Matt Calkins: Seahawks good enough to win it all with Sam Darnold despite turnovers

Matt Calkins, The Seattle Times on Dec 30, 2025

Published in Football

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SEATTLE — The turnovers, it seems, are going to keep happening. The sample size is large enough where we can draw that conclusion.

With 14 interceptions and six lost fumbles, Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold has given away the football more times than any other player in the NFL this season. It can be painful to watch — particularly when those turnovers come when Seattle is on the brink of a score.

But guess what? He’s good enough to lead his team all the way to a championship. That should be the takeaway through 16 games.

The Sam Darnold experience has been one of the more intriguing storylines in the NFL this season. Through the first few weeks of the season, he looked like the best quarterback in the league.

Pro Football Focus graded him tops among all signal callers at one point, and after completing every first-half pass he threw against the Commanders last month, the whole country saw just how much he’d grown.

There was no question that the Seahawks made the right decision in trading away Geno Smith and signing Sam. They had become the chief surprise of the NFC and their new QB was a big part of the reason why.

But then came the Rams game in L.A. in mid-November, when Darnold threw four interceptions in a 21-19 loss. The performance bolded and italicized the reputation he’d gained as someone who faded in the highest-pressure situations.

And frankly — he hasn’t quite been the same since. Before that loss in L.A., Darnold had six games with a rating of at least 111. After that loss, he has had two. His accuracy on “tight window” passing was once the best in the league but has since trailed off toward the bottom.

His play in Sunday’s 27-10 win over the Panthers was hardly inspiring, either. He finished with 147 yards, one touchdown and one interception on 18 of 27 passing. His pick was on an overthrow in the end zone with the game tied 3-3, when it seemed certain the Seahawks were going to score. He also lost a fumble.

As I said earlier, this has become a little too commonplace to think it’s just a shaky stretch of games. The giveaways are part of Darnold’s makeup … but he’s still good enough for this team to win.

For one, Seattle’s defense continues to prove it’s one of the best in the NFL. The Seahawks currently rank second in points allowed per game (18.1) and have held three of their past five opponents to 10 points or fewer. Granted, the Rams put 37 on them in Seattle’s one-point victory two Thursdays ago while amassing 581 yards. Seattle is vulnerable on that side of the ball. But for the most part, the Seahawks have been a force defensively.

Secondly, Darnold always seems to bounce back.

He was turnover-free against the Titans the week after that four-pick game vs. the Rams. After throwing a first-half interception vs. Atlanta three weeks ago, he settled down and finished with 249 yards on 20 for 30 while posting a 111.7 passer rating. Despite two more interceptions in the Rams rematch at Lumen Field, he still marched his team down the field late in the fourth quarter and overtime to score two crucial touchdowns in that 38-37 win. Heck, even in that loss vs. the Rams, he put his team in position to win on a 61-yard field goal that fell short.

Baseball scouts like to see how a pitcher reacts after getting rocked in the first inning. Nobody is immune to giving up runs, but the champions are able to put the damage behind them. To Darnold’s credit, he has been able to do the same for most of the season. Doesn’t hurt that he has one of the best receivers in the game in Jaxon Smith-Njigba to help resurrect him from a funk, but Sam is still making the plays.

Darnold hasn’t proven himself to be an elite quarterback, but this is hardly Trent Dilfer with the Ravens. He has regularly produced impressive stat lines despite a turnover propensity that doesn’t seem to be on the brink of a cure.

He also has one of the best defenses in football and an emerging running game that helped carry Seattle to a win on Sunday.

There isn’t a whole lot of flash to this Seahawks team — at least not compared to those Legion of Boom squads. The personalities don’t jump out at you, nor is there a collection of All-Pro nods on the horizon.

But they have what it takes to win. The quarterback is no different.