NFL Week 18 Must-Watch: Can Sam Darnold Respond To Big Moment, What Lamar Jackson And T.J. Watt Will We See?

Cooper Kupp was talking about teammate Sam Darnold when he offered the characteristic the receiver thinks best describes the Seattle Seahawks quarterback: "Resilient."

"He’s as resilient as it comes," Kupp said. "No matter what’s thrown at him, no matter what environment he’s in or what the circumstances are, you can count on getting the same Sam leading that huddle, leading the offense."

And this is where we remind you that resilience is required of individuals facing sustained pressure or criticism, which is a familiar storm Darnold is about to enter. 

Former Vikings QB Sam Darnold. Photo: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Vikings Darnold Flopped At End

Darnold, you see, has been something of a failure in big games or big moments in the past. And that's problematic because he and his team are eyebrows deep in a big game and big moment come Saturday evening's game against the San Francisco 49ers. 

The winner of that game becomes the No. 1 seed in the NFC and enjoys home field advantage throughout the playoffs. So, big stakes. 

It's the same exact stakes Darnold faced last year with the Vikings, needing a win on the road in Week 18 to clinch the No. 1 seed. Darnold flopped. 

He responded with his worst game of the season in a blowout loss to the Detroit Lions. Then, he followed that up the following week with another stinker in a playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

And none of this measures how Darnold threw four interceptions in a big Week 11 loss to the Rams this season, which led to a full-throated defense of him by teammates, but is also part of the reason he leads the NFL with 20 turnovers. Or how this season he turned the ball over in two of Seattle's three losses – against Tampa Bay and San Francisco – on the final possession when his team was trying to overcome one-score deficits.

So, can Sam Darnold perform in big moments has become the elephant-in-the-room question. 

(Seattle QB Sam Darnold. Photo: Amanda Loman/Getty Images)

Darnold: ‘Like Another Game’

"Great point about going through it last year for myself, just having that experience of going through a game like that," he told reporters this week. "I think the biggest thing is just treating it like another game, understanding kind of when you get out there, people make it out to be bigger, and it's primetime, all that stuff, fans are going to be great. 

"So, understanding that it's going to have that type of feel to it, but once you get out there between the lines, between the whistles, it's football. And that's the best part about this game."

This doesn't exactly sound like Joe Montana before his game-winning drive in Super Bowl XXIII, when he joked with teammates in the huddle he'd just spotted John Candy in the crowd. Yes, Joe was cool.

Darnold instead sounds like a guy trying to talk himself out of being overcome by a big moment by describing that moment is ordinary. It's not ordinary no matter what Darnold tells himself.    

The Seahawks visiting the 49ers, who have a chance to stay home the entire playoffs with a win, is one of this week's NFL must-watch games:

(San Francisco QB Brock Purdy. Imagn Images)

Seahawks (13-3) @ 49ers (12-4)

📅 Saturday -- 8:15 p.m. ET

WHY IT MATTERS: This game decides the NFC West title and potentially the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The winner earns home-field advantage throughout the conference playoffs, making this a de facto postseason opener.

WHAT TO WATCH: Red-hot 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has thrown 11 TDs with only 2 interceptions the last three games and has completed over 70 percent of his passes in those games. And Seattle comes with the NFL's second-leading scoring defense that allows only 18.1 points per game.

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

NARRATIVE: Division rivals, prime time, winner-take-all stakes. This is playoff-caliber football arriving a week before the postseason begins.

CHARLOTTE - Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales celebrates with quarterback Bryce Young after a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Bank of America Stadium on Dec. 21, 2025. Photo: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

(Bob Donnan-Imagn Images)

Panthers (8-8) @ Buccaneers (7-9)

📅 Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET

WHY IT MATTERS: Fine, so it's not a winner-take-all game – at least not for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But the NFC South title and home playoff game is definitely part of the stakes. 

WHAT TO WATCH: Will Tampa Bay’s experience show in high-leverage moments? Is Bryce Young finally ready to deliver on the promise of being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft?

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

NARRATIVE: A division long mocked now delivers one of the season’s most meaningful games. One team advances; the other goes home – maybe.

Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt. Photo: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Ravens (8-8) @ Steelers (9-7)

📅 Sunday 4 – 8:20 p.m. ET 

WHY IT MATTERS: This one will deliver the AFC North title to the winner and a homefield playoff game. The loser will get bombarded by talk about whether the head coach's message has grown stale and uncertainty about the quarterback.

WHAT TO WATCH: Ravens’ offensive efficiency against Pittsburgh’s pressure looks will be key, which leads us to the fact Lamar Jackson has said he's playing and the Steelers have confirmed edge rusher T.J. Watt also is ready to go. Both players have been injured and inconsistent this season so which shows up?

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

NARRATIVE: It's cold but Derrick Henry is on a heater, having rushed for 216 yards last week so perhaps the Ravens can ride that train to a division title. The Steelers are still without suspended WR D.K. Metcalf. Neither team has the record they expected this season, but they're both right where they expected and that's playing for a division title and a home playoff game.