#sam-darnold

#sam-darnold

Ricky Pearsall Jr. is back in uniform and active for the 49ers' NFL divisional playoff game today against the Seattle Seahawks. Also active is Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold, who was late getting out for warmups with fellow quarterbacks Drew Lock and Jalen Milroe. Inactives for the 49ers included safety Ji'Ayir Brown, a starting safety who missed practice all week with a hamstring strain. He'll be replaced by Marques Sigle, a rookie who had eight tackles in 40 snaps in the 49ers' wild-card win over Philadelphia.

On back-to-back fourth quarter plays last week in Green Bay, McCarthy twice had his head slam into the ground -- the first when he was tackled by Packers linebacker Isaiah McDuffie, and then on the next play when he was chased and tackled by Green Bay defensive end Kingsley Enagbare. McCarthy self reported his symptoms on the flight back to Minnesota from Green Bay, and then found himself in concussion protocol, where he now remains, sources told ESPN.

Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, who had played at a near-MVP level this season for the most part, did absolutely nothing to help his team and plenty to hurt them. Darnold matched his career high with four interceptions, completing 29 of 44 passes for 279 yards, no touchdowns, those picks, and a passer rating of 45.5. The last time Darnold faced the Rams it was when he was with the Minnesota Vikings in last season's playoffs, and he endured a 60-minute nightmare.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Week 7 has a weighty feel to it. It no longer feels early in the NFL season. We're in the thick of it now, with nearly two months' worth of evidence to support our opinions of these teams and these players. What might have felt like an overreaction in Week 2 feels less so now. This is also the point in the season where coaches get tired of underreacting. On Sunday, Jets coach Aaron Glenn seemed to have finally grown tired of watching Justin Fields' complete inability to sense or react to pressure, as he benched Fields for Tyrod Taylor on the second half of New York's latest lackluster loss.

"I could give you a dissertation on what I think about the whole quarterback position," Kupp said. "In short, I do think the plugs get pulled on guys a little early."