Sports commentator Skip Bayless has heavily criticised Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold throughout the 2025 season. However, the quarterback forced the outspoken analyst to swallow his own words by putting in a memorable performance against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship game at Lumen Field on Sunday.
Darnold completed 25 of 36 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns. His chemistry with Jaxon-Smith Njigba & Co. was one to behold as he connected for three redzone passes to beat the Rams 31-27.
Bayless doesn’t generally walk back on his own word, but it appears Darnold’s performance made him change his tune for the quarterback. Right after the game, Bayless posted a video on X, where he mentioned:
“I WAS SOOOOO WRONG ABOUT SAME DARNOLD!”
“Now, I’ve seen everything,” Bayless said. “I just saw Sam Darnold beat the Los Angeles Rams, led by Matthew Stafford, and lift the Seattle Seahawks into the Super Bowl. I don’t think I dreamed it, or bad-dreamed it. I think it just happened on my TV right here in Los Angeles, California. The Rams I picked are not going anywhere but home to Los Angeles.
“Sam Darnold, who I have heavily criticized for many years, even before his draft, I said he’s a mistake-maker. I said Baker Mayfield should go first in that draft, and Baker did. Everybody scoffed and laughed, and I still believe in Baker Mayfield. But now I can’t help but believe in the guy I have nicknamed Sam Darnold.”
In the video, Bayless pointed out the reason behind his criticism of Darnold and how his late-game turnovers affected his games in the past. But the analyst was satisfied with his performance on Sunday.
“He was shockingly great tonight,” Bayless added. “Careful tonight. Clean tonight. No turnovers. He did get sacked three times. But I just watched Sam Darnold go 25 of 36 for 346. I’m not saying he outplayed Matt Stafford, but I’ll say it was a draw — and that Sam played well enough at home, with that extreme home-field, home-scream advantage the 12s gave him, that the 346 stood up and won Seattle the right to go to the Super Bowl.”
Skip Bayless Recalls What Happens The Last Time He Meddled With Turnover King While Discussing Sam Darnold
In his video, Skip Bayless also recalled the fact when the last time a turnover king destroyed his beloved Dallas Cowboys in the Super Bowl. Darnold is in a similar position, leading the league with 20 turnovers. Bayless was talking about Terry Bradshaw’s Pittsburgh Steelers.
“The last time a one seed had a player who led the NFL in turnovers was all the way back in 1978, when my guy Terry Bradshaw, playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers, led the NFL in turnovers and was the quarterback of the one-seed Steelers, who played my Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XIII, played in Miami,” Bayless said. “I was there in the press box, in the front row, covering my Dallas Cowboys. That’s how far back I go. And guess what the turnover king did to my Cowboys in that Super Bowl? He shredded us.”
Sam Darnold has a chance to win it all for the No. 1 Seattle Seahawks. They’ll be facing Drake Maye’s New England Patriots in this year’s Super Bowl.
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