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SEATTLE — The Sam Darnold of old — the third overall pick in the 2018 draft out of USC who looked to be a considerable bust early in his career with the New York Jets and the Carolina Panthers? We haven’t seen that guy in a while. After Darnold spent the 2023 season as Brock Purdy’s backup with the San Francisco 49ers, he signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings in 2024, and managed to resuscitate his career with head coach Kevin O’Connell to the point where the Seattle Seahawks offered him a three-year, $100.5 million contract before the 2025 season.
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That worked well for Darnold, who picked up a Super Bowl ring at the end of the 2025 season, and came into the 2026 campaign firmly established as Seattle’s franchise quarterback. However, Darnold suffered a glute injury early in Seattle’s Super Bowl LX rematch against the New England Patriots in Week 1, and that left him inactive through Week 2.
Seattle’s quarterback situation was moderately complicated by the play of backup Drew Lock — who, in wins over the Patriots and the Arizona Cardinals, completed 35 of 48 passes for 422 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions, and a league-high passer rating of 127.3.
Obviously, when Darnold was designated to return in Week 3, nobody was going to argue with that. But after three straight games in which results have been mixed at best, these questions are worth at least asking.
In Sunday’s 32-29 loss to the now 5-0 San Francisco 49ers — a loss that put the Seahawks at 3-2 on the season, and in a less-than-optimal place in the NFC West — Darnold completed 18 of 29 passes for 195 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 64.6. On the season, he’s completed 63 of 98 passes for 755 yards, seven touchdowns, five interceptions, and a passer rating of 90.3 — a far cry from last season’s 99.6, or the 100.8 he put up with the Vikings in 2024 (postseason included).
Crazy as it sounds, Sam Darnold has thrown an interception on his first pass in each of his last two games pic.twitter.com/2FjAJFfF7y
— The Sports Geek (@TheSports_Geek) October 11, 2026
Another interception of Darnold by Renardo Green! He has two today. This offense is squandering an amazing performance by the Seahawks Defense. But on the flip side this a statement performance by the 49ers Defense.
pic.twitter.com/WknYsKVyvO
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) October 11, 2026
Darnold has always been a streaky quarterback, even at the best of times — one need look no further than the four-interception game against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 11 last season — but now that the “waviness” has returned, the Seahawks need to move past it somehow. Because it’s erasing some remarkable defensive performances, and while everybody in the building insists that nobody on that side of the ball is blaming the offense, it’s early in the season. If these things continue… it could be a different story.
“I mean, it’s not like he doesn’t know we don’t wanna throw interceptions here,” Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said when I asked him about Darnold’s variance this season. “So, stay positive, stick to it, trust your reads, take care of the ball. I mean, there’s a lot of, obviously, you don’t wanna throw a pick. So we need to find ways to start games a little faster on offense. But I mean, Sam also did a lot of great things today, extending plays, so you don’t wanna take that away from him either.”
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True, but when you factor in the five sacks Darnold took, and the fact that he frequently looked distinctly uncomfortable when navigating San Francisco’s defense, it is a bit disconcerting.
“I mean, he doesn’t change,” receiver Cooper Kupp, whose catch was controversially spotted short of a first down with 54 seconds left, said of his quarterback’s mentality. “He does such a great job of being able to traverse all the ups and downs of a football game.
“We know that he wants those plays back, and when things go bad, he wants to be the first person that wants to be the one to fix it. And the whole thing is, ‘Hey, let’s get to the sideline, let’s figure out what we can do moving forward, find some solutions, and go out there and be ready to go for the next drive.’ The energy, the belief, the trust in Sam is unwavering, and there’s just the expectation to go out there and find a way the next time we get the ball.”
Two great teams. It came down to this. pic.twitter.com/RyJ1y4Nbnq
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 11, 2026
Yeah, but… if it keeps not happening, what then?
“You’ve gotta tip your cap to those guys; they played a good game,” Darnold said when I asked him if the picture changed post-snap on his interceptions in ways he didn’t expect. “But just, again, those are all things that I can control — just can’t be putting the ball in jeopardy like that.”
As to whether the sacks were more about the pass rush or the coverage, Darnold had this to say.
“I don’t know, I’ve gotta look at the tape for that one. But again, like I said, they did a good job rushing and covering some more concepts. So you’ve gotta tip your cap to a good defense, and obviously a good coach, [defensive coordinator] Raheem [Morris] over there.”
I also asked Darnold for his methodology of getting out of these periods of time when interceptions just seem to come in bunches — something that has happened to every NFL quarterback who plays long enough.
“I think I just continue to trust my feet, trust my eyes, and make good throws.”
Right now, that seems easier said than done. The Seahawks travel to Denver on a short week to take on another formidable defense in the Denver Broncos on Thursday night, and the last thing they want is to take a 10-day “vacation” after that with a 3-3 record. Not exactly what should be expected from the defending NFL champs, but that’s where things stand right now.
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This story was originally published October 11, 2026 at 7:35 PM.