Both the Seattle Seahawks and Las Vegas Raiders will have a new guy at quarterback this season. After a Pro Bowl year with the Minnesota Vikings, Sam Darnold signed a three-year deal with the Seahawks this season. Meanwhile, Geno Smith left Seattle, joining the Raiders. But did the Seahawks make the right move in letting Geno go and signing Darnold, despite the former’s respectable performances over the past several seasons.
To answer this question, we fired up Madden 25 and simulated a full season three times.
Sim 1: Darnold And Smith Have Similar Years, But With Different Outcomes
In our first simulation, neither Sam Darnold nor Geno Smith did much to separate each other in terms of individual stats. However, if you had to pick a winner from an individual standpoint, one would likely go with Darnold, but not by much. Let’s go through the numbers.
Sam Darnold
- Yards: 3,648
- Completed passes: 314
- Pass attempts: 454
- Touchdowns: 28
- Interceptions: 15
- Completion percentage: 69%
- YPG: 214.6
- Rating: 99.9
Geno Smith
- Yards: 3,507
- Completed passes: 286
- Pass attempts: 409
- Touchdowns: 23
- Interceptions: 14
- Completion percentage: 69%
- YPG: 206.3
- Rating: 100.5
Overall, Darnold had a slightly higher workload in our first sim. On top of that, the Raiders didn’t make the playoffs in this save. Instead, they finished 6-11. The Seahawks, however, did make it. Finishing 11-6, Seattle finished second in the NFC West and locked up a Wild Card spot. Unfortunately, it was an early exit, losing to the Carolina Panthers in the Wild Card round.
First simulation winner: It’s gotta be Darnold. Even though he didn’t outpace Geno in terms of individual stats all that much, he had a winning season with the Seahawks and made it to the playoffs. That should count for something.
Sim 2: Darnold Emerges As Clear Winner
The second simulation wasn’t nearly as tight in terms of individual statistics. This time, Darnold emerged as the clear winner. Here were the stats.
Sam Darnold
- Yards: 3,517
- Completed passes: 313
- Pass attempts: 460
- Touchdowns: 23
- Interceptions: 14
- Completion percentage: 68%
- YPG: 206.9
- Rating: 94.6
Geno Smith
- Yards: 3,119
- Completed passes: 285
- Pass attempts: 424
- Touchdowns: 12
- Interceptions: 12
- Completion percentage: 67%
- YPG: 183.5
- Rating: 86.3
As you can clearly see, Darnold was the clear winner in this sim, even if his season was relatively unremarkable by a QB’s standards. The Seahawks also made the playoffs, puzzlingly winning the NFC West after posting a 9-8 record. Predictably, they were no match for the Detroit Lions in the Wild Card round, being blown out 31-7. Meanwhile, under Geno Smith, the Raiders again finished 6-11 and missed the playoffs.
Second simulation winner: Darnold. Geno wasn’t even competitive.
Sim 3: Darnold Eclipses Geno Again, Making It A Clean Sweep
If anyone was expecting some kind of outlier in this experiment, think again. Because for the third sim in a row, Darnold and the Seahawks reigned supreme over Geno and the Raiders.
The stats were as follows.
Sam Darnold
- Yards: 3,549
- Completed passes: 316
- Pass attempts: 466
- Touchdowns: 24
- Interceptions: 13
- Completion percentage: 67%
- YPG: 208.8
- Rating: 95.8
Geno Smith
- Yards: 3,303
- Completed passes: 281
- Pass attempts: 455
- Touchdowns: 21
- Interceptions: 16
- Completion percentage: 61%
- YPG: 194.3
- Rating: 84.5
Again, it’s not like Darnold has been putting up Pro Bowl numbers in these simulations. However, unlike Geno, he hasn’t been actively bad either. And again, Darnold’s play has been good enough to get the Seahawks into the playoffs at 9-8, which locked up a Wild Card spot. For the third time in a row, the Raiders finished 6-11 and were not playoff contenders.
Third simulation winner: Darnold, again. If Madden is to be believed, the Seahawks did the right thing by trading away Geno Smith and taking their chances on Darnold.
