Sam Darnold performed just one sequence in his Seattle Seahawks preseason debut, but it surely could not have gone any higher.
He accomplished all 4 of his passes for 34 yards whereas quarterbacking a 10-play, 81-yard landing drive to start out the Friday evening exhibition in opposition to the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs.
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“I believed at this time, to start with, it was superior simply to get on the market in entrance of the 12s,” mentioned Darnold, who signed a three-year, $100.5 million deal with the Seahawks this offseason after main the Minnesota Vikings to the playoffs with a 14-3 file final season.
“And that ambiance, too, I felt like that was type of an ideal ambiance. It felt prefer it was virtually November, December already on the market within the rain.”
Granted the Chiefs have been sitting numerous starters — particularly quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight finish Travis Kelce and defensive sort out Chris Jones — however the Seahawks managed what ended up being a 33-16 win from begin to end at Lumen Discipline.
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Darnold’s game-opening drive started with him handing the ball off twice to working again Zach Charbonnet: first for 13 yards after which for 4 extra. That was an indication of what was to return for a Seahawks staff that rushed for 268 yards and a couple of touchdowns on 48 carries.
“Our offensive line dominated, actually, many of the sport,” Darnold mentioned, “which is at all times nice to see. That first group, that second group, even the third and fourth group went on the market and performed very well collectively.”
On the third play of the sport, Darnold went by his development and fired a 5-yard move to tight finish AJ Barner, organising a Third-and-short, which rookie quarterback Jalen Milroe — a 6-foot-2, 216-pound, third-round draft select of Alabama — transformed on a tush push.
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After a Charbonnet toss play gained 7 yards, Darnold went play-action from midfield and dared the protection vertically earlier than dumping off a swing move to fit star Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who motioned into the backfield pre-snap earlier than bouncing again exterior to get open for the reception.
Following one other Charbonnet chunk acquire, Darnold faked a handoff and rolled left. That is when he related with wide-open fullback Robbie Ouzts for a pickup of 13 yards.
Rolling off play-action to the opposite aspect of the sector, Darnold rapidly darted the ball to tight finish Elijah Arroyo, who galloped into the Chiefs’ purple zone.
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Charbonnet put a bow on the drive, launching by the trenches untouched for a 15-yard landing run.
Every of Darnold’s 4 completions went to a distinct participant.
“It is nice to get completely different guys touches,” he mentioned. “That is what we’ll be as an offense,” Darnold mentioned with a slight smile. “We will be very a number of. We will use completely different guys within the move sport and the run sport in order that defenses aren’t going to know what to anticipate.”
Whereas Darnold did not throw to third-year wideout Jake Bobo Friday evening, the previous Duke and UCLA standout made an impression within the Seahawks’ offense, too.
He caught a pair of touchdowns from backup quarterback Drew Lock. First he took a display 12 yards to the home. Then he went up for a seize over Chiefs cornerback Joshua Williams for a 12-yard rating in the precise nook of the top zone.
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“This man’s a Seahawk, man,” Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald mentioned of Bobo, per The Related Press. “The best way he operates and goes and assaults the soccer.”
Seattle unfold the ball round Friday evening, and Darnold set the tone for a balanced offensive sport plan with an ideal preseason debut in entrance of his new fan base.
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