Comparing Jacoby Brissett's Passing Stats to Sam Darnold's
By Walter Mitchell
During my guest appearance on the Seahawks Forever Podcast with superb host Dan Viens, I explained how during the off-season I was thinking of how ideal it would be to have a QB like Sam Darnold in Drew Petzing's style of offense, by virtue of Darnold's strong pocket and play action passing.
Moments later when I claimed in light of the Cardinals now passing for 287 yards per game that in Jacoby Brissett "the Cardinals now have their version of Sam Darnold", Dan understandably jumped in and said, "Whoa, pump the breaks on that one."
In the comment section of the podcast, I clarified the comparison as this:
I meant that Jacoby is our (Cardinals) version of a big strong pocket passer who is also very good in play action. That was after saying that during free agency I was dreaming of having Sam Darnold in our offense because of his style of play. I wasn't trying to suggest that Jacoby is an MVP candidate the way Sam is, just that he brings similar traits.
All that said, here are Jacoby Brissett's 2025 passing stats compared to Sam Darnold's:
* Game started: Brissett: 3; Darnold: 8.
* Passing yards per game: Brissett: 287; Darnold: 269
* Completion %: Brissett: 65.2%; Darnold: 70.4%
* Yard (ave) per attempt: Brissett: 7.7; Darnold: 9.6
* RTG: Brissett: 102.5; Darnold:116.0
* QBR: Brissett: 50.7; Darnold: 77.7
* TD%: Brissett: 5.4%; Darnold:7.4%
* Interception %: Brissett: 0.9%; Darnold: 2.3 %
* Sack %: Brissett: 10.4%; Darnold: 4.0%
* 3rd Down Conversion %: Brissett: 56% (23/41); Darnold: 37% (34/92)
* TD/int Ratio: Brissett: 85.7% (6/1); Darnold: 76.2% (16/5)
* TD passes per game %: Brissett: 2.0; Darnold: 2.0
* Fumble % per game: Brissett: 33.3%; Darnold: 37.5%
* Total Offense Yards per game: Brissett: 356.7; Darnold: 351.3
Kudos for Sam Darnold:
* Accuracy
* Average Yards Per Attempt
* TD %
* Sack %
Kudos for Jacoby Brissett:
* Passing yards per game
* 3rd down completion %
* Ball Protection
Most significant difference
Sacks.
Jacoby has been sacked an average of 4.3 times a game, while Sam Darnold has been sacked a mere 1.1 times per game.
Credit the Seahawks' new OL coach, veteran Rick Dennison and his 29 years of NFL experience. It's been quite a while since the Seahawks' offensive line has warranted high praise for its pass protection.
PFF currently has the Seahawks' pass blocking at 62.2, which ranks #17, while the Cardinals' pass blocking grade is 58.5, which ranks #25.
PBLK grades to date:
* LT --- ARI - Paris Johnson Jr. (80.3) --- SEA - Charles Cross (81.9)
* LG --- ARI - Evan Brown (65.7) --- SEA - Zane Grabel (58.8)
* C --- ARI - Hjalte Froholdt (72.0) --- SEA - Jalen Sendelll (64.5)
* RG --- ARI - Will Hernandez (38.7) --- SEA - Anthony Bradford (22.9)
* RT --- ARI - Jonah Williams (52.1) --- SEA - Abraham Lucas (81.9)
Key to the Game:
Obvious.
Fun Times on X:
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Klint Kubiak Seattle's OC might be a perfect candidate for our HC if changes are made (they won't). Dennison has extensive NFL OL coaching experience unlike Fry who never coached a single NFL lineman. Seattle fixed its dismal OL and QB play in one offseason and then there's our Cardinals Murray/OL/running game regression.
ReplyDeleteYour analogies are right on, 61. But hey, like John Madden loved to say to his players, "Don't worry about the horse being blind, just load the wagon!"
DeleteDan certainly isn't worried about losing Kubiak.
DeleteIt was unfortunate that Dan jumped on 'our Darnold' remark as I thought it was perfect. He interpreted it as you were comparing the two, which clearly you were not. I would have liked if he gave you a moment to explain the comment.
MacDonald has made more of an impact on the OL than either Kubiak or Dennison. With Grubb last year, the OL played their games on super hard mode. MacDonald knew exactly what he wanted and moved on from Grubb and put people in place to deliver on his vision.
Even when the run game isn't moving the ball well, they still push that part of the game. That's because it plays to the OL strengths and and forces the personnel on the field that allows Darnold to make the plays he is making. If Grubb was still there, I bet the Darnold move would be viewed as a failure today with the way he ran the offence. And the OL would look very similar to last year with the exception of an upgrade at LG with Grey Zabel.