My first season on the staff of the Oakland Raiders, 1973, we played the Miami Dolphins in the American Football Conference Championship Game. I knew we would need every edge available to challenge the defending Super Bowl Champions on their home field so I went to church with John Madden and Pete Banaszak the morning of the game.
You know what I was praying for that day, and when I looked across the aisle at a pew not far from where John, Pete and I sat was Don Shula, head coach of the Dolphins. I figured he was praying to God for a different result that afternoon.
Who would God choose?
Turned out he picked the better team, and Miami won the game, 27-10, enroute to their third straight Super Bowl appearance and second consecutive Vince Lombardi Trophy triumph.
Whether you believe in God or not, it seems like the college kids that are winning bowl games this week are thanking Him first in their postgame interviews before even their coaches or teammates. So, maybe there is something to this belief system.
I wonder if the losing college players have a different message for God. I recall once agonizing to my mom before I had even reached an age that had double-figures that the man upstairs didn’t answer my prayers and she replied, “Oh he answered, he just said no.”
On Saturday, we have two high character men starting quarterback on opposite sides of the line. You would think they both have a direct line to the big guy.
Brock Purdy leads the San Francisco 49ers offense, and he is of the highest character and moral fiber passed down from two great role models, his parents. Purdy came into the league while drafted in a position known as “Mr. Irrelevant.” That is the last player taken. He flipped that moniker into one of the best and most respected signal callers in the league.
Steve Young, Hall of Fame member and one-time quarterback of the Niners, told me one afternoon that he had only seen three quarterbacks in his life that the game seemed to slow down for when the result was on the line. He left Joe Montana off that list, their competition is still alive, but the three he did mention were Peyton Manning, Patrick Mahomes and Brock Purdy.
That is very lofty company to add Purdy too, but Young has keen eyes for the game.
While Purdy was selected in the seventh round of the NFL draft, his opponent on Saturday, Sam Darnold, was a first round selection, third player taken overall in the 2018 allocation of college talent.
While Purdy burst on the scene in his rookie year after being forced into action by injuries to the two quarterbacks in front of him on the depth chart, he had nothing but wins to start his career until injured in the NFC Championship Game in a road loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Darnold’s career start was not as smooth.
Drafted by the New York Jets, where talent goes to die, he toiled with little success and before the 2021 season was traded to the Carolina Panthers for second, fourth and sixth round draft selections. Two years later, he signed a free agent contract to back up Purdy in San Francisco, and the following season struck gold when signed by the Minnesota Vikings to back up their first-round draft choice, J.J. McCarthy.
McCarthy was injured and lost for the season in August. Darnold inherited the starting role for the Vikings and led them to the second most regular season wins in their franchise history, 14. Unfortunately, the 14-3 record in the NFC North Division last season was only good enough to draw a fifth playoff seed, something locked in with a loss to the Detroit Lions in the season's final regular season game.
Darnold also lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card round which meant during his starting time in Minnesota he guided the Viking to wins against every opponent except the Lions and Rams, who he lost to each twice.
The Vikings long range commitment is to McCarthy, and Darnold had priced himself out of backup role money, so they had to let him go and he landed in Seattle with the Seahawks. Whether Darnold’s success in Minnesota was a one-season-wonder or the fruition of the player that earned first round draft status was going to be decided this year in the Northwest.
Darnold is the real deal.
He has once again guided his team to the doorstep of a top seed and opening week bye for the playoffs. Last year, he lost that opportunity to the Lions. This year, on the road again and against a team that can snatch the top seed and drop his team to the fifth slot, Darnold is looking to soothe the sting of last season’s conclusion.
God’s got a tough choice here.
Two great quarterbacks both on and off the field. If either of them was opposing, say Michael Vick or Aaron Rodgers, God’s choice would be easy. But here, I guess he will just do what he did with the Raiders and Dolphins 52 years ago and have the best team win.
Qoxhi Picks: Seattle Seahawks (-1½) over San Francisco 49ers