The Seattle Seahawks didn’t find the end zone but beat the Colts. And it seems like Sam Darnold’s season is headed south late in the year, once again. And Darnold’s recent struggles will boil over on Thursday Night Football against his kryptonite, the Los Angeles Rams.
The Seahawks (11-3) will meet the Rams (11-3) in a battle for NFC West supremacy in front of a national audience. Will Darnold be able to chase away ghosts? It seems like he’s set up for failure.
Darnold has met the Rams four times in his NFL career. He led the Jets to a win over them in 2020, but recent results haven’t been as kind.
Seahawks QB Sam Darnold looking for better results
He lost as the starting quarterback for the 49ers at the end of the 2023 season. Then he lost with the Vikings in October of last season. And in the playoffs, he suffered nine sacks as the Rams pummeled the Vikings by a score of 27-9.
And earlier this season, he turned in one of the more forgettable performances of his career. Darnold completed 29 of 44 passes for 279 yards, but threw four interceptions with zero touchdown passes in a tight 21-19 decision.
Darnold said at the time he could not turn the ball over like that, according to Seahawks.com.
“It's unacceptable,” Darnold said. “We understand as an offense, we have to be better. I have to be better at protecting the football. And we're doing everything that we can in practice for when the game comes to try to take care of the football a little bit better.
“For me, I've got to go through my progressions, listen to my feet, and be able to not necessarily get stuck on one or two guys and be able to move on in the progression. Especially with the guys that they have on defense, they did a really good job disguising. And it's just about keeping my eyes down the middle of the field and just moving from there. Keeping my eyes down the middle of the field, seeing the shell a little bit better. And just getting to the right spots with the ball.”
Since that game, Darnold has five touchdown passes with one interception. But the offense hasn’t been as consistent. And it showed in the game against the Colts.
What is the Seahawks’ biggest issue?
Turnovers. The Seahawks, despite their record, rank No. 2 in the NFL with 23 turnovers. Only the Vikings with 27 have more.
And going into the Rams’ game, that’s a glaring statistical red flag. If the Seahawks hand the ball to the Rams on multiple occasions, they will likely have a super hard time winning. One reason for that is the Rams do a super job of taking care of the football. They have only 12 turnovers all season.
And it comes back to Darnold. Along with the 11 interceptions, he has coughed up five lost fumbles. And there’s a problem with that number 16, according to ESPN.
“While quarterback Sam Darnold has been an upgrade over Geno Smith in virtually every way, Darnold leads the NFL with 16 turnovers despite operating the NFL's most run-heavy offense,” Brady Henderson wrote.
What can Sam Darnold do to shake the Rams?
One thing is, he can just line up and play. The performance against the Rams in the playoffs last year wasn’t as bad as the final score or number of sacks indicated, according to seahawksdraftblog.com.
It’s pretty clear, though, that too much was made in particular of his performance against the Rams last season,” Rob Staton wrote. “That was a perfect storm of bad O-line play and a great display by LA’s defensive front.”
The good news for Darnold is he can shed at least part of his bad label by simply playing well and his team winning. If the Seahawks lose, NFL nitpickers will find a way to blame him.
Of course, Darnold could throw four interceptions again, and it would be obvious he failed. But a game where he throws for 260 yards and two scores with maybe just one interception, and the Seahawks edge out a win, some people might believe Darnold is playoff worthy.
And if Darnold is playoff worthy, the Seahawks have as good a chance as any team of reaching the Super Bowl. However, that’s a big “if.” But in his eighth NFL season, this may be one of Darnold's final chances as a starting quarterback to begin building a new narrative. If he has another late-season collapse, he may not get another starting gig.
