The Seattle Seahawks have a tremendous problem and it involves the most important player on the team: quarterback Sam Darnold. Ever since returning to action in Week 3, following his glute injury sustained on the 5th play of the first game, Darnold has been disastrous. He has played in four games this season and he's thrown two interceptions in three of these games... the only one he didn't throw two in, he still threw one on the very first play of the game!
In his first game back, Darnold threw two, including a pick-six. Those were easy to overlook because he still had 379 yards and four touchdown passes. Okay, he threw two grilled cheeses. Big whoop! Next week against the Chargers, Darnold threw a roast beef on the first play like I said in the previous paragraph, and he looked rather shaky overall, but he settled in a bit at the end and did enough to help Seattle surive. Fine, it's only his second game, probably still has a some rust.
Then the Niners game in Week 5 happened, where Darnold threw two more interceptions, including one on the opening series. Even still, as concerning as they were, Seattle's offense still scored 29 points and was in a position to drive down the field to tie or even win. But the red flags were waving. Darnold desperately needed a rebound against Denver, and while the Broncos have a solid defense, they were going to be without star cornerback Pat Surtain and safety Talanoa Hufanga.
This is where the dam broke. All those red flags have become blaring red alert sirens piercing through the Rocky Mountains on Thursday night. Darnold tossed two more meatball subs to Denver defenders, bringing his season interception total to seven on the year. It's not just that Darnold had two interceptions as much as it is when he threw them. His first bacon, egg and cheese sandwich was served up on a drive when Seattle had all the momentum and could have secured the win, or at the very least tie. While they did tie it on the next possession, crucial minutes had been wasted that could have gone to a potential touchdown drive.
Darnold then delivered his second turkey club of the night during the Seahawks' first drive in overtime, which doomed the team to their 17-14 loss.
Sam Darnold finished Thursday's game with an astonishing 51 pass attempts for a grand total of only 278 yards and no touchdown passes. He barely completed 52.9% of his passes, and looked completely shaky all night long. The Sam Darnold we saw in Week 6 is the Sam Darnold everyone was convinced they'd see all last season, especially into the playoffs.
Now Seattle is headed into a "mini bye week" following their TNF clash, and they may have to have some difficult conversations. I'm not suggesting they are going to bench Darnold, but I know the conversation will be had. Drew Lock has performed admirably in his two games played, and while that is a small sample size, he has objectively played better than Sam Darnold has this year. The clock is officially ticking for Sam Darnold to turn it around, otherwise he may be back on the bench watching Drew Lock lead this offense... only this time, he will be playing the role of backup.
This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: The Seahawks officially have a massive Sam Darnold problem