It has been a difficult season for the 2026 Seattle Seahawks as the reigning Super Bowl champions. There are a lot of expectations on them to compete at a high level despite some big changes around their team. The Seahawks possess a 3-3 overall record and are in firm second place in the NFC West.
The Seahawks have a few things to fix if they want to get back at the top of the division and create a more efficient team moving forward. Seattle has flashes of last year’s Super Bowl-winning team, but some rough and embarrassing statistics that show there is a lot of work for them. They need to fix these ugly statistics to have a chance in Week 7 at home versus the Kansas City Chiefs (6-0).
Offense
Quarterback Sam Darnold is dead last when it comes to wins from NFC West quarterbacks for this season. His one win was an ugly 30-23 Week 4 home victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. San Francisco 49ers’ Brock Purdy has six wins and Seattle’s Drew Lock, Arizona Cardinals’ Jacoby Brissett and Los Angeles Rams’ Matthew Stafford each have two wins. Darnold is a big reason why the Seahawks haven’t won more games.
Since becoming the Seahawks’ starting quarterback last season, Darnold has accounted for 27 turnovers. This is easily among the highest in the NFL. While some of the lost fumbles and interceptions aren’t his fault due to poor blocking and receivers stopping their routes, Darnold makes bad mistakes. The Seahawks have lost three games as a result of the bad turnovers.
Darnold hasn’t been the only disappointment for the Seahawks’ offense. Seattle has averaged 129.5 rushing yards per game in the wins over the New England Patriots and the Arizona Cardinals. When the running game was plagued with fumbles, an injury to rookie Jadarian Price after Week 3, and poor play from Emanuel Wilson and George Holani, the Seahawks averaged 96 rushing yards in the last four games. The Seahawks are 1-3 during that span.
The running game has been so much of a mess that the Seahawks are critically failing expectations and support for the team. Seattle is so inefficient in the run game that they are 30th in expected points off the run game with -27.51. It is just ahead of the Green Bay Packers, whose starting running back has legal issues, and the Las Vegas Raiders, who’ve surprisingly abandoned the run game.
If the Seahawks are driving down the field and need to convert on third down, don’t have expectations. The Seahawks have converted only 32.4% of their third down attempts (24-of-74). First-year offensive coordinator Brian Fleury hasn’t been able to consistently get the clutch running game going, nor have pass-catchers outside wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba stepped up and been reliable.
Defense
The Seahawks’ Dark Side Defense does have some struggles despite a solid first six games this season. The Seahawks have only gotten three sacks from their edge rushers. Two of the sacks are from Derick Hall and one is from Uchenna Nwosu. DeMarcus Lawrence is putting some pressure, but Dante Fowler Jr. is a better run-stopper at this point in his career. It isn’t a problem with the defense, as nickel Nick Emmanwori has two sacks in his limited time as a part-time pass rusher.
Seattle’s defense has been great in certain areas, but they aren’t clutch this season. The Seahawks have allowed 7-of-7 (100%) of fourth downs to be converted. The next highest is the Buffalo Bills’ defense at 88.9%. Seattle ranked 10th in fourth-down conversions with 51.1% (23-of-45) last season.
Another key reason why the Dark Side Defense isn’t clutch right now is their poor red zone defense. Seattle has allowed opponents to convert 78.6% of their drives into touchdowns, just ahead of the Commanders and the Detroit Lions. The biggest difference is that Seattle ranked 10th in points allowed per game, while the Lions rank 23rd and the Commanders rank 30th.
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