Sam Darnold struggles through pressure in loss

Macdonald said Darnold will need at least one more week to recover from the quad injury that sidelined him in Week 9. While Drew Lock (oblique) is dealing with his own injury, Macdonald said he believes the team can manage it and expects him to start next week against the Raiders. The Seahawks will have their bye in Week 11, so hopefully three straight weeks off will give him enough time to recover before Week 12’s game against the 49ers.

Macdonald also said that he does not know whether Sam Darnold (quad/ribs) will be healthy enough to play. Lock has also been dealing with tendinitis in his throwing-arm elbow. If both Lock and Darnold are ruled out, it will be Jalen Milroe who leads the Seahawks’ offense against the Raiders next week. Milroe would warrant starting consideration in two-quarterback leagues thanks to his rushing abilities.

Darnold was ruled out earlier in the week while Shaheed misses his second consecutive game with a knee injury. Drew Lock gets the start under center for the second time this season while veteran receiver Cooper Kupp could see a slight uptick in usage with Shaheed sidelined. Injury trouble along the offensive line could lead to a more ball-out-quick offensive game plan as the Seahawks look to keep pace in the NFC West.

Garafolo added that Darnold is dealing with a cracked rib, though it sounds like the quad issue is what’s preventing him from playing. Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald called Darnold “week to week” on Wednesday. They get their bye in Week 11, so holding him out for one more game to get an extended break makes the most sense. Fantasy managers should plan on Darnold missing Week 10 in addition to today’s game against Arizona. Drew Lock will start today. As long as his elbow issue doesn’t flare up, he will be in line to start next week as well.

Per Macdonald, Darnold also suffered a rib injury early in the team’s Week 8 loss to the Bears, though that doesn’t appear to be the reason he’s out this week. Darnold is considered week-to-week. Per Macdonald, he won’t go on injured reserve. It’s possible this quad issue is related to the glute issue that sidelined Darnold earlier in the season. Either way, Darnold’s health concerns are now becoming an issue for a Seahawks team that was already struggling to live up to the hype. Drew Lock will draw the start versus Arizona this week. He’ll likely start in Week 10 as well. With two successful appearances under his belt this year, Lock is a somewhat safe QB2 bet for Superflex managers.

Darnold continued to flaunt his connection with wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba with zero regard to the naysayers, feeding his alpha 12 targets on 28 pass attempts, the latter of whom accounted for 150 of the 257 pass yards for Darnold. As you probably guessed, Smith-Njigba was also the recipient of Darnold’s lone touchdown throw, which was a dime down the left sideline on a corner route that the veteran signal caller dropped into the bread basket. The two would connect on another similar play later in the same quarter in which Smith-Njigba was forced out at the two, with the result of that drive Darnold’s interception in the end zone. Darnold continues to do just enough for his team and not enough for fantasy managers that thought they could grab cheap production late in drafts. He’s better sent back to the waiver wire than inserted into starting lineups. The Seahawks next face the Bears on the second half of back-to-back Monday Night Football games, where Darnold remains a shaky fantasy option.

The Seahawks’ head coach stood by his quarterback today, saying Darnold is “definitely part of the solution” to the offense’s recent struggles. Darnold returned somewhat quickly from a glute tendon strain a couple of weeks ago. One wonders if he is still rounding back into form following the early-season ailment. Backup Drew Lock played well in his stead, but the Seahawks believe their Super Bowl-winning quarterback should keep his job. That makes sense to us. He’s a QB2 next week against the Chiefs.

The Seahawks struggled to move the football throughout against the tenacious situational play calling from Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, scoring only three points until just over five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. A late-game surge saw them punch on in and a successful two-point conversion drew the team within three points. They would stop the Broncos on the subsequent possession but an interception in Denver territory put the game in jeopardy. The defense would do their job and force a three-and-out that took only 15 seconds off the clock, giving the ball back to Darnold to lead a two-minute drill to send the game to overtime through a chip shot field goal. Darnold would throw his second interception in overtime, watching from the sideline as the Broncos walked it off with a 53-yard Will Lutz field goal. The loss sends the Seahawks to 3-3, matching the total number of losses from a season ago through only six weeks of the 2026 season. The Seahawks have work to do to make up ground in the NFC West, now 2.5 games behind the undefeated 49ers through the first third of the regular season. Darnold and the Seahawks now have a long week to prepare for the now-undefeated Chiefs at home in Week 7, where Darnold will be a fringe QB2 in fantasy circles.

It was a rough outing for Darnold, who was picked off on his first pass attempt of the day and absorbed a season-high five sacks. His lone touchdown pass came on a 16-yard pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Darnold completed a short two-yard pass to JSN, who turned it upfield for the score to give the Seahawks the 23-21 lead with just over five minutes left in the third quarter. On the Seahawks’ final drive of the game, Darnold found JSN for a 35-yard completion, but three straight incompletions, including an uncharacteristic drop by JSN, put the Seahawks in a fourth-and-10 situation that they were unable to convert after Cooper Kupp came up a yard short on his second reception of the night. Darnold has now thrown seven touchdowns and six interceptions in his last three games since returning from injury, and now faces a short week to get ready for the Broncos on Thursday night. He profiles as a mid-to-low-end QB2 in what could be a tough road matchup.

Darnold’s first pass of the game was intercepted on a throw to the flat that should have gone basically anywhere else. He connected on a screen pass with Emanuel Wilson for his first score, and found Tory Horton on a short slant for his second. The 29-year-old wasn’t close to his best, but could enough against the less-than-spectacular Chargers’ defense. He’ll have a marquee matchup in Week 5 against the 49ers.