Sam Darnold threw two interceptions in Seattle’s 17-14 overtime loss to the Denver Broncos on Thursday night, both coming in the fourth quarter and overtime on drives where the Seahawks had a chance to take the lead. The defending Super Bowl champions dropped to 3-3 and have now lost three of their last four games.
Darnold has seven interceptions through five games this season, a number that has sparked a broader conversation about whether Seattle needs to reconsider its quarterback options. NFL analyst Daniel Jeremiah believes the discussion is warranted, but the reaction has gotten ahead of where things actually stand.
Daniel Jeremiah Says Sam Darnold’s Struggles Shouldn’t Be Reason for Immediate Concern
The Seahawks outgained Denver 353-168 on Thursday and held the Broncos scoreless in the second half, limiting them to 30 yards and two first downs before Denver kicked the winning field goal in overtime.
A defense that shut down Bo Nix for large stretches of the second half gave Darnold multiple chances to win the game, and the turnovers undid each of them. Wil Lutz converted a 53-yard field goal on Denver’s lone overtime possession after Darnold’s second interception gave the Broncos the ball at the Seattle 43-yard line.
Backup Drew Lock helped Seattle win both of its first two games, replacing Darnold after he suffered a glute injury early in Week 1 and then starting Week 2 while Darnold was out. Across those two appearances, Lock completed 72.9% of his passes for 422 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions.
That record has factored into the conversation around whether Darnold should remain the starter. Macdonald, however, said Friday that he is not considering a quarterback change and reiterated that the Seahawks have ‘a lot of faith’ in Darnold.
Daniel Jeremiah opened his assessment during a segment on the “Move The Sticks” podcast by laying out the numbers from Thursday and placing them in the context of the full season. He identified protection as a shared responsibility rather than something that falls entirely on Darnold and pointed to specific breakdowns on the offensive line.
BE THE GM OF YOUR FAVORITE TEAM:PFN’s Free NFL Mock Draft Simulator
“You see a lot of good, and then there’s just these one or two horrible decisions that he makes that he’s gonna have to clean up,” the analyst said. “Protection was an issue. It showed up on one of the interceptions where [George] Holani gets beat, and Sam should just ate the ball. He tries to throw it off balance and ends up getting picked. There’s Lucas, the right tackle, he gets beat for a couple of the sacks.”
Jeremiah was clear that the offensive line played a role before turning back to what Darnold showed on the positive side of his performance.
“He was sacked five times. So there was a little bit of blame to spread around there. But Sam still makes some big time throws. He makes a second and 16 throw that’s just ridiculous to JSN [Jaxon Smith-Njigba]. That’s a top, probably top five throw that you’d see in any week of NFL football. He’s ultra, ultra aggressive,” he continued.
SET YOUR LINEUPS:PFN’s Free Fantasy Start/Sit Optimizer
He acknowledged the aggression as a double-edged quality and pointed to what Seattle saw from Darnold during last season’s Super Bowl run as evidence he can manage it.
“He’s gotta dial that back at times. And you saw it with the first interception he had where he just, poor Reed, tries to jam the ball in and gets picked. But we’ve seen during that Super Bowl run, he can go for stretches, take care of the football, and still give you those big time throws and plays with his aggressive nature,” Jeremiah said.
The analyst closed with his overall verdict and the framework he would use to evaluate Darnold from here.
“With him, you look at these next three games, Kansas City, Chicago, Arizona, all at home. At the end of that three-game run, I think you’ll have a better evaluation for him. So in my opinion, I think it’s to the point with Darnold where it needs to be addressed, it needs to be discussed, but there shouldn’t be panic. We saw what he was capable of after a bunch of turnovers last year to then get into the postseason and get hot and go on a run,” Jeremiah said.
PREDICT THE NFL SEASON:PFN’s Free NFL Playoff Predictor
Sam Darnold was direct about what the turnovers cost the team when he spoke to reporters after the game.
“I just think it’s [expletive] for me to keep turning the ball over, and it’s not fair to our defense, not fair to our special teams group, not fair really to the entire team. So, I’ve got to be better that way,” Darnold said.
PFN’s NFL QB Impact metric has Darnold ranked 26th through five games of the 2026 season with a grade of 69.1, throwing for 1,033 yards and seven touchdowns against seven interceptions while completing 60.4% of his passes for the Seahawks.
Seattle returns from a mini bye to host the Kansas City Chiefs at Lumen Field on Sunday, Oct. 25.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.