawks are the first team in history to win the Super Bowl without committing a turnover in that postseason.
Think about that for a minute, considering where the team was even as late as the final month of the season.
Seattle was one of the only teams entering the playoffs with a negative turnover differential, and despite how good the team looked at different points, they were constantly putting opponents back into the game via turnovers. Sam Darnold managed to go from an interception streak to a fumble streak, causing the doubt that followed him all the way to his first ring.
But credit to the final regular season game against the Los Angeles Rams. When Sam Darnold out-dueled Matt Stafford to a 38-37 overtime victory, something snapped.
Normally in the world of sports, that’s a bad thing. This time, it was something revelatory.
Darnold – despite two interceptions in that game – seemed to figure out, finally, how to lead the team, score under pressure, and overcome early-game mistakes, all at once. He came out of that game as a different, subtly, but different, quarterback.
The change did not fully manifest yet against the Carolina Panthers the next week, to the tune of two fumbles and an interception. That game was weird. It was early, it was wet, the team looked tired, as they had earlier on an East Coast run against the Atlanta Falcons.
Since then, however, Darnold’s been perfect. Once they fully and finally settled back into a routine, Darnold threw no interceptions. He lost no footballs. Not against the San Francisco 49ers, in consecutive games, then the Rams again, then ultimately the New England Patriots.
Even the Jets have to nod.
Again, let’s repeat the main point: the Seahawks just became the first team ever to win the Super Bowl with zero turnovers in the postseason. The 98 Broncos had one, the 2004 Patriots had one.
It’s a testament to something I believe is firmly Mike friggin Macdonald – you can get better every single day. 19 weeks of football after Opening Day, the team was still improving. We saw it against the 49ers, we just saw it against a completely helpless Drake Maye, and we saw it in the face of a quarterback who is remarkably adept at playing the exact brand of football necessary to win the game at hand.
The completely flipped the script and became turnover free, laying waste to everyone on the way to the second Championship in franchise history.