Sam Darnold Won a Super Bowl. He’s Still Mad About How He Played.

Sam Darnold just won a Super Bowl. The Seahawks stomped the Patriots 29-13. And he’s still kind of upset about it.

Not because the ring doesn’t fit. Not because the celebration fell flat. Because he missed throws. A lot of them.

“I didn’t play great in the Super Bowl,” Darnold told NBC Sports. “I missed way too many throws. We still won, our defense balled out, and I didn’t turn the ball over, which helped. But dude, to win the Super Bowl that way, I was kinda bummed. I want to score like 40 points, you know what I mean? I want to go out there and ball out. And it’s just, dang, I didn’t play my best football in the Super Bowl? That sucks.”

Darnold completed only 50 percent of his passes — 19 of 38 — for 202 yards and a touchdown. That’s a 57.8 passer rating. Not great. Not Super Bowl MVP stuff.

Darnold still replaying the throws he left on the field

This is where it gets interesting. Most players will tell you, win first, stats second. That’s the script. Darnold basically threw out the script.

He specifically mentioned missing Jaxon Smith-Njigba early on a play that should’ve been a touchdown. He also said he overthrew Rashid Shaheed and missed Cooper Kupp on routes that were probably open.

“How am I gonna miss these throws right now?” Darnold said. “Are you kidding me?”

You can hear the frustration in his voice. This isn’t him being ungrateful. It’s him being honest about a standard he holds himself to. That’s refreshing in a league full of canned answers.

Darnold has been in the league eight years. He’s only played a full 17-game schedule twice. In those two seasons — one with the Vikings, one with Seattle — he went a combined 28-6. His career record is 49-41.

He’s about to sign a new deal this offseason. And maybe that’s part of why he’s still thinking about that Super Bowl performance. When your next contract is on the line and your biggest stage was your worst outing of the year, it sticks with you.

Maybe after he retires, he’ll look back at that ring and smile. Right now, he’s still replaying the throws he didn’t make.