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Before the Seattle Seahawks’ game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sam Darnold had been a revelation for the Seahawks, guiding them to a 7-2 record behind 17 touchdowns and over 2,000 passing yards.
Yet after another disastrous performance against the Rams, in which Darnold fired off four interceptions in a 21-19 losing effort, the journeyman quarterback was back in the maligned public spotlight. Those four turnovers made the Seahawks the most turnover-prone team in the NFL, with 20 in their 10 games this season.
Though Darnold’s play has been put under a microscope in the last week, he didn’t mince words when asked about the team’s issues at his Thursday press confernce.
“It’s unacceptable,” Darnold said. “We understand as an offense, we have to be better, I have to be better at protecting the football. We’re doing everything that we can in practice, and when the game comes to try and take care of the football.”
After his four-interception day, Darnold’s 10 interceptions are the third-most in the NFL, behind only Tua Tagovailoa and former Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith. Of the Seahawks’ 20 turnovers, 19 have come from the offense; who could forget Coby Bryant’s fumble on his interception against the Arizona Cardinals. Seattle leads the league in lost fumbles with nine.
Of the 19, 14 are credited to Darnold, although a bad snap from Olu Oluwatimi and two tipped passes at the line of scrimmage have contributed to that high number. In his press conference, Darnold said he needs to do a better job identifying coverages pre-snap and not sticking to one read.
“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,” Darnold said. “When I say getting stuck on a progression, I mean just seeing one side of the field and feeling like there’s a chance someone’s going to get open, rather than just moving on and clicking through my progressions as I normally do.”
Despite an uninspiring start last week, it seems Darnold hasn’t come close to losing the faith of the locker room after Ernest Jones IV’s fiery statement following the loss.
“It’s football, man,” Jones said. “He’s our quarterback. We’ve got his back, and if you’ve got anything to say, quite frankly, f—k you.”
Darnold said Jones’ words meant a lot to him and credited the Seahawks’ locker room for helping him push past those mistakes. Now on his fifth team in nine years, Darnold said the current locker room is one of the best he’s been a part of.
“The way that everyone comes together, fights for each other,” Darnold said. “I think it’s very evident the way we play football on Sundays.”
