Seahawks’ Sam Darnold Matches Patriots Legend With Historic Accomplishment

The Seattle Seahawks won their regular-season finale against the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday, beating the Niners 13-3 in Santa Clara to win the NFC West and secure the No. 1 seed for the NFC playoffs.

It was the 14th win of the season for Seahawks and Sam Darnold, who finished the year 14-3. It’s the second straight 14-win season for Darnold, who also won 14 games with the Minnesota Vikings last year.

Darnold is just the second quarterback in NFL history with back-to-back 14-win seasons, joining New England Patriots legend Tom Brady.

Sam Darnold has been putting up ELITE numbers 😤

He joined Tom Brady as the only QBs to record back-to-back 14+ win seasons 👏

Brady won Super Bowls in both of those seasons. pic.twitter.com/CiztZJtLaV

— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) January 4, 2026

While Darnold’s feat is impressive, especially since he accomplished it with two different teams, it’s not as remarkable as Brady’s. Brady did so during the 2003 and 2004 campaigns, which were 16-game seasons compared to Darnold’s 17-game seasons.

Brady also won the Super Bowl during both of those years, leading the Patriots to back-to-back championships. Meanwhile, Darnold has yet to win a playoff game in his NFL career, getting blown out by the Los Angeles Rams in his lone postseason appearance.

Darnold has a chance to redeem himself this year, but he hasn’t been playing great football lately. He has as many interceptions as passing touchdowns (nine) over his last nine games, which is a concerning trend heading into the postseason.

Seattle’s defense and run game have carried the team during the second half of the season, but Darnold needs to step up if the Seahawks want to go on a deep playoff run and win their second championship in franchise history.