The Washington Commanders won't have their starting quarterback in Week 3 when they play the Seattle Seahawks. Jayden Daniels dislocated his elbow in Week 2. Seattle's QB1 Sam Darnold hurt his glute in Week 1 and missed the last game. He was back at practice Wednesday, though, and trending toward playing against Washington.
Some might wonder why the need to have Darnold back on the field quickly if he is at all limited in practice, which he was on Wednesday. After all, backup Drew Lock has been quite good in Darnold's absence.
First, the Seahawks won't push Darnold to play if his body isn't ready. If it is, then lessons learned from head coach Mike Macdonald's season (2024) might influence the decision.
Seattle Seahawks could use Sam Darnold in Week 3 to help avoid a needless early-season loss
Macdonald's first Seattle team finished 10-7, tied atop the NFC West with the Los Angeles Rams, but the Rams held the tie-breaker and went on to the playoffs. Seahawks players and staff had to sit at home and watch, if they even wanted to do that.
What set the team back was losing games early in the season that they likely wouldn't do now. At one point, Seattle was 4-5 before winning six of their last eight. Just enough to have a good record, but not good enough to reach the postseason.
One of those losses in the first half of the season was to the Rams in overtime in Week 9. Had the Seahawks won the game, they would have gone on to the playoffs.
In other words, a team cannot afford to take any game lightly. The NFL season seems long, as the 17 games in the regular season stretch out over four and a half months, but one game can change the landscape of a season.
Drew Lock has been very good in the first two games of the 2026 season, but Sam Darnold will always give the Seattle Seahawks a better chance to win. That means playing in Week 3 and trying to get to 3-0. Every game matters.
Darnold also needs to get some work in during real games. He didn't play in the preseason, as most starters don't in the current NFL climate, so he's mostly practiced against players on his own team. He played only the first drive of Week 1 before getting hurt.
Seattle's QB1 could be rusty. If he can play, and Macdonald said Wednesday that the quarterback was "on a good track" to play against the Commanders, Washington should be a team Darnold can have success against. The Commanders' defense is 26th through two games in yards allowed per play (6.1), 27th in points allowed (61), and last in quarterback rating allowed (137.1).
Those numbers imply Sam Darnold should succeed in Week 3, but just like games early in the season can turn into losses that keep a team from making the playoffs, nothing can be assumed.
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