Seattle Seahawks QB Sam Darnold is at the center of criticism as the Seahawks offense couldn’t get anything going against the Denver Broncos defense, resulting in a 17-14 Week 6 loss to the Denver Broncos on Oct. 15.
Despite the defense limiting the Broncos’ offense to 17 points, that wasn’t enough to get the win. One of the reasons for the loss was the play from Darnold, who completed 27 of 51 passes for 278 yards, but his two interceptions proved costly.
One came in overtime and helped set up Denver’s game-winning field goal. Darnold finished with a 52.6 passer rating and was sacked five times by the Broncos’ defense.
Seattle’s offense has struggled with Darnold this season, with the veteran QB having a passer rating of 77.4 to go along with 1,033 passing yards, seven touchdowns, and seven interceptions in five games this season, per StatMuse.
Despite the concerns regarding Darnold, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah isn’t ready to hit the panic button yet.
“We’ve seen during that Super Bowl run, he can go for stretches, take care of the football, and still give you those big-time throws and plays with his aggressive nature,” Jeremiah said in an Oct. 16 video from the “Move The Sticks Podcast.”
“You look at these next three games, Kansas City, Chicago, and Arizona, all at home. At the end of that three-game run, I think you’ll have a better evaluation for him. I think it’s at the point with Darnold where it needs to be addressed; it needs to be discussed, but there shouldn’t be panic. We saw what he was capable of after a bunch of turnovers last year, then getting into the postseason, getting hot, and going on a run.”
Interceptions Aren’t All Sam Darnold’s Fault
Moreover, Jeremiah noted that while Darnold has to clean up his turnovers and decision-making, it’s not all on the Seahawks QB.
“You see a lot of good, and then there are just these one or two horrible decisions that he makes that he’s going to have to clean up,” Jeremiah added. “Protection was an issue. It showed up on one of the interceptions where Halani gets beat, and Sam should have just ate the ball.
“He tries to throw it off balance and ends up getting picked. There’s [Abraham] Lucas, the right tackle, who gets beat for a couple of the sacks. He was sacked five times. So there was a little bit of blame to spread around there.”
Mike Florio Gives Candid Drew Lock Message to Seahawks
While Jeremiah isn’t hitting the panic button on Darnold just yet, NBC Sports NFL insider Mike Florio has a different tone. He believes it’s time to have a conversation regarding who should be the Seahawks’ starting QB.
“The conversation, however it’s resolved, needs to be had,” Florio wrote in a postgame article on Oct. 15. “Should the Seahawks turn to Drew Lock over Sam Darnold at quarterback? Darnold has seven interceptions in four full games (he handled five snaps of the Week 1 game against the Patriots).
“Drew Lock threw four touchdown passes and no picks in most of the Patriots game and all of the Week 2 game against the Cardinals. Darnold has started four games since returning from his glute injury. He’s 1-3.”
Seahawks Handed Blunt Sam Darnold Take Amid Turnover Concerns