The Seattle Seahawks have gotten a lot right over the last two seasons. One was hiring Mike Macdonald to replace Pete Carroll as the head coach. The other was trading Geno Smith to sign quarterback Sam Darnold.
Macdonald is 22-10 in his two seasons so far, and Darnold is leading a good offense for a 12-3 team. He also has the most regular season wins ever (26 and counting) for a quarterback who has started for two different teams in consecutive years.
But Darnold isn't perfect. He imploded in a Week 11 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, throwing four interceptions in a 21-19 loss. He's also had turnovers late in the Seahawks' other two losses. This is what makes a recent Macdonald comment all the more confusing.
Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald has an interesting take on Sam Darnold
Speaking about Darnold on his regular day-after-game show on Seattle Sports 710 AM, the head coach asked show hosts Mike Salk and Brock Huard, "Show me the times where in big moments this guy hasn't responded, as a Seahawk."
Salk and Huard were speechless for a few seconds after Macdonald's quip until Huard offered Darnold, throwing an interception on Seattle's final drive of Week 5, which led directly to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicking a game-winning field goal.
While Macdonald is mostly correct, he isn't completely. Darnold fumbled near the end of Week 1 after right tackle Abraham Lucas was pushed into him by a San Francisco 49ers defender. While coughing the ball up wasn't all Darnold's fault, he should have also had better ball control while under duress in the final minute of the game.
The loss to the Bucs was as frustrating because Darnold later said he was trying to throw the ball away, but he did so while tossing the pass over the middle of the field into bodies. Not-great things were bound to happen.
The Week 11 game versus LA was close despite the quarterback. His play implied his team should have lost 35-10.
Ultimately, though, it is difficult to pick apart Sam Darnold's play this season because his offense, and the team overall, has been successful. Has he been perfect? No, but he hasn't cost his team many games, either. Since Week 5, the Seattle Seahawks are 9-1.
Sam Darnold leads the NFL through Seattle's Week 16 game in net yards per pass (7.97) and yards per completion (13.0) while ranking seventh in quarterback rating (100.6) and fifth in touchdown passes (24). He isn't the best quarterback in the league, but he is among the best.