Richard Sherman Podcast - Rams-Seahawks & Patriots-Broncos Reaction: Sam Darnold vs Drake Maye Super Bowl | Richard Sherman NFL

I’m grateful you’re here with me, and I hope your new year’s off to a healthy start. Welcome back to the Richard Sherman podcast—Super Bowl time, baby; the Seahawks are back for the first time since 2014, same opponent on deck, and I’m telling you the ending hits different this time, but first we’ve gotta talk Sam Darnold.

Sam silenced every doubt—slinging it efficiently, no picks, steady on third downs—and the dark side on defense forced the Rams into one-for-eight on third. Stafford put up big yardage and touchdowns, but Sam controlled the game wire to wire.

JSN kept showing why his chemistry with Sam is special, K9 delivered in key spots, and Bobo cashed in after the muffed punt. We’ll get to the Tariq Woolen sequence, but the vibe was resilience.

You’ve been on their defense all week, but this one swung because Darnold delivered; moving on from Geno for Sam changed their season. I didn’t see this coming—how does this group stack up to your 2013–2014 team?

Different animals headed to the same summit, and now it’s the Patriots waiting. McVay and Stafford had answers, Puka ate, but the elements won’t be a factor in San Francisco, and Clint Kubiak was in his bag with that JSN touchdown design.

They punished shallow safety looks with Rashid Shaheed’s speed, and New England’s man corners will have to honor that. JSN and Sam are locked in, K9 carried the load, and a rookie defender was everywhere—corner, safety, nickel—breaking up passes and finishing plays like a vet.

Late sequence, fourth down near the goal line—walk me through the defensive call and mindset there.

You’re processing down, distance, formation, who they love in that area, and how the ball might come out, but you also need calm in chaos; after Tariq nearly picked one and drew a flag, they hit him next play for six, and Mike Macdonald still trusted him to close strong.

Witherspoon made massive end zone breakups, the line kept squeezing, and a lot of guys are Super Bowl first-timers, including Sam, who’s rewritten his arc with poise, layered throws, smart sacks, and third-and-long daggers. I said the winner of this one takes the whole thing, and I’m not backing off.

That end-of-half march flipped the script, then the muffed punt poured on momentum. You caught up with Tom pregame—what’d he share about this squad?

Tom showed love for the defense and JSN and echoed what we’re seeing: Mike Macdonald’s turned belief into execution in year two. Sam’s a straight-up bargain right now while other teams pay luxury money to sit at home, and if he finishes this run, he joins a very short list of recent Super Bowl winners.

Regular-season giveaways don’t define you if you protect the ball in January, and he’s doing exactly that—best ball when it matters most.

One team catching heat is Minnesota—what’s your message to that fan base after this run by Sam?

The Vikings misread the room; with him they’re likely a playoff team and that offense hums cleaner, but instead they burned a year while the division leveled up. Sam just faced the scheme that buried him last season, took three sacks instead of nine, and beat his demons—he leveled up.

Let’s hit New England winning in snowy Denver: controversial fourth-and-one choice to pass up points—do you take the easy three there?

Yes, you stack points in that game, especially with a backup at quarterback and your defense balling; analytics can’t ignore context. Vrabel’s Patriots stayed patient, leaned on the run, Drake May’s legs were the difference, and on paper Seattle should be favored with two weeks to tune up.

What about the push-pass ruled a fumble on Stidham—did you see that as a forward pass or not?

Borderline call either way, but backups make costly errors and that one stung; I’m more fired up for the chess match. I expect JSN on the move all night, Gonzalez likely tracking him, Carlton Davis handling Shaheed’s speed, and K9 ready to pop a home-run crease—I think Seattle can separate, but I’ll call it the dogfight it deserves.

We’ll have guests and plenty more before kickoff, and we appreciate you riding with us; Seattle’s headed to the big one—Richard, bring us home.

Thank you for rocking with us all season; the Seahawks are back in the Super Bowl, and I’ll be in the stands chasing that 2014 exorcism. Look at the AFC run—lately it’s been Chiefs and Patriots—and it sure feels like New England’s back again, but we’ll see you for our Super Bowl preview and two weeks of fire content, so hit that sub and don’t miss a beat.