Sam Darnold cashes in on incentives after NFC Championship win

Mack Baltes

Sam Darnold cashes in on incentives after NFC Championship win image

The Seattle Seahawks defended their homefield Sunday night, defeating the Rams 31-27 and earning their first Super Bowl appearance since 2015.

In their last appearance, they also faced the New England Patriots, who defeated the Denver Broncos Sunday to earn the AFC title.

That said, in the Seahawks win, Seattle posted a dominant game on all sides of the football. Although they gave up more points than usual, Seattle's defense was impressive and made timely plays down the stretch. They protected an 11-point fourth quarter lead, surrendering zero points to the Rams in the final frame.

Special teams also shined, jumping on a muffed punt by Xavier Smith to set up a touchdown.

That said, it was quarterback Sam Darnold who stole the show. Darnold finished 25-of-36 for 346 yards, three touchdowns, no turnovers and a quarterback rating (QBR) of 82.9. A great bounce back game for Darnold, considering he threw six interceptions in two regular season games against the Rams this season.

With the victory, Sam Darnold picked up another $500k in incentives, increasing his incentive total to $3 million this year after leading Seattle to the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a 14-3 record.

This starts Darnold's tenure with the Seahawks on the right track, after signing a three-year $100.5 million deal with Seattle in the offseason.

Now, as the Super Bowl approaches in February, all eyes will be on Darnold and the Seahawks defense to see if they can get their long-awaited revenge against the Patriots.

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