• Darnold’s success this season has been driven by elite efficiency: The Seahawks quarterback leads all players at the position in overall grade, thanks in large part to his league-best 9.6 yards per attempt and a turnover-worthy play rate of just 1.1%.
• Against Jacksonville, Darnold did most of his damage by attacking downfield: On throws targeting 10 or more yards beyond the line of scrimmage, he went 7-of-12 for 232 yards and recorded five big-time throws.
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Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks got back on track Sunday with a convincing road win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The veteran quarterback delivered another standout performance, reinforcing that last season’s success was no fluke.

Darnold earned a 94.6 overall grade — the highest among all quarterbacks in Week 5 and the best single-game mark by any quarterback so far this season.

Highest single-game grades in 2025 (quarterbacks)

Darnold’s success this season has been driven by elite efficiency. He leads all quarterbacks in overall grade, thanks in large part to his league-best 9.6 yards per attempt and a turnover-worthy play rate of just 1.1%.

Against Jacksonville, Darnold did most of his damage by attacking downfield. On throws targeting 10 or more yards beyond the line of scrimmage, he went 7-of-12 for 232 yards and recorded five big-time throws.

Let’s dive into the film and break down how Darnold dissected the Jaguars’ defense — and how he continues to build on an outstanding 2024 campaign.

A look at the film

The Seahawks start by using pre-snap motion to force the Jaguars to tip their coverage. The first motion draws a safety down into the box, signaling single-high coverage. When the receiver motions back to his original alignment — and the safety doesn’t follow — it confirms for Darnold that Jacksonville is likely in Cover 3.

Seattle runs a variation of a flood concept, attacking all three levels of the defense with a deep route, an intermediate deep over, and a flat route. The deep over forces the defense to communicate and pass off coverage responsibilities. Once the hook defender settles under the flat route, Darnold anticipates it and layers a perfect ball to Jaxon Smith-Njigba on the deep over for a chunk gain.

As noted earlier, Darnold’s deep passing was exceptional on Sunday — a continuation of his season-long trend. Following this performance, he now owns a league-best 99.9 grade on throws targeting 20 or more yards downfield — the highest among all quarterbacks.

Darnold gets to the line and “cans” the original play, indicating that Seattle called two plays in the huddle. Based on the defensive look, he has the freedom to choose which one to run. When the Jaguars line up in a two-high shell, Darnold opts to attack it. Seattle has a sail concept dialed up, and it unfolds exactly as Darnold anticipates against Jacksonville’s quarters coverage.

The sail concept — like the flood — attacks three levels of the defense on one side of the field. It’s designed to open up the intermediate route by stretching the secondary with a deep post over the top.

That post is an alert route: if the quarterback gets the look he wants, he can take the shot. Darnold gets exactly that — a flat-footed quarters safety — takes a subtle step up in the pocket, and fires a perfect ball over 55 yards in the air. Jaxon Smith-Njigba doesn’t break stride on his way to the end zone.

It’s not just the deep ball — Darnold has been deadly accurate all season. Among quarterbacks with at least 75 dropbacks, his 81.9% adjusted completion percentage ranks third, while his 73.9% accuracy rate leads the league.

Darnold once again audibles at the line when he recognizes a Cover 0 look from the Jaguars. The slot corner is aligned with heavy inside leverage, giving Cooper Kupp a clear advantage on his out-breaking route. All Darnold needs to do is confirm that the two cornerbacks aren’t exchanging responsibilities, then lead Kupp toward the sideline.

He does exactly that — and more — delivering a perfectly placed throw from the far hash in a collapsing pocket. There’s not much to break down beyond that: it’s a flawless red-zone strike for a touchdown that pushes Seattle’s lead into double digits.

The bottom line

Seattle’s decision to replace Geno Smith with Sam Darnold was a bold one, but Darnold’s performance has more than justified the move. He’s currently playing like one of the league’s top quarterbacks, and if he maintains this level of play, there’s every reason to believe the Seahawks can contend in the NFC.