It doesn't get much worse than losing to a division rival in Week 1, and while playing at home. But, what can make it worse is just exactly how the Seattle Seahawks lost to the San Francisco 49ers.
After a miraculous touchdown catch by 49ers tight end Jake Tonges to put San Francisco ahead with under two minutes to go, quarterback Sam Darnold connected twice with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, including one that went 40 yards and immediately put the Seahawks into the red zone.
Three plays later, Darnold fumbled and the Niners took over. That's what sealed it for San Francisco. Darnold's fumble ended up costing Seattle the game. And, after the loss, head coach Mike Macdonald was asked about Darnold's fumble, what might have caused it or, really, any explanation whatsoever.
Mike Macdonald told it like it was when explaining Sam Darnold's game-sealing fumble
"I didn't ask him, but it did look like it just slipped out of his hand. It didn't look like they made contact. It looked like it just slipped as his hand was going backwards," Macdonald told Seahawks reporters in his postgame press conference.
Just as we all watched unfold, Darnold fumbled the ball ... without anybody even laying a hand on it first. That was all him.
For those who caught it and are wondering, the "they" Macdonald was referring to in his quote was 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa, who recovered the Darnold fumble.
As for the fumble, itself, Darnold really doesn't have an excuse. Macdonald knows it. He watched it happen and explained what everybody else watched in real time. It's one of those moments that, maybe, New York Jets fans might watch with a smirk.
From Seattle's perspective, though, the Seahawks' starting quarterback is just going to have to brush it off. We can't say there weren't people who questioned what version of Darnold the Seahawks were going to get, but the fact is, he's got to be better.
In a game that was dominated, offensively, by the 49ers, Seattle had an opportunity to win it in the end. San Francisco ended with 384 yards of offense to the Seahawks' 230. Both teams tried to give it away, at times, with each rival team turning the ball over twice.
It was tough watching San Francisco come away with the win when they were down star tight end George Kittle, who left earlier in the game, and also having a banged-up receiving core to start the year.