ClutchPoints
The Seattle Seahawks and QB Sam Darnold are coming off a tough loss against a division rival, while the Titans are still in fix-it mode with their rookie quarterback. These teams meet in Week 12, and here are the bold predictions.
With a record of 7-3, the Seahawks are in a good position for a playoff run. But this is a take-care-of-business game against the crumbling Titans, who are 1-9 and headed full speed for a second straight No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.
There’s no pressure. It’s a bad opponent. No ghosts. This is exactly the type of game where Darnold goes bonkers.
Yes, the Rams exposed Darnold. But the Titans are incapable of doing that. And so this week, Darnold doesn’t have to deal with a veteran coach’s opinion about his tendency to panic when the heat gets turned up, according to The Athletic.
“Sam is just going to have that in him for life,” one veteran coach said. “He will play great. He will play good. Then he is going to have those plays. The problem is, when you get established as a playoff team, everyone is scared to death that is going to happen.”
It’s hard not to agree with that opinion when Darnold offers up this type of play, according to a post on X by the Rams.
FOURTH PICK OF THE DAY!
@NFLonFOX | #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/2FbV0hq8rQ
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) November 16, 2025
However, look for Darnold to throw for 275-plus yards with three touchdowns. That’s how bad the Titans are this season.
Smith-Njigba went for 162 yards in the win over the Jaguars. He won’t quite do that again, but look for him to eclipse the 132 yards he punished the Buccaneers with earlier this year.
How good has Smith-Njigba been this year? Some even consider him an MVP candidate. It has never happened. And it’s hard to imagine it happening this year. Look at this: His teammate, Cooper Kupp, won the receiving triple crown (receptions, yards, receiving touchdowns) in 2021 and finished third in the voting.
Of course, Darnold will have to do better than he did against the Rams for Smith-Njigba to soar. Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said Darnold was just trying to make plays when he racked up four picks against the Rams, according to seahawks.com.
“I think the majority of them came late in downs where we just need to get to the next play,” Macdonald said. “And Sam’s played in time and in rhythm a lot this year, and he has made a lot of plays for us doing that. And he has also made a lot of plays off-schedule.
“So again, you don’t want to take the playmaker out of him. But you also understand when we need to be able to get the next play versus putting...
