Will Seahawks Keep Short Leashes on Sam Darnold, Brian Fleury Amid Struggles?
Losing three of four, the Seahawks continue to lose ground to the 49ers in the NFC West. Whether fair or not, ongoing struggles could have Sam Darnold and Brian Fleury on increasingly warming seats.
RENTON, Wash. - The Seattle Seahawks may have had a "mini bye" coming off of a Thursday night loss to the Denver Broncos, but while the extra three days provided an opportunity for players to heal up physically, time couldn't be wasted trying to fix what currently ails the defending champions.
Losing three of their past four games after a 2-0 start, nothing has hurt the Seahawks more than their own self-inflicted mistakes, namely turning the football over at an alarming rate. Per Pro Football Reference, 16.2% of their offensive drives have ended in turnovers through six weeks, tied for the fifth-worst rate in the entire NFL.
As the poster child for those struggles, quarterback Sam Darnold hasn't come close to playing up to the level that he did in 2025. In four games since returning from a glute injury, he has been intercepted seven times, currently tying him for the second-most picks thrown despite playing in fewer games than New England's Drake Maye.
After throwing two back-breaking interceptions in the fourth quarter and overtime in Denver, Macdonald didn't entertain the possibility of benching Darnold, vouching for the veteran signal caller as part of the solution to Seattle's turnover problems. As expected, he took on an active role in meetings during the three extra days, hoping to help get the offense back on track.
“Sam’s been great," Macdonald said on Monday. "All the things that we said that we we’re always impressed by Sam was his consistency and his ball player attitude like every day, same guy. Sam’s been very consistent. He’s been trying to be part of the conversations with us on where we can go. He’s been pretty great.”
For the time being, Darnold doesn't appear to be in danger of losing his starting job to Drew Lock, who won his only start this year in a 31-7 blowout over the Cardinals. But for a team with championship aspirations, the clock undoubtedly has started ticking for both the ninth year quarterback and first-year offensive coordinator Brian Fleury to either right the ship or face the prospects of a demotion.
