That's a brutal way to end the game. Sam Darnold was dealing all night long for the Seattle Seahawks. Playing like he's got a chip on his shoulder, the quarterback was making incredible throws left and right. However, his final throw of the game proved to be costly.
With just 58 seconds left in a tie game, Darnold threw a brutal interception to Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David. That pick eventually led to Mayfield driving the Bucs down the field to field goal territory. From there, Chase McLaughlin nailed the field goal to hand the Seahawks a loss.
Much of the talk will be about Darnold's interception, and rightly so. However, his Seahawks teammates, running back Kenneth Walker and tight end AJ Barner came to the defense of their quarterback. The two pass-catchers said that the interception shouldn't take away from Darnold's solid play all game long.
“‘Everyone keeps talking about the interception. Sam played a great game,' Kenneth Walker said,” Gregg Bell reported. “'We have a very special quarterback here,' AJ Barner says.”
Indeed, Darnold played an excellent game prior to the interception. The Seahawks quarterback went toe-to-toe with Baker Mayfield, completing 28 of his 34 pass attempts and getting 341 yards and four touchdowns. Darnold's lone mistake proved to be the backbreaker for Seattle, as Mayfield was just as excellent, if not better (29-for-33 with 379 yards and two touchdowns).
Walker was highly efficient in their loss, as well: he got just ten carries, but notched 86 yards on the ground. Jaxon Smith-Njigba was the Seahawks' best receiver, catching eight passes for 132 yards. Barner was also effective in the passing attack, hauling in seven catches for 53 yards.
The Seahawks now fall to 3-2 in the season. This record is miles better than what people expected from Seattle this season, but it's still a rough end to a completely winnable game. Next up for Seattle is a date with the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6.
