Sam Darnold used the word the night demanded: unacceptable. Two late interceptions in a 17-14 overtime loss to the Broncos, and his own verdict was that it wasn't fair to the Seahawks. He vowed to be better.
The stat line justifies the self-flagellation. Darnold finished 27-of-51 for 278 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions and a 52.6 passer rating. That's 5.5 yards per attempt, and five sacks for 38 yards of loss stacked on top of it. Fifty-one attempts at that efficiency is not a passing game. It's a punt with extra steps.
Bo Nix threw for 107 yards and won. He went 17-of-27 with no touchdowns, no picks and a 29.0 QBR. By almost every box-score measure, Denver's quarterback had the worse night. The Broncos are 4-2 anyway, because in a game decided by three points, ball security beats volume every time.
Seattle's passing game has narrowed to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and hope. He caught 12 of Darnold's 27 completions for 134 yards on 16 targets. Cooper Kupp turned 10 targets into 5 catches for 50 yards. Tory Horton saw 5 targets and caught 1. Rashid Shaheed chipped in 66 yards and put the ball on the ground twice, losing one.
Jason Myers went 2-for-3 with a long of 55. In a game that reached overtime tied at 14, a missed field goal is not a footnote.
The history here is uncomfortable for Seattle. The franchise has been cycling through quarterbacks since trading Russell Wilson to Denver in 2022, and the Broncos were standing on the other sideline Thursday night as a reminder of how long that search has run. Geno Smith steadied it for a stretch. Darnold is the next attempt, and this is what the next attempt looks like when the protection leaks and the coordinator keeps dialing up throws.
Yahoo Sports ran a column this week arguing a benching must be considered. My read: that's the wrong lever. The interceptions are the symptom. The 5.5 yards per attempt behind a line that surrendered five sacks is the disease, and no backup fixes an offense that asks its quarterback to throw 51 times while Emanuel Wilson gets 14 carries and George Holani gets 5 and scores the team's only offensive touchdown of the day.
Darnold owning the mistakes is the right instinct and the easy part. The harder question belongs to the coaches: why a quarterback with a 52.6 rating was still dropping back in overtime. I'd have him start next week, and I'd have him throw it 30 times. If that doesn't produce a cleaner night, my read is wrong and the benching talk becomes the plan.
