Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald is staying with Sam Darnold as his starting quarterback. CBS Sports' Jared Dubin reported that Macdonald shut down the idea of a change, and that Darnold's NFL-high seven interceptions haven't shaken the coach's support. ESPN put the figure at seven interceptions over the past four games. Pro Football Talk's Myles Simmons quoted Macdonald calling Darnold "definitely part of the solution." Simmons also framed it as a rough stretch since Darnold came back from a hip injury he suffered in the season opener.
The backing follows Thursday night's 17-14 loss at Denver, which went to overtime and ended on a 53-yard Wil Lutz field goal. Darnold went 27 of 51 for 278 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions, a 52.6 passer rating. He was sacked five times for 38 yards. Seattle out-gained the Broncos 353 yards to 168 and had 24 first downs to their 13. Even so, Seattle turned the ball over three times to Denver's none.
Our game logs account for all seven of those interceptions. He threw one against the Chargers, two at Washington, two against San Francisco and two in Denver. He also had a four-touchdown, 379-yard game at Washington on Sept. 27 and two touchdown passes against the Chargers. The problems have come in the last two games. Against the 49ers he threw for 195 yards on 18 of 29, with one touchdown and two interceptions, and took five sacks. Seattle lost that game 32-29. That makes five sacks in each of the last two games, so the protection is part of the picture as well as the turnovers.
| GP | CMP | ATT | CMP% | YDS | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 63 | 98 | 64.3 | 755 | 7.7 |
Our logs show he played only 1 of 2 passing attempts in the Sept. 9 opener against New England, which fits the hip injury Simmons described. Since returning he has started every game.
The Seahawks are 3-3 and on a two-game losing streak. They are second in the NFC West, 2.5 games behind the 5-0 49ers, who beat them in Seattle last Sunday. Their +26 run differential is the fourth-best in the NFC, and that number is part of why a switch is a harder sell than the turnover count alone suggests. Seattle has lost two straight by a combined six points.
| Team | W | L | PCT | Home | Away | Strk | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 0 | 1.000 | 3-0-0 | 2-0-0 | W5 | +61 | |
| 3 | 3 | .500 | 2-1-0 | 1-2-0 | L2 | +26 | |
| 2 | 3 | .400 | 1-2-0 | 1-1-0 | L1 | -1 | |
| 1 | 4 | .200 | 0-2-0 | 1-2-0 | L4 | -54 |
None of the reporting named a possible replacement or described how close the team came to making a change, so we can't say how real the quarterback question was inside the building. What it does show is that Macdonald is committed to Darnold. The test comes Sunday, Oct. 25, when Seattle hosts the Chiefs, who are 4-0.
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