The Seattle Seahawks will play the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round of the 2026 NFL playoffs, but they may have to do so with an ailing Sam Darnold at quarterback.
The Seahawks finished the regular season with a 14-3 record. This was good enough to earn Seattle the No. 1 seed in the NFC which brought with it a bye through the wild card round. The Seahawks will play the 49ers on Saturday, Jan. 17. This will be the third matchup between the two divisional opponents, and they split the regular season series.
Darnold was a full practice participant to begin the week, but felt something with his oblique at Thursday's practice. He ended up doing a rehab practice and was labeled as questionable for the game against San Francisco.
Here is more on whether or not Darnold will play against the 49ers in the Divisional Round.
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Is Sam Darnold playing vs. 49ers?
Darnold is listed as questionable for Saturday's game against San Francisco. The expectation is that he will play, but with the injury occurring on the last day of practice this week, it will depend on how he feels on gameday.
Darnold said in his media appearance after practice that he fully intends to play. When asked what percentage he would give that he did not play, he said, "very low percentage. Closer to zero."
What happened to Sam Darnold?
Darnold was not on the Seahawks' injury report to begin the week. He wasn't even listed as getting extra rest, so presumably he was a full practice participant.
The quarterback "felt" something with his oblique during Thursday's practice, and opted not to push it. Instead, he just rehabbed the remainder of practice, but because he wasn't a full practice participant, he popped up on the injury report and was listed as questionable for Saturday's game.
Sam Darnold said he felt a little something in his oblique early in practice, but said he expects to play Saturday. Pic.twitter.com/bWC59j0Yhc
— John Boyle (@johnpboyle) January 15, 2026
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Who is Sam Darnold's backup?
If Darnold can't play, the Seahawks will have to go with their backup quarterback, Drew Lock. He has played in five games this year, but largely in garbage time. Lock completed two of his three regular season passes for a total of 15 yards.
Rookie quarterback Jalen Milroe is also on the active roster.
Sam Darnold stats
2025
Here is how Darnold fared during the 2025 regular season.
| Games | Completion % | Yards | TDs | INTs |
| 17 | 67.7% | 4,048 | 25 | 14 |
Here is how Darnold played in the two regular season games against the 49ers.
| Week | Completions | Attempts | Yards | TDs | INTs | Result |
| 1 | 16 | 23 | 150 | 0 | 0 | L, 17-13 |
| 18 | 20 | 26 | 198 | 0 | 0 | W, 13-3 |
| Total | 36 | 49 | 348 | 0 | 0 | -- |
Career
Here is a look at Darnold's career stats.
| Year | Team | Games | Completion % | Passing Yards | Passing TDs | INT | Carries | Rushing Yards | Rushing TDs |
| 2018 | Jets | 13 | 57.7% | 2,865 | 17 | 15 | 44 | 138 | 1 |
| 2019 | Jets | 13 | 61.9% | 3,024 | 19 | 13 | 33 | 62 | 2 |
| 2020 | Jets | 12 | 59.6% | 2,208 | 9 | 11 | 37 | 217 | 2 |
| 2021 | Panthers | 12 | 59.9% | 2,527 | 9 | 13 | 48 | 222 | 5 |
| 2022 | Panthers | 6 | 58.6% | 1,143 | 7 | 3 | 26 | 106 | 2 |
| 2023 | 49ers | 10 | 60.9% | 297 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 15 | 1 |
| 2024 | Vikings | 17 | 66.2% | 4,319 | 35 | 12 | 67 | 212 | 1 |
| 2025 | Seahawks | 17 | 67.7% | 4,048 | 25 | 14 | 35 | 95 | 0 |
| Total | 5 teams | 100 | 62.3% | 20,431 | 123 | 97 | 311 | 1,067 | 14 |