Select events at the Milan Cortina Olympics are already underway, but the “start” of the Olympics is always associated with the Opening Ceremony. The event, which kicks off every Olympics, often features massive displays of pageantry by the host country, celebrating the history of the games and highlighting athletes from each country.
While an impressive show is expected Friday, the Milan Cortina Games will do a few things differently during the Opening Ceremony. For the first time in Olympics history, the event will be spread across multiple locations. The main ceremony will be held at Milan’s San Siro Olympic Stadium. At the same time, Cortina d’Ampezzo — one of the game’s host cities — will also stage a ceremony of its own.
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With the Winter Olympics 2026 Opening Ceremony nearly underway, here’s everything you need to know about the festivities at the Milan Cortina games.
When is the Opening Ceremony?
The Milan Cortina Opening Ceremony will take place Friday, Feb. 6, at roughly 2 p.m. ET. It will be 8 p.m. in Italy when the Opening Ceremony kicks off. The entire event is expected to take roughly three hours.
Olympics Opening Ceremony schedule
Organizers keep the exact schedule for the Opening Ceremony a secret as a way to surprise viewers. Opening Ceremonies at the Olympics typically feature a parade of athletes and flagbearers — Erin Jackson and Frank Del Duca for the Unites States — and the lighting of the Olympic cauldron. There will be plenty of other surprises thrown into the ceremony, but there is no set schedule of events once the opening ceremony begins.
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What time is the Olympic cauldron lighting?
There’s no exact time set for the Olympic cauldron lighting, but they — yes, there are two, one in Milan, the other in Cortina — will likely be lit toward the end of the opening ceremony. With the Opening Ceremony expected to last about three hours, the cauldrons will likely be lit in the last 30-45 minutes of the event.
A device believed to be the Olympic Cauldron stands at Arco della Pace on February 1, 2026 in Milano, Italy. The Opening Ceremony for the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Games takes place on February 6th 2026. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
(Maja Hitij via Getty Images)
Why are there two Olympic cauldrons at the 2026 games?
History will be made at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics. During the Opening Ceremony on Friday, Olympic torches will be used to light two separate cauldrons, the first time that’s ever happened in the history of the event.
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The lightings, which will take place simultaneously, will occur in two separate locations. One is located in Milano at the Arco della Pace. The second is located in Cortina d’Ampezzo in Piazza Dibona. Olympic organizers decided on two cauldrons as a way to show harmony and unity between both host cities of the 2026 Olympics.
The cauldrons are meant to evoke the work of Leonardo da Vinci, particularly his knots, which appeared in his paintings and in his manuscripts.
Who will perform at the Opening Ceremony?
Mariah Carey is among the performers who will appear at the ceremony. Carey is a six-time Grammy award winner and a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In addition to Carey, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli will also perform at the Opening Ceremony. Chinese pianist Lang Lang and Italian actor Sabrina Impacciatore will also perform at the event.
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How to watch the Milan Cortina Opening Ceremony
The Milan Cortina Opening Ceremony will air on NBC and stream on Peacock. The event will be carried live on Peacock around 2 p.m. ET. It will then air in primetime on NBC at 8 p.m. ET.
History will be made at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics. During the Opening Ceremony Friday, Olympic torches will be used to light two separate cauldrons, the first time that’s ever happened in the history of the event.
The lightings, which will take place simultaneously, will occur in two separate locations. One is located in Milan at the Arco della Pace. The second is located in Cortina d’Ampezzo in Piazza Dibona. Olympic organizers decided on two cauldrons as a way to show harmony and unity between both host cities of the 2026 Olympics.
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The cauldrons are meant to evoke the work of Leonardo da Vinci, particularly his knots, which appeared in his paintings and manuscripts.
While Olympic organizers have not announced the exact time the cauldrons will be lit, it will likely occur near the end of the Opening Ceremony, which will start at 2 p.m. ET and run for roughly three hours. That should result in the cauldrons being lit in the final 30-45 minutes of the Opening Ceremony on Friday.
A device believed to be the Olympic Cauldron stands at Arco della Pace on February 1, 2026 in Milano, Italy. The Opening Ceremony for the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Games takes place on February 6th 2026. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
(Maja Hitij via Getty Images)
Who will light the Olympic cauldrons?
Olympic organizers tend to keep details about the Opening Ceremony a secret, so there’s been no official announcement on who was chosen to light the two Olympic cauldrons Friday.
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Typically, the host country chooses current or former Olympic athletes for the honor. At the 2024 Olympics in Paris, French track and field star Marie-José Pérec, who won three gold medals during her career, was one of the two people selected to light the cauldron. The other was French judo gold medalist Teddy Riner, who also won three gold medals during his Olympic career.
During the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, skier Zhao Jiawen and cross-country skier Dilnigar Ilhamjan were chosen for the honor. Both athletes took part in the 2022 Olympics, though did not medal in their events.
Italy could turn to skiers Deborah Compagnoni and Alberto Tomba for the honor if it wanted to highlight successful Olympians from the past. Compagnoni and Tomba each won three gold medals at the Winter Olympics during their careers. Neither were selected to carry the torch leading up to the cauldron lightings, so it’s possible organizers are saving Compagnoni and Tomba for this moment.
When is the Opening Ceremony?
The Milan Cortina Opening Ceremony will take place Friday, Feb. 6, at roughly 2 p.m. ET. It will be 8 p.m. in Italy when the Opening Ceremony kicks off. The entire event is expected to take roughly three hours and will feature a parade of athletes from each country, as well as performances by Mariah Carey, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, Chinese pianist Lang Lang and Italian actor Sabrina Impacciatore.
The New York Knicks reportedly could be without Miles McBride until the playoffs as the guard needs sports hernia surgery, according to The Athletic’s Fred Katz.
The 25-year-old McBride has played 35 games this season and is averaging 12.9 points, 2.8 assists and 2.6 rebounds in a little over 28 minutes per night. His pending long-term absence is one reason why the Knicks went out on acquired Jose Alvarado from the New Orleans Pelicans ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline.
This isn’t the first injury issue for McBride this season. He missed eight games in December with a high left ankle sprain. That same ankle has caused him to sit out the Knicks’ past five games as the team awaited test results.
The Knicks have won eight straight games following Wednesday’s 134-127 double overtime victory over the Denver Nuggets. At 33-18, they sit second in the Eastern Conference.
On Wednesday, the Knicks acquired Dalen Terry from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Guerschon Yabusele. That moved allowed them to flip Terry to the Pelicans for help at guard with Alvarado now that McBride is seemingly sidelined until the playoffs.
Alvarado is averaging 7.9 points, 3.1 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game this season.
Super Bowl LX will see the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks face off inside Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. If you’ve got a desire to see the game in person rather than just watching it on TV, the good news is that there are still tickets for the Big Game available on Gametime. The less good news is that they’re going to cost you — the cheapest seats are still over $4,500 — but considering that you’ll get to see the biggest football game of the year, a Bad Bunny halftime show, and performances from singers like Charlie Puth, Brandi Carlile, and Coco Jones.
Gametime is the premier marketplace for last-minute tickets to events like the 2026 Super Bowl, featuring transparent pricing that includes all fees, mobile ticketing – no printer required – and a guarantee that all tickets sold will be valid for entry to the game. If you’re interested in buying tickets to the 2026 Super Bowl, here’s everything you need to know about getting them through Gametime.
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How to get tickets to Super Bowl LX with Gametime
This year’s Super Bowl is one of the hottest seats around, but despite the huge demand, there are still tickets to be had. Gametime offers a great selection of seats, and while they’re not exactly cheap, they’ll get you into the biggest game of the year, and one of the most talked-about performances of the year, Bad Bunny’s halftime show.
As expected, Super Bowl ticket prices are pretty high, with the cheapest seats starting around $4,870 and some seats in the end zone costing upwards of $27,000.
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How to get Super Bowl tickets using Gametime:
You can find individual tickets to the Super Bowl LX game on Gametime where you can filter by price and quantity to find the tickets that are right for you.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Jim Harbaugh has a college national championship, but no Super Bowl ring. John Harbaugh has a Super Bowl ring, but not a college ring.
Jay Harbaugh has both. And he’s going for another Super Bowl ring this week at age 36.
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Jay Harbaugh, Jim’s son and John’s nephew, has done pretty well for himself at a young age. He’s the Seattle Seahawks’ special teams coordinator. That unit had a big say in the Seahawks advancing to Super Bowl LX; Seattle ranked second among NFL teams in special teams DVOA this season.
Doors have opened for Harbaugh because of his family. He was an offensive quality control coach for the 2012 Baltimore Ravens, who won a Super Bowl, at age 23. That probably doesn’t happen if Uncle John isn’t the head coach in Baltimore. He spent nine seasons on Michigan’s staff, and was special teams coordinator and safeties coach under his dad when the Wolverines won a national title.
There’s the flip side of those opportunities. There’s no way, in the football world, that Jay Harbaugh can escape his last name. He’s the son and nephew of two of the most famous and successful coaches in the football world. That has allowed for some great opportunities at a young age, but it also can be challenging to live up to that.
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However, Jay Harbaugh doesn’t see the downside.
“It’s a blessing to have things expected of you,” Harbaugh said. “Not everybody has that as a coach. It’s one of the great gifts of coaching, to look at somebody and tell them exactly what you can see them being and what they’re capable of and give them the tools to do that. In my own life, to have people look and have expectations of being something, that’s a great thing. It comes with some pressure and scrutiny, but it’s a good thing. I’m grateful for it.”
Seahawks special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh is in his second Super Bowl as a coach. (Photo by Jane Gershovich/Getty Images)
(Jane Gershovich via Getty Images)
Growing up Harbaugh
As you’d imagine, when the Harbaugh family gets together, the subject eventually comes back to the same thing.
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“We are capable of talking about other things,” Jay Harbaugh said. “But things generally tend to gravitate back towards football or coaching or sports in general.”
When you grow up as the son of Jim Harbaugh — a Heisman finalist at Michigan, a 14-year NFL quarterback and then a successful head coach over the past 22 seasons in college and the pros — football is part of your life. And it’s hard to escape it.
“When I was younger I didn’t want to play quarterback because I didn’t want to be compared to my dad,” Jay Harbaugh said. “So I became a coach instead.”
Jay Harbaugh said he wanted to be a coach from a young age, but then went through a phase early in his teenage years in which he was seeking another path.
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“I think I wanted to be an FBI agent or something. I would have been horrible at it,” Jay Harbaugh said. “I think I just wanted to see what else I could do.”
Jay Harbaugh remembers being a junior in high school when he was at an event with his grandfather Jack, another Harbaugh legend who spent more than 40 years coaching including 14 as Western Kentucky’s head coach.
“Person after person came up and greeted him and they’re telling stories and laughing,” Harbaugh said. “They were people he probably didn’t even remember. Seeing this impact and how rich his life was, I remember having this feeling of, yeah, I want that.”
Jay Harbaugh back in a Super Bowl
The Harbaughs have made coaching a family matter, and it is impressive that three members of the family have prominent coaching jobs in the NFL.
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“Miss him. Miss Jay, miss [Jay’s children] Jacob and Norma and [Jay’s wife] Brhitney, but very proud,” Jim Harbaugh said before a 2024 preseason game between the Jim’s Chargers and the Seahawks. “Very proud of Jay and what he’s accomplished, what he’s accomplishing now.”
Jay Harbaugh has been an asset for the Seahawks. Seattle has been strong on special teams all season. A key punt return touchdown by Rashid Shaheed against the Rams in Week 16 helped the Seahawks in a historic comeback win that was a huge step in them winning the NFC West, getting the NFC’s No. 1 seed and using that as a springboard to the Super Bowl.
“Jay is one of the best football coaches I’ve ever been around,” Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said. “The mentality he has on a day-to-day basis is what we love from our coaches. Chasing edges, elegant simplicity, relationships and connecting with his players. Love Jay, he’s a great coach.”
Many years ago, John Harbaugh had been a special teams coordinator for most of his career as an assistant when the Ravens hired him as a head coach. He had 18 successful seasons there, and was just hired to be the New York Giants’ head coach. Jay Harbaugh is still relatively early in his coaching career, and it’s possible at some point he joins his father and uncle as a head coach in the NFL.
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“He’s a special teams whiz. He knows everything there is. Self scout, he’s looking at our film and he’s telling us ‘Look out for this, they’re going to pick up on this,’” Seahawks fullback Robbie Ouzts said. “Just his knowledge of the game and how he interacts with players, you can tell he grew up in it.”
This week isn’t about Harbaugh’s future in coaching, but trying to get his special teams ready for Super Bowl LX and perhaps making another big play to shift the momentum of the game. In many ways, he has been building to this moment most of his life.
“I’ll always be grateful because my parents were like ‘Do whatever you’re passionate about and what you’re interested in,’” Jay Harbaugh said. “There was never any, ‘Hey you need to be in football.’
“As time passed, I realized that’s where my passion was and I was able to come by it naturally.”
MILAN — For decades, the hierarchy at the top of women’s hockey has mostly been Canada, the U.S. and then everyone else.
Nothing happened Thursday that would suggest the gap is closing.
The U.S. women began their quest for Olympic gold with a dominant 5-1 victory over Czechia in the opening game of group play for both teams at the Milan Cortina Winter Games. Hayley Scamurra scored twice and three other Americans found the back of the net once, delighting Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, both of whom were seated a few rows up in the stands across the ice from the U.S. bench.
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In theory, Czechia figured to provide the U.S. one of its toughest non-Canada tests at these Olympics. The Czechs have finished no worse than fourth at any of the previous four World Championships and arrived in Milan vowing to “create some chaos,” as forward Kristyna Kaltounkova put it on Wednesday.
In reality, Czechia proved to be little more than a speed bump. The U.S. controlled the game from the opening faceoff, outshooting Czechia 42-14 and keeping the puck in the attacking zone for long stretches of each period.
“I think our forecheck is pretty dangerous,” U.S. defender Megan Keller said. “We have a fast group. We can hunt, be relentless, turn pucks over. I think that’s going to drive a lot of our offense.”
Hayley Scamurra (16) celebrates with teammates after scoring her team’s fifth goal in a 5-1 victory over Czechia. (Alexander Nemenov/ AFP via Getty Images)
(ALEXANDER NEMENOV via Getty Images)
The impressive showing added to the momentum the U.S. built coming into these Olympics. The Americans secured the No. 1 spot in the IIHF global rankings by capturing the 2025 women’s ice hockey world championship and by following that up by sweeping Canada in the four-game Rivalry Series by a combined score of 24-7.
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The U.S. opened the scoring late in the first period on Thursday with some help from Czechia’s Dominika Lásková. The physical Czechia defender drew a two-minute penalty for an illegal check to the head of American forward Abbey Murphy.
Only 30 seconds into the ensuing U.S. power play, Keller and Alex Carpenter took advantage. Carpenter redirected Keller’s laser shot through the legs of Czechia goalie Klara Peslarova for the first American goal of these Olympics.
“When you see Megan Keller shoot, you just go to the net and try to do anything you can to either get a stick on it or take the eyes away,” Carpenter said. “She’s got a rocket from up there.”
Early in the second period, the U.S. struck again, this time with two goals within 83 seconds, both assisted by Penn State senior Tessa Janecke. On the first goal, Janecke fought to win a loose puck, skated around the back of the net and found Joy Dunne wide open in the slot. Barely a minute later, Janecke set up Scamurra, whose wrist shot trickled through the legs of Peslarova with the help of a screen to block the goalie’s vision.
The U.S. might have secured a shutout were it not for an ill-timed second-period giveaway at the exact moment Czechia’s Barbora Jurickova emerged from the penalty box. Jurickova received a pass just outside the attacking zone and beat U.S. goalie Aerin Frankel stickside for a breakaway goal, briefly giving Czechia life.
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It didn’t last long.
Five-time U.S. Olympian Hilary Knight scored late in the second period to increase the U.S. lead to 4-1. Scamurra struck again early in the third.
By then, the outcome was a foregone conclusion.
Vance, Rubio and their security detail exited with more than six minutes left in the third period, no doubt confident the U.S. women were on their way to victory.
The New England Patriots will face the Seattle Seahawks at Super Bowl LX, with kickoff scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 8, 2026, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. Despite the fact that the Big Game is happening smack dab in the middle of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, it’s still likely going to be the most-watched sports event of the week. A record 127 million viewers watched last year’s game, and the number of Super Bowl viewers has grown steadily for the past five years – as ratings go, it certainly won’t hurt that Bad Bunny, the most-streamed artist in the world and now winner of Album of the Year at the 2926 Grammys, is headlining halftime.
The 2026 Super Bowl will be broadcast on NBC and will stream live on Peacock. Here’s what you need to know to tune in to Super Bowl LX when it airs on Feb. 8.
The 2026 Super Bowl kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT on Feb. 8, 2026. Green Day will also be performing a pre-game special starting at 6 p.m. ET.
2026 Super Bowl game channel
Super Bowl LX will air on NBC. A Spanish-language broadcast available on Telemundo.
Who are the 2026 Super Bowl teams?
The AFC champions, the New England Patriots, will play the NFC champions, the Seattle Seahawks, at Super Bowl LX.
Where is the 2026 Super Bowl being played?
The 2026 Super Bowl will be held at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA, home of the San Francisco 49ers.
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How to watch the 2026 Super Bowl without cable
You can stream NBC and Telemundo on platforms like DirecTV and Hulu + Live TV, both of which are among Engadget’s choices for best streaming services for live TV. (Note that Fubo and NBC are currently in the midst of a contract dispute and NBC channels are not available on the platform.) The game will also stream on Peacock and NFL+, though with an NFL+ subscription, you’re limited to watching on mobile devices.
For $17 monthly you can upgrade to an ad-free subscription which includes live access to your local NBC affiliate (not just during designated sports and events) and the ability to download select titles to watch offline.
Who is performing at the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show?
Bad Bunny is headlining the 2026 Super Bowl halftime performance. You can expect that show to begin after the second quarter, likely between 8-8:30 p.m. ET. Green Day will also perform a pre-game show starting at 6 p.m. ET. If you’re tuning in before the game, singer Charlie Puth will perform the National Anthem, Brandi Carlile is scheduled to sing “America The Beautiful,” and Grammy winner Coco Jones will perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
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Where to buy tickets to the 2026 Super Bowl:
Tickets to the 2026 Super Bowl are available on third-party resale platforms like StubHub and Gametime.
A three-person independent arbitration panel has awarded Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal a $32 million contract for the 2026 MLB season, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Thursday. It is a one-year deal for Skubal, 29, and he will be eligible for unrestricted free agency next offseason.
A Wednesday hearing saw both the Tigers and Skubal present their cases for what the back-to-back AL Cy Young Award winner should earn for the 2026 season. Prior to the hearing, Skubal’s agent, Scott Boras, asked for an arbitration-record salary of $32 million — $1 million more than the $31 million Juan Soto got in 2024 with the New York Yankees. The Tigers proposed $19 million, and the $13 million difference in filings was the largest in MLB arbitration history.
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The panel was tasked with selecting one of the two numbers from Skubal and the Tigers, not determining an amount between the totals.
The previous arbitration record for a pitcher was $19.75 million, which was awarded to former Tigers lefty David Price in 2015. Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s $19.9 million salary in 2024 was the highest total in an arbitration case decided by a panel. Jeanne Charles and Walt De Treaux, who were on the panel for Guerrero’s decision, were also part of the Skubal hearing.
Skubal’s was the third arbitration case decision this offseason, with the previous two also going the player’s way. Baltimore Orioles pitcher Kyle Bradish was awarded $3.55 million over the team’s ask of $2.875 millio, and Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz received $4.5 million rather than the $3 million the team proposed.
Seven more players have arbitration hearings scheduled, including Milwaukee Brewers catcher Willson Contreras, Kansas City Royals pitcher Kris Bubic and Cincinnati Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson.
The 29-year-old Skubal has been one of the best pitchers in baseball the past two seasons, compiling a 31-10 record with 469 strikeouts, a 0.91 WHIP and a .201 opponent batting average in 381 1/3 innings pitched. He’s a two-time All-Star and All-MLB first-team player, he won the pitching Triple Crown in 2024, and he’s one of six players who have won multiple Cy Youngs in the past 15 years.
Last season, Skubal led the Tigers pitching staff backed by Jack Flaherty and Case Mize. Detroit finished second in the AL Central with an 87-75 record and reached the ALDS, in which they lost to the Seattle Mariners in five games.
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Skubal, who will be one of Team USA’s top arms at next month’s World Baseball Classic, won one of his three postseason starts, pitching 20 2/3 innings and allowing four earned runs while striking out 36 with opponents batting .143 against him.
The Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers will play in the first NFL game in Australia next season, the league announced on Thursday. Melbourne Cricket Ground will be the site of one of the two 2026 regular season meetings between the NFC West rivals.
The long plane ride to Melbourne will only add to the miles both teams are used to traveling. This past season the NFC West led the NFL in miles traveled with 114,833. The Rams (34,832) and 49ers (28,363) finished in the top five among all teams.
The Rams are one of four NFL teams, along with the Seattle Seahawks, Las Vegas Raiders and Philadelphia Eagles, that hold international marketing rights in Australia and New Zealand. Los Angeles was awarded rights in Australia in 2021. A year later, the NFL opened an office in Australia and has since created a flag football program and an academy.
This past season games were played in São Paulo, Brazil; Berlin, Germany; Dublin, Ireland; Madrid, Spain; and three in London, England.
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NFL’s 2026 international schedule
Melbourne, Australia: Los Angeles Rams vs. San Francisco 49ers at Melbourne Cricket Ground Paris, France: New Orleans Saints vs. TBA at Stade de France Madrid, Spain: TBA at Bernabéu Stadium Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: TBA at Estádio do Maracanã Munich, Germany: TBA at Allianz Arena Monterrey, Mexico: TBA at Estadio Banorte London, England: TBA at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (two games) London, England: Jacksonville Jaguars vs. TBA at Wembley Stadium
SAN JOSE, Calif. — By 6:30 a.m. on weekdays throughout the NFL season, Seattle Seahawks coaches and players could walk past the far left room of their facility and see a meeting in session led by one of two men.
Sometimes, quarterback Sam Darnold manned the computer near the window as he rolled through film, lights off and breakfast already procured. Other times, veteran receiver Cooper Kupp rolled the film. The two would exchange playful ribbing, often jabbing about which arrived to the building first. Then, they would solve the problems most likely to arise in the quarterback-receiver connection.
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How should Kupp adjust his route if Darnold is under pressure? Should those adjustments focus more on timing or depth of route?
“They almost look like mad scientists,” defensive pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach Karl Scott told Yahoo Sports. “I don’t know what they’re doing in there, but obviously they’re doing something right.”
The Seahawks, and Darnold, are creating a reality far removed from what Darnold experienced to start his career. The meeting room overlooking an idyllic Lake Washington belies the journey that the California native traveled before landing back on the West Coast.
Since he was drafted at 20 years old in 2018, Darnold has started for the New York Jets, Carolina Panthers, San Francisco 49ers (just one game), Minnesota Vikings and Seahawks. The 28-year-old’s fall and subsequent rise may seem storybook. And yet, offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak pushed back on what seems like the obvious lesson of a player reaching his greatest heights in his eighth season.
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“You’d like to think patience is the lesson, but the NFL is not about patience,” Kubiak said Monday. “It’s not fair. It’s not a fair league. So the cool thing about the NFL is sometimes you get your tail fired and then you get to go try somewhere else and you just make sure that you got better from that last experience. So myself, players, we all get fired. And if we get another chance, then you go make the most of the next opportunity.
“That’s what Sam’s done.”
What he has the chance to do next is rare.
Sunday, Darnold will become the third quarterback in NFL history to start a Super Bowl after playing for five-plus teams in his NFL career, and the second to start in a season opener for four-plus teams then later start in a Super Bowl. No quarterback has accomplished either in the last two decades. And if Darnold leads a 4.5-point favorite Seattle team to beat the New England Patriots on Sunday, he’ll be the first quarterback to start for four-plus teams and win a Super Bowl.
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By Wednesday, Seahawks players and coaches were preaching about his resilience in their sleep, understanding the disbelief surrounding one of the unlikeliest NFL paths in recent years. Even businesses were stunned: The NFL’s official licensing company, Fanatics, issued an apology this week for far underestimating the potential playoff run and related jersey demand the Patriots and Seahawks’ sudden success has elicited. A Hollywood ending is in reach.
“America loves an underdog, rightfully so,” tight end AJ Barner said. “These stories God’s writing right now, no script[writer] could write a better script than this.”
But as he prepares to start on the biggest stage, the phoenix legend begs questions. How did Darnold rise from the ashes of NFL quarterback failure?
League views Sam Darnold as only partially responsible for his early failures
To fully appreciate Darnold’s rise, first understand his fall. The now two-time Pro Bowler and those close to him are not afraid to describe his early career as a period of failure. League talent evaluators identify two key culprits.
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The first: Darnold’s relative inexperience. When the Jets spent the third overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft on a 20-year-old, Darnold had played just two seasons at USC. Darnold ranked fifth in the NCAA with 4,143 passing yards his final season — but his 13 interceptions ranked worse than 509 quarterbacks. He needed molding, which leads to culprit No. 2: Was he at the right place at the right time to receive development?
“Respectfully, the Jets were not the right time,” a high-ranking NFC executive told Yahoo Sports. “And I think they’ve shown for the last how many years that that’s not the right place. [But] the reality of the NFL … is that we’re very impatient.”
Among quarterbacks who started at least 10 games from 2018-2020, Darnold’s 78.6 passer rating ranked 45 of 47. He won fewer games in three Jets seasons (13) than he won this year alone (14).
That led to a third culprit, Darnold admitted this week: spiraling after moments of bad play.
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“As a young player, too, early in my career, I was really hard on myself after a bad rep or a bad practice,” Darnold said Wednesday. “I would let it affect my attitude a little bit.”
Years later Darnold would accept: “It’s not always going to be perfect. That’s why everybody loves this game and people call it some of the best reality TV there is.”
Sam Darnold started 17 games in two seasons with the Panthers in 2021-2022 . (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
(Chris Graythen via Getty Images)
After three losing seasons, the Jets dealt Darnold to the Panthers on April 5, 2021. Darnold’s play would improve, particularly during a 2022 stretch when he led the Panthers to four wins in six starts. But Carolina wasn’t sold enough on Darnold not to draft Bryce Young first overall. So on Darnold went to the 49ers, where Brock Purdy was rehabilitating from an elbow injury. Purdy recovered to start all but one game, but Darnold gained something even more valuable: a crash course from head coach Kyle Shanahan, one of the architects of the popular Shanahan-McVay offensive system.
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That background, and a training camp meniscus tear to rookie 10th overall pick J.J. McCarthy the following August, would elevate Darnold to Vikings QB1 in 2024. He was still just 27 years old and now entering a system in which he had familiarity with a level of maturity (or scarring, depending whom you ask) and the stars were finally aligning. Darnold lit it up with a 4,319-yard, 35 touchdown-to-13-interception season.
“Guys develop,” Dallas Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones told Yahoo Sports of the takeaway. “These quarterbacks, if they get enough time on the job, they just get better.”
Still, struggles in the regular-season finale and a wild-card loss in which he took nine sacks convinced the Vikings to roll with McCarthy’s cost-effective salary rather than pay Darnold. As Seattle offered a three-year, $100.5 million contract with a dose of the belief that four teams had lost, Darnold reunited with former 49ers colleague in Kubiak, now the Seahawks offensive coordinator.
“It kind of gave him a leg up,” quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko told Yahoo Sports. “Allowed us to kind of get ahead.”
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Seahawks’ unwavering in belief in Darnold key ingredient to Super Bowl run
Seahawks colleagues liken Darnold joining Seattle under Kubiak’s coordinating to a student showing up to an exam having already completed a take-home test. He understood much of Kubiak’s terminology and footwork aims; Kubiak, in turn, understood how a strong run game and heavy dose of play action would benefit his quarterback.
The Seahawks began the year 7-2 before Darnold faced the team that had wrecked his rhythm in the playoffs 11 months earlier. Darnold threw four interceptions in a 21-19 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 16. Questions about his ability to rise to the moment bubbled, but teammates clapped back.
“If we want to try to define Sam by this game, Sam’s had us in every f***ing game,” linebacker Ernest Jones IV said then. “So for him to sit there and say, ‘That’s my fault.’ No, it’s not. There were plays that, defensively, we could have made plays. There were opportunities where we could have gotten better stops. It’s football, man. He’s our quarterback.
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“We’ve got his back and you got anything to say about it, quite frankly, f*** you.”
The Seahawks haven’t lost any of nine games since.
Seven more regular-season wins included an overtime escape from the Rams. Darnold joined Tom Brady as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to lead different teams to 14 wins in consecutive seasons. The Seahawks earned the wild-card bye, then faced a pair of NFC West foes for the third time. Despite an oblique injury that kept him from practicing, Seattle crushed the 49ers, 41-6. And with a chance to make a statement against the pesky Rams, Darnold played his best in the NFC championship, completing 69.4% of passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns.
And notably: After turning the ball over a league-high 20 times in the regular season (14 interceptions, six lost fumbles), Darnold has not turned the ball over in the playoffs. He credits an increased willingness to check down the ball on first and second downs, and to remember on third down that he can lean on a No. 1-ranked scoring defense.
“This year, especially the latter half of the season, I always felt like I never really had to force anything,” Darnold said. “And that’s a big key for me as a quarterback and kind of a security blanket almost. I can feel really confident in just moving onto the next play and letting our special teams and our defense go to work. Understanding that we just got to protect the football at all costs and being able to move on as a quarterback from there.”
Darnold knows he will err at times, but Kubiak credits the short memory his quarterback has developed. Darnold’s approach is fitting for the son of a plumber.
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“Learning how to flush bad plays, flush bad games always at the end of the day,” Darnold said. “No matter if I had a bad game, a bad rep or a bad series of plays, I always [am now] able to wake up the next day and be able to move on.
“I learned a ton from my early years.”
With Lombardi Trophy in reach, what will Darnold’s legacy be?
Even if the Seahawks win the Super Bowl, debates will rage. Does Darnold’s odds-defying journey by definition catapult him to the level of elite, or at least great, quarterbacks? A related question: Can a team win a Super Bowl without a great quarterback?
The high-ranking NFC executive said that as long as a quarterback is “functional,” a Super Bowl win is possible. Great quarterback play makes a Super Bowl path more likely; but it’s not the only route there.
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“As long as they’re not keeping you from winning,” a high-ranking AFC executive agreed, “you let whatever strengths you have guide your team.”
No one’s arguing that Darnold’s ceiling looks higher than that of recent MVPs in the Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen or Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson. But Darnold reaching a Super Bowl before his fellow 2018 draft classmates must prompt questions about the range of recipes that can produce a world championship.
And if the Seahawks win with Darnold, whether or not they win because of him, what contractual value does he warrant?
Darnold joins Baker Mayfield, Daniel Jones and Geno Smith as recent NFL quarterbacks to become effective starters only later in their careers with teams other than those that drafted them. But Darnold is the first in that crop to reach a Super Bowl, or even a conference championship. An NFC executive told Yahoo Sports they see Darnold as leading the “resurgence of the middle class quarterback.” Other executives, however, wonder if a win will compel the Seahawks to raise Darnold from the middle class.
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Two more seasons remain on Darnold’s $33.5 million per year deal, a contract that ranks 18th among quarterbacks. Would the Seahawks extend Darnold now, offering him new money that hovers above $50 million as they recognize his relatively inexpensive two existing years can offset the hit?
For now, the franchise is not focused on that.
The Seahawks are focused on finishing their underdog journey to win at the highest level, hoping a great defense and balanced offense will clinch their goal. They’re focused on not getting too caught up in any one play, Darnold remembering that unlike during his Jets tenure, he must not let mistakes sink his attitude.
“You want to be hard on yourself, but I think you don’t want to be hard on yourself in the moment,” he said. “You can be harder on yourself without getting mad at yourself.”
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Three years in this offense, eight years in the NFL and dozens of 6:30 a.m. meetings with Kupp later, Darnold will take the biggest stage.
He’ll do so not trying to put his failures behind him. He will instead take them with him.
“The biggest thing is to just believe in yourself,” Darnold said. “I think that’s really what it comes down to is as long as I’ve always believed in myself and I’ve always had confidence in myself to do my job and I learned, learned a ton from the mistakes that I made early on in my career.
“That kind of mindset has kind of gotten me to this point.”
