The Seattle Seahawks lost to the Denver Broncos in another close matchup Thursday night to drop to 3-3 this season. Seattle has now lost two consecutive games for the first time in two years — since they began the 2024 campaign also 3-3.
The past two losses have looked similar for the Seahawks. Most notably, turnovers have been an issue.
In the two recent defeats, the Seahawks have committed seven giveaways, including four interceptions from quarterback Sam Darnold.
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald stressed to reporters after Thursday’s 17-14 loss that his offense has to do a much better job in ball security.
“Why the ball is in jeopardy so much on offense,” said Macdonald. “When you talk about complimentary football, all three phases, picking each other up, that’s who we are. We feel like that’s our competitive advantage.
“When you talk about 12 as one, people together, the synergy of the team, right now, we’re not creating that. Run game, quarterback’s getting hit too much. We’ll look at it hard, find solutions and go from there.”
Darnold’s two interceptions came in the final minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime. After the game, Macdonald specifically addressed his quarterback’s issues with interceptions.
“I think he’s trying to throw a hole shot in Cover 2,” Macdonald said of Darnold’s pick in overtime. “We’ll look at what they were playing and how they made the play.
“But we have to take care of the ball. Sam knows that. He told the team that. You know, gotta take care of the ball.”
The Seahawks lost the turnover margin 3-0 to the Broncos on Thursday night.
Mike Macdonald Stresses Ball Security When Addressing Sam Darnold
It’s been a rough few days for Darnold. The Seahawks quarterback has taken five sacks in each of the past two games. He tossed two picks in the last two losses as well.
After Thursday, Darnold now has as many interceptions as touchdowns this season.
Although Macdonald didn’t throw the quarterback under the bus, the head coach was pretty clear about Darnold needing to be better.
“It was not a performance that was good enough to win the game, by our team,” said Macdonald. “But the quarterback leads the team.
“I bet you Sam [Darnold] would be the first one to tell you that. We love him, but that’s what it is.”
Darnold fought really hard in the comeback, which mostly included the Seahawks dropping back to pass on nearly every play during the second half. The Broncos defense drove him into the ground so many times, he had bloody elbows.
But ultimately, the second interception was too much to overcome in overtime. Darnold finished 27 of 51 with 278 passing yards along with the two picks.
“Right now, we’re not creating that run game,” added Macdonald. “Quarterback is getting hit too much, so we’ll look at it hard and find solutions and go from there.”
Seahawks’ Mike Macdonald Fires Clear Message to Sam Darnold After Loss to Broncos