The Seattle Seahawks are 4-4 after their Week 8 loss to the Chicago Bears, and there are conversations about the play of quarterback Sam Darnold. In the loss to the Bears, Darnold had his ups and downs, including turning the ball over.
Darnold went 17-for-34 on his pass attempts for 188 passing yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 74.1. Moreover, the Seahawks QB was sacked three times.
So far this 2026 season, Darnold has played 253 pass snaps, leading to a PFF passing grade of 61.6. He has also thrown for 1,478 passing yards and nine touchdowns against nine interceptions while recording 10 big-time throws and 12 turnover-worthy plays.
After the loss to Chicago in Week 8, former Seahawks QB Russell Wilson shared his thoughts on what he’s seeing from Darnold since his return from injury.
“Sam Darnold’s not comfortable out there, and he doesn’t look all the way healthy,” Wilson said in a Nov. 3 video from CBS Sports. “He’s banged up. He’s kind of getting up and battling through it every time. I think what we have to do in Seattle, in particular, is get healthy again.
“We have to get his mindset back to feeling like he’s ripping it and going, getting some easy completions along the way, and just moving the ball down the field.”
Seahawks Have to Get Back to Winning Formula
Meanwhile, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald stated that the entire team has to look in the mirror and get back to the formula that allowed them to win a Super Bowl last season after the latest loss dropped them to 4-4.
“I think we’ve been really consistent on what we’re chasing with our team,” Macdonald said during a Nov. 3 appearance on Seattle Sports. “We want it to be complementary, 12-as-one Seahawks-style football. You have to trust that the wins are going to show up when that happens because you believe in it, and that’s proven to be a winning formula.
“We’ve done that at a high level here in the last couple of years. There have been maybe a loss or two throughout that time where you think, ‘Man, we’re right there.’
“The style was there, but we have to focus on recapturing who we are and making sure we’re ourselves when we turn on the tape. There were too many times throughout that game when that wasn’t us in terms of our style of ball, and that’s where we need to get better.”
Richard Sherman Gets Blunt on Major Seattle Issue
In the loss to Chicago, the Seattle offense went 1-for-11 on third downs as they couldn’t extend drives when needed. As a result, former Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman continues to believe that third downs are arguably the biggest concern.
“The problem started offensively on third down,” Sherman said in a Nov. 2 video on “The Richard Sherman Podcast” YouTube channel. “Third down has been a problem for this team and continues to be a problem… The things that are fixable offensively, they have to get this run game fixed.
“I don’t know if they’re going to have to go away from the zone and go into a gap scheme, but one for [11] on third down isn’t acceptable. It’s been a consistent problem all season long.”
Russell Wilson Issues Candid Take on Seahawks’ Sam Darnold After Week 8 Loss