Sam Darnold, our Super Bowl champion QB who brought another Lombardi Trophy to Seattle, is playing straight-up bottom-tier football right now. You can’t take away that Super Bowl ring, but you also can’t ignore the fact that the Hawks sitting at 4-4 is basically the worst-case scenario for the Emerald City, short-term and long-term. We just watched a blowout loss to the Chicago Bears, 34-17, on Monday night, and while you could point fingers at the offensive coordinator or the offensive line, it’s clear Darnold’s decision-making is incomprehensible. His worst throw that night didn’t even count because of a defensive hold, but man, it was emblematic of the issues. Turning a 2nd and 1 into a double coverage gamble when the play design was DOA? As Mookie Alexander pointed out, “This is not viable quarterback play,” plain and simple.
The Numbers Don’t Lie: This Isn’t a Blip
This isn’t some new thing, folks. Darnold’s struggles are a prolonged stretch of play, far removed from much of his 2024 Minnesota Vikings season and even the first 10-ish games of his Seahawks career. The mostly great playoff run we all remember? That’s the only break in this downturn. Over his last 16 regular season starts, his touchdown-to-interception ratio is barely 1:1. Think about that for a second. And if you’re thinking this started with OC Brian Fleury, think again. The dip began way before that. Last season, in the second half with Klint Kubiak calling plays, Darnold was 19th in air yards per attempt, 19th in completion percentage over expected, and dead last in EPA per play. Dead. Last. That’s a brutal stat. As “Seahawk Nerd” put it, “He’s been figured out.” From last year’s Rams loss right up until now, Darnold has put up 344 completions on 551 attempts for 3,936 yards, but only 23 touchdowns against 17 interceptions, and a sub-6.0 ANY/A. His ANY/A plummeted towards the back-end of last season, and there’s no run game crutch to fall back on this time to bail him out. There isn’t a single advanced stat out there that can spin Darnold as an above-average starter right now. It’s not happening.
4-4, But It Feels A Lot Worse
Yeah, 4-4 isn’t the end of the world for Mike Macdonald’s squad, but *how* we got here is the kicker. Last year, Darnold wasn’t exactly lighting it up in the back half of 2025 either, but the running game found its stride, and our defense and special teams were straight-up scoring or handing the offense super short fields. This season? Not so much. If Macdonald’s defense was hypothetically middling and we were losing shootouts while Darnold was putting up huge numbers, we could probably live with that. But that’s not the story. Darnold is heavily culpable for at least three of our four defeats. Even his “best” game this season against the Washington Commanders is totally overshadowed by what was essentially a game-losing pick-six. He’s on a mid-level contract that reflects his track record and roughly two seasons of good productivity, but that deal expires in 2027.
This isn’t the path forward, Seattle. The season is at a critical juncture, and Mike Macdonald and OC Brian Fleury need to find answers. We’re 4-4, but it feels like the bottom could drop out if this play continues. What’s at stake is everything we hoped for this year, and looking forward, we need to see a dramatic change on the field, or tough questions are gonna need tough answers before that contract expires in 2027.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Field Gulls.
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