For Sam Darnold, Seattle was supposed to be the place where the years of uncertainty finally paid off. Once the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, he had gone from the New York Jets to Carolina, then San Francisco and Minnesota, searching for the stability that had eluded him early in his career. Seattle gave him that opportunity, and he helped the Seahawks turn it into a Super Bowl title. 

But just months after reaching the summit, Darnold finds himself answering different questions about his future. On Thursday night, Seattle’s defense had kept the Denver Broncos scoreless after halftime, giving the offense room to recover from an 11-point deficit entering the fourth quarter. Darnold helped force overtime, but with the game still there to be won, his second interception handed Denver the field position for Wil Lutz’s 53-yard game-winning field goal. The 17–14 loss was especially painful for a Seattle team that had done so much to keep itself in contention, only to see the opportunity slip away on a costly throw.

And so, with the defending champions now at 3–3, the question is whether the team will continue to trust him as its starter. In fact, during an appearance on the Seattle Sports 710 radio show, Macdonald was asked whether he was considering a change under center. The head coach replied,

“No, no… Sam’s played great football for us this year the majority of the time. There’s other times he needs to take care of the football. But I think these are solutions we can find with Sam as our quarterback. I believe that.”

Since returning from his season-opening injury, Sam Darnold has completed 60.5% of his passes for 1020 yards and scored 7 touchdowns. But at the same time, he has thrown 7 interceptions, including two against the Broncos this week. Against Denver, the quarterback went 27-of-51 for 278 yards, no touchdown, and a pair of picks, while taking 5 sacks.

The first interception came with Seattle trailing 14–11 and 1:25 remaining in regulation. Facing third-and-1 at Denver’s 39-yard line, Darnold tried to find Tory Horton while moving away from pressure. Cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine broke in front of the receiver for the interception. However, Denver failed to capitalize, going three-and-out, and Seattle got the ball back after Rashid Shaheed’s 31-yard punt return. Darnold then drove the Seahawks into field-goal range, allowing Jason Myers to tie the game with a 34-yard kick with three seconds left.

That late recovery made the overtime mistake all the more costly. On third-and-long from Seattle’s 28-yard line, Darnold attempted to find Shaheed near the sideline, but Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian intercepted the pass at the Seattle 43. Denver did not need another first down to finish the job. Four plays later, Lutz connected from 53 yards to seal the win.

After the game, Darnold took accountability.

“When you have a defense and special teams group that’s playing the way they are for us, for me, I’ve just got to protect the football,” he said. “Dropping back and taking what they give me, I feel like I did a pretty good job of that in the first half, and then late in the second half, those two plays, you can’t have it.”

Darnold was even more blunt when speaking to reporters in the locker room. “I just think it’s B.S. for me to keep turning the ball over,” he said, adding that the mistakes were “not fair to our defense” or special teams. On the second interception, he acknowledged, “I just got greedy,” explaining that he should have taken the pass to Kupp underneath rather than forcing the deeper throw

The frustration is not limited to the current coaching staff. Bruce Irvin, who won Super Bowl XLVIII with Seattle, responded to the loss on X with a short message: “drew lock please.” The former Seahawks linebacker did not offer a detailed argument, but his post reflected the growing calls for Seattle to consider its backup after Darnold’s latest turnover-heavy performance.

But as that happened, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk entertained the idea of the Seahawks benching Sam Darnold for backup quarterback Drew Lock, who played in his absence in the first two games.

“Obviously, benching Darnold would likely mean the Seahawks would move on in 2027. His $35.5 million in compensation for next year, the last of his contract, isn’t guaranteed. He earns a $10 million roster bonus on the fifth day of the league year in March,” Florio wrote.

“The Seahawks may ultimately decide to ride or die with Darnold for the rest of the season. But they at least need to have the conversation about making a switch, and the possibility of being benched at some point needs to be on the table in order to underscore Darnold’s assessment.”

The argument for a change becomes more understandable when looking at Lock’s two-game spell as the starter. He completed 16 of 22 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown after Darnold was injured against New England, then went 19-of-26 for 235 yards and three touchdowns against the Arizona Cardinals. He finished those appearances with 422 passing yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. That is a clean record in a limited sample, rather than proof that Lock would automatically perform better over a longer stretch.

There is also a larger problem for Seattle to address before treating a quarterback change as the only solution. Denver sacked Darnold five times and recorded 17 quarterback hits, while the Seahawks managed just 74 rushing yards on 25 carries. Darnold has been sacked 10 times over his last two games, leaving little room for the offense to establish a consistent rhythm.

The Seahawks are also dealing with personnel changes. Starting right guard Anthony Bradford has been on injured reserve, while running backs Zach Charbonnet and rookie Jadarian Price have dealt with injuries. Charbonnet was still working his way back from a knee injury ahead of the Denver game, while Price was also unavailable. Their absences have limited Seattle’s options in the running game, putting more pressure on the passing offense.

Lock, meanwhile, is not the only factor in Macdonald’s decision. Seattle has also changed offensive coordinators, with Brian Fleury taking over after Klint Kubiak left to become the Las Vegas Raiders’ head coach. Macdonald acknowledged that the offense needs to review what it is asking players to do and how it is doing it. That leaves the coaching staff with adjustments to make beyond deciding who takes the snaps.

“I understand we have a great backup QB in Drew, and Drew is a great quarterback,” said Macdonald. “He’s a starting-level quarterback and we didn’t turn the ball over when Drew played and we have takeaway issues. But these things we have to attack as if they’re in our control and moving forward.”

Macdonald’s comments make his position clear: he sees Lock as a capable backup but believes Darnold can still be part of the solution. That stance comes despite Seattle losing three of its last four games, with Darnold throwing seven interceptions in four games since returning from his glute injury. His seven touchdowns over that stretch have matched his interception total.

That said, Sam Darnold is all set to start against the Chiefs next week. The immediate decision has been made, but the challenge is now to reduce the turnovers while giving the offense better protection and a more reliable running game. If those problems persist, pressure to reconsider the quarterback position is unlikely to disappear.