Sam Darnold looks back at 'special journey' en route to Super Bowl glory

[p]Asked where he had found the belief to prosper on the NFL's biggest stage after being traded between five teams over eight years, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/darnold-sam/zykWdDh4/"]Darnold[/a] responded: "[b]It's easy. My teammates and my coaches.[/b]"[/p][p]"[b]They believed in me ever since the beginning of training camp. That was our mindset every single day we came to work[/b]," said the 28-year-old, of his triumphant debut year in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/seattle-seahawks/f5h1oOee/"]Seattle[/a].[/p][p]As green confetti fell across the Levi's Stadium, in Darnold's home state of California, the imposing 6ft 3in tall quarterback grew reflective.[/p][p]"[b]We did it. That was it. It has been such a special journey with these guys, so much hard work that has been poured into this. It was just job well done[/b]," he said.[/p][p]Darnold was the third overall pick in a star-packed 2018 draft, chosen by the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/new-york-jets/Q9nr9QzE/"]New York Jets[/a] ahead of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/allen-josh/MPG79J5g/"]Josh Allen[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/jackson-lamar/niWBe4T5/"]Lamar Jackson[/a], and just behind [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mayfield-baker/rg4szxoU/"]Baker Mayfield[/a].[/p][embed guid="83a69a85-7a94-4195-848f-969ec3955fc1" url="https://x.com/NFL/status/2020720487974805959?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]This season, he became the first of those household-name NFL quarterbacks to even reach a Super Bowl - and emerged comfortably victorious.[/p][p]The journey was far from smooth. After struggling for three seasons in the harsh New York media spotlight, Darnold was traded to the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/carolina-panthers/IoAX6qmR/"]Carolina Panthers[/a] for two more lackluster years.[/p][p]His rebirth began with a season in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/san-francisco-49ers/jBnfYoFr/"]San Francisco[/a] as backup to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/purdy-brock/IVGCagGD/"]Brock Purdy[/a], and accelerated with a 14-win campaign for the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/minnesota-vikings/IsfjpsbD/"]Minnesota Vikings[/a] in which he threw a career-high 35 touchdowns.[/p][p]In a now-infamous decision, Minnesota decided to switch to their young quarterback prospect [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mccarthy-j-j/KODgflGe/"]JJ McCarthy[/a], and the Seattle Seahawks swooped in for Darnold last March.[/p][p]"[b]There's a lot of things that we saw in Sam that we loved, and he's lived up to those things - and then some,[/b]" Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald had told AFP, in the days before Super Bowl LX.[/p][p]"[b]He's a resilient dude and a competitor. A winner[/b]."[/p][h2]'Unbelievable'[/h2][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/football/new-england-patriots-G6oNfmi8/seattle-seahawks-f5h1oOee/?mid=foA5Uxwq"]At Sunday's NFL decider[/a], Darnold threw for a touchdown and 202 yards, completing 19 of 38 attempts.[/p][p]But in characteristic fashion, he paid credit to an all-round team performance.[/p][p]"[b]I've got to shout out our offensive line, tight ends, our receivers and of course our running backs for everything that they did tonight. It was special in the run game,[/b]" he said.[/p][p]The NFL has long been a brutal place for young quarterbacks, who can overnight go from the next big superstar to a busted flush.[/p][p]But resilience, ambition and self-awareness are traits that Darnold has long exhibited, according to his high school coach [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/jaimes-brenden/ny5v9kk0/"]Jaime Ortiz[/a], who remembers his former student as a wildly gifted but quietly driven kid.[/p][p]"[b]It's unbelievable. Everything that has happened in my career, but to do it with this team, I wouldn’t want it any other way,[/b]" said Darnold, on Sunday.[/p][p]He added: "[b]I'm just so happy for the guys in the locker room and the coaches who put out so much effort the whole season.[/b]"[/p]