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Richard Sherman won't be hugging Sam Darnold after Seahawks' Week 6 disaster

Not good enough.
ByLee Vowell
Amazon analyst and former NFL player Richard Sherman before a game
Amazon analyst and former NFL player Richard Sherman before a game | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Much like Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, former Seahawks icon Richard Sherman has a job to do. He lives to entertain, as he always has, so sometimes he says things that can be outlandish. Ahead of Week 6's showdown between Seattle and the Denver Broncos, though, Sherm let his actions and words mesh perfectly together.

Ahead of the game, Sherman, who works for Amazon for Thursday Night Football broadcasts, spent some time hugging staffers for the Seahawks whom the former cornerback knows from his playing days or from commonplace visits at team headquarters. He didn't hug Darnold, though.

Why? Because, as Sherman put it, "Sam Darnold got to earn a hug right now."

During Week 6's loss, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold didn't earn a hug from Richard Sherman

Against the Broncos, Darnold didn't earn his hug. Not everything that went wrong for the offense was the quarterback's fault, of course. The Broncos' pass rush often overwhelmed Seattle's offensive line. No quarterback under pressure -- literally half the time they drop back -- is going to succeed.

But Darnold failed at the worst possible time. He threw an interception in the fourth quarter when the team was desperately trying to mount a comeback from 14-3 down (the Seahawks would tie the game at 14 in regulation), but then his overtime pick was inexcusable.

On 2nd-and-7, and with no need to risk putting the ball in harm's way as the Seahawks had the ball first in overtime and could have taken as much time as they needed to try to drive down the field, Darnold attempted an intermediate sideline pass to wide receiver Rashid Shaheed that was easily intercepted by Ja'Quan McMillian.

The quarterback said after the game that he shouldn't have tried to get "greedy" and should have instead thrown a pass underneath to Cooper Kupp. He didn't, and that is all that matters.

But Week 6 is far from the first time that Sam Darnold hasn't earned his hug from the Seattle Seahawks legend. He deserves credit for helping lead the team to a Super Bowl victory last season, especially his performance in the NFC Championship Game when he was fantastic against the Los Angeles Rams, but this year, he hasn't looked like a long-term QB1 for Seattle.

He has practically played in four games. He was only in on the first drive of Week 1 until he injured his glute and missed the rest of that game and Week 2. Drew Lock played in his stead, and Lock led Seattle to two victories and, importantly, no turnovers from the quarterback position.

Darnold, though, has thrown seven interceptions in his four full games. That is a way to lose games and miss the playoffs. It is also no way to get a hug from Richard Sherman.

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