How the Rams Will Try to Make Sam Darnold Uncomfortable
The biggest question ahead of the NFC Championship Game between the Seahawks and Rams is, which Sam Darnold will show up?
In the last two years, he’s led two different teams to 14-win seasons, completed over 66.9% of his passes, averaged 246 passing yards per game, thrown 60 touchdowns, and played to a 100.9 passer rating.
He’s also had several games and moments where the old Darnold made an appearance.
Against the Rams this season, for instance, he threw 6 interceptions in two games. While he recovered nicely at the end of their Week 16 matchup to lead the Seahawks to a win, his performance across those two games has to be a concern for Seattle.
The Rams will do everything they can to draw out the Darnold who threw 6 interceptions, because they’ll need to make some big plays on defense to get a win on the road.
The common theme across those 6 interceptions was disguise. The Rams fooled Darnold on several occasions, and defensive coordinator Chris Shula will undoubtedly try to replicate that approach on Sunday.
We can go back to that first matchup in Week 11 to see what I’m referring to. The Rams started in a 2-safety look but would ultimately rotate to cover-1 robber:
Keep your eyes on safety Kamren Kinchens. He didn’t race to the middle of the field at the snap. He stayed to his side and slow-played it, taking advantage of Darnold turning his back to the defense on play-action: