Mike Macdonald 'not surprised' by Sam Darnold's near-perfect play for 6-2 Seahawks 

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Sam Darnold went a perfect 16-of-16 passing in the first half and tied a franchise record with 17 consecutive completions to open Sunday night’s 38-14 drumming of the Washington Commanders.

Darnold shined in every facet, from quick, sharp lasers to deep bombs to third-read dump-offs to ideal pre-snap checks. It was a clinic from the former first-round pick, who has taken his game to another level in Klint Kubiak’s system.

“Believe me when I say, I’m not surprised,” head coach Mike Macdonald said of Darnold after the win, via the team’s official website. “We watched Sam every day on how he operates, and he’s the same guy every day, which is what you love about him. And we’re chasing it. The guys are determined, and it’s fun to watch. And when the team comes together, that’s this type of stuff that you can do when you play the right way, you prepare the right way.”

Darnold came out of the gate firing on all cylinders. His 16 consecutive first-half completions weren’t a trove of behind-the-line-of-scrimmage screens to stuff the stat sheet with empty calories. No, he diced up Washington with the pizzazz of a James Beard Award winner en route to a perfect first-half passer rating.

“Obviously, I can feel the flow of the game and understand that we’re doing really good on offense, but no, I didn’t know that I hadn’t thrown an incompletion,” he said. “It’s pretty cool. Someone at halftime said to me that I hadn’t thrown an incompletion, so I think he’s to blame for throwing an incompletion in the second half. [I’m] not going to say who it was.”

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The second half was still excellent, although he did throw a pick on a ball well behind his target and sat out the end of the blowout. Darnold finished 21 of 24 for 330 pass yards, four pass touchdowns, one interception and a 141.0 passer rating. It marked his fourth game with four passing touchdowns since the start of 2024 — only Lamar Jackson has more (6).

Sunday night, Darnold became the second player in the Super Bowl era with 325-plus pass yards, four or more pass TDs, three-or-fewer incompletions and zero sacks taken in a game (Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas in Week 9, 1967 at Atlanta). He’s the fifth player all-time to toss four TDs and three or fewer incompletions in a prime-time game (Hall of Famer Len Dawson was the only other to do so on the road).

“You can feel that kind of flow and feel like every single play that we’re calling is for the exact defense that they’re rolling out there,” Darnold said of his heater. “Sometimes that flow just happens, especially in football. It feels good when it happens, but you just gotta take advantage of it when you get those looks for those plays that are being called.”

Darnold has vociferously answered any and all questions about how he’d fare outside of Kevin O’Connell’s offense after last season’s career turnaround. Through the first half of 2025, he’s been even better under Kubiak. With a defense that’s smothering and a QB clicking, the Seahawks (6-2) are a force to be reckoned with in the NFC.

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