On Saturday, the Seattle Seahawks did exactly what contenders are supposed to do in the regular-season finale. They beat a divisional rival, controlled the game from start to finish, and walked out of Sunday night with a 13-3 blowout win over the San Francisco 49ers that locked up the NFC West and the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.
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On paper, it was another clean chapter in what has been a remarkable season for Sam Darnold. With the win, he capped off back-to-back 14-3 seasons, making him the first quarterback in NFL history to achieve the feat with two different franchises. Against Kyle Shanahan’s group, Darnold was efficient, completing 20 of 26 passes for 198 yards, protecting the football, and allowing Seattle’s defense to control the game.
But for Emmanuel Acho, that surface-level contribution from Darnold does not tell the full story behind the Seahawks’ success.
During a segment on Speakeasy, Acho made it clear that despite the result and the seeding, he isn’t ready to trust Seattle as a serious Super Bowl contender. Why so? Because of their signal caller, Sam Darnold.
“I don’t trust the Seahawks to win the Super Bowl,” Acho said bluntly, before zeroing in on one early sequence that, in his mind, encapsulated the concern.
On Seattle’s opening possession, the Seahawks marched all the way to the one-yard line. The play call was perfect as RB Zach Charbonnet leaked out wide, uncovered in the flat, with the entire 49ers defense flowing the other way.
According to Acho, everything was in place. “The call was perfect. The execution was perfect. Everybody was perfect… Everybody got an A… (but) Sam Darnold got an F,” he said.
Instead of delivering the ball for an easy touchdown, the Seahawks quarterback hesitated, took a sack, and squandered a clear chance to jump out to a 7-0 lead. It was a costly missed opportunity in a game where small margins dictated the outcome.
“As a result, Sam Darnold takes a sack. Now, instead of the Seahawks going up 7-0, it’s 0-0. Seahawks don’t get points on that drive. And this was a game that every single point mattered,” Acho explained.
That single decision, in Acho’s eyes, was more than just a bad rep, as it also reminded him of a larger pattern. “There’s no way you can trust Sam Darnold to make a Super Bowl-caliber push when those mistakes are being made,” the Speakeasy creator added.
“There’s no way you can say ‘I trust Sam Darnold'”
– @EmmanuelAcho says he doesn’t trust the Seattle Seahawks to win the Super Bowl despite being number 1 in the NFC after 13-3 win over the 49ers
WE LIVE IN THE SPEAKEASY RIGHT NOW, COME JOIN THE CHAT ➡️ https://t.co/f4H3dQB55c pic.twitter.com/SxPWoPdGMc
— Speakeasy (@speakeasytlkshw) January 4, 2026
To be fair, Acho wasn’t dismissing Seattle outright. He acknowledged that he trusts this version of the Seahawks more than last year’s Vikings team. The former linebacker even said he trusts how Darnold represents Seattle more than how he represented Minnesota. But trust in January is a different standard.
And that’s where the past creeps back in. Just last season, Darnold finished 14-3 with the Vikings, only for everything to unravel when the lights got brighter, and pressure went a notch above.
In Week 18, Minnesota was embarrassed in a division-deciding loss to the Lions (31-9), where the QB finished just 18 of 41 passes for 166 yards. Cut to the Wild Card round, the offense collapsed again vs. the Rams (27-9), with Darnold taking nine sacks and struggling badly under pressure.
So while Seattle now owns home-field advantage with the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye, and their Super Bowl odds sit near the top of the league, Darnold has the platform to erase last year’s demons.
But until then, Acho’s skepticism deserves to be taken seriously. Until Darnold’s first-and-goal decisions stop lingering, trust is something he still has to earn, not assume.
