Sam Darnold will be starting in the Super Bowl before Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen and the rest of the NFL’s Class of 2018 quarterbacks.It took Darnold five teams and eight seasons to get here.Darnold led the Seattle Seahawks to a 14-3 record, a division title, the No. 1 seed and was at his best in the NFC championship game.Despite an oblique injury, Darnold threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns in Seattle’s 31-27 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. He completed 25 of 36 passes and had no turnovers.“He just shut a lot of people up,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. “Really happy for him.”Labeled a bust early in his career, Darnold was still doubted by critics following his impressive turnaround. Now, he’s one win away from hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The Seahawks are 4 1/2-point favorites over the New England Patriots on BetMGM Sportsbook. Darnold was picked No. 3 overall by the New York Jets in 2018. Baker Mayfield went first to the Cleveland Browns. Allen went to the Buffalo Bills at No. 7. Josh Rosen was chosen 10th by the Arizona Cardinals. The Baltimore Ravens selected Jackson with the final pick of the first round at No. 32.Jackson has won two AP NFL MVP awards and is 0-1 in the AFC championship game. Allen is the reigning NFL MVP and twice lost to the Chiefs in the AFC title game.Mayfield led the Browns to their only playoff victory this century and has won two division titles and one playoff game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, his fourth team.Rosen was traded by Arizona after going 3-10 as a rookie and is out of the NFL after starting just three more games.Darnold’s success doesn’t make others failures. Football is a team sport and there are several reasons why Allen, Jackson and Mayfield have come up short. Both Allen and Jackson saw their coaches fired this month because their teams didn’t live up to expectations.Darnold’s story is about perseverance and redemption. It’s …
