It’s easy to pick on Sam Darnold after such a brutal final appearance as his. He still threw four picks in games against the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams. It was the former No. 1 overall pick’s worst outing of the year. As far as his first season with Seattle had gone, it was looking very promising.
Entering Week 11, Darnold had been leading the NFL in Total QBR at 77.8, but after this game, he currently ranks fourth with a Total QBR of 71.2. His overall stats paint the picture of a mediocre, middle-of-the-road season, throwing for 10 interceptions to 17 touchdown passes, while losing four fumbles. One major obstacle for the Seahawks so far this season has been turnovers. Darnold hasn’t exactly helped the cause, having personally been responsible for 14 of their 20 total turnovers.
Darnold took responsibility for the poor showing and thanked his teammates in the locker room for continuing to stand behind him after the game. He highlighted areas he wants to see improvement, especially in terms of reading and reacting to defensive schemes.
“Just having a better understanding when the ball’s snapped [of] what the coverage is and when a guy is going to come open and when he’s not,” – Sam Darnold
The game against the Rams came with its own unique challenges for Darnold. He pointed to the fact that Los Angeles did an excellent job of hiding defensive looks, which played a large role in his lack of success. It was as if he thought he had atoned for past transgressions within the course of the game. Even he conceded that mistakes continued to occur.
It’s not hard to understand why Darnold had such a bad game, tossing four interceptions. It was the third time in his eight-year career that he had made it to that depressing milestone. His most recent such performance came in 2019 when he was with the New York Jets.
Darnold’s situation only deteriorated when a backup center snapped the ball over his head, causing a critical fumble. This error contributed to the turnovers that haunted the Seahawks all night long.
Darnold has much more to offer, and even the Seattle mistakes shouldn’t overshadow what he brought to the table. Rams linebacker Ernest Jones IV came to his defense.
“He’s had us in every f
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