Mike Macdonald says Sam Darnold is still the Seattle Seahawks’ quarterback.
That is not surprising.
It is also becoming harder to ignore the reason people are asking the question.
Darnold threw two more interceptions in Thursday night’s 17-14 overtime loss to Denver, including the one that essentially ended the game. Ja’Quan McMillian picked him off at Seattle’s 43-yard line in overtime, and Denver needed only a few plays before Wil Lutz kicked the winning field goal.
Seattle is now 3-3.
Darnold has seven touchdown passes and seven interceptions.
At some point, belief has to collide with results.
Macdonald Is Standing Behind His Quarterback
Mike Macdonald shut down the idea of a quarterback change Friday when he was asked whether Drew Lock could be considered for the Week 7 start.
His answer was immediate.
No.
Macdonald said Darnold has played good football for Seattle for much of the season and that the turnover issues are problems the team believes it can solve with Darnold still under center.
Seattle’s own account of Macdonald’s Friday press conference echoed that confidence. The Seahawks are not treating this like a quarterback controversy.
Not yet.
The Turnovers Are No Longer a Small Sample
This is the part Seattle cannot explain away.
Darnold has seven interceptions through six games, tied with his touchdown total.
He threw two against Denver.
He has now thrown the most interceptions in the league.
And the issue is not simply that interceptions happen. It is when they happen.
Seattle had a chance to win Thursday night despite committing multiple turnovers and despite playing poorly for long stretches on offense.
The defense kept giving the Seahawks chances.
The game was still there in overtime.
Then Darnold gave it away.
Darnold Knows It
There is no need to question whether Darnold understands the problem.
After the loss, Darnold said there was no way to sugarcoat the turnovers and acknowledged that continuing to give the ball away is unfair to Seattle’s defense, special teams and the rest of the roster.
That accountability matters.
But accountability does not erase the interceptions.
At some point, the answer has to become better decision-making.
This Is Not All on Darnold
Seattle’s offense has other problems.
The run game has been inconsistent.
The protection has allowed too many hits.
The offense has repeatedly put itself behind the chains.
Macdonald specifically pointed to ball security, the missing run game and quarterback hits as areas Seattle has to fix.
That context matters because benching Darnold would not magically solve the entire offense.
It might not even improve it.
Drew Lock has experience in the system and already started once this season when Darnold was injured, but changing quarterbacks because the offense is frustrated is not the same thing as making the offense better.
But Seattle Cannot Keep Living Like This
The Seahawks were defending Super Bowl champions five games ago.
Now they are 3-3 and have lost back-to-back games.
The margin between contender and mediocre in the NFC is too small for Seattle to keep donating possessions.
Darnold’s 2025 season worked because the Seahawks did not consistently ask him to rescue games by himself. Seattle had a dominant defense, a strong run game and enough structure around the quarterback to let him play within the offense.
That formula is not holding together as cleanly right now.
And when the rest of the team is less dominant, Darnold’s mistakes become much more visible.
The Chiefs Are Next
This is where Macdonald’s public confidence gets tested.
Seattle gets extra rest after the Thursday night loss, but the next opponent is Kansas City.
The Chiefs are undefeated.
If Darnold turns the ball over multiple times against Patrick Mahomes, Seattle may not get the same opportunities Denver gave it.
That means Week 7 becomes less about whether Macdonald believes in Darnold and more about whether Darnold can justify that belief.
Should Drew Lock Start?
Not yet.
Macdonald is right about that much.
Darnold has earned more than one bad month after helping Seattle win a championship last season. A reactive quarterback change after six games would create as many questions as it answers.
But the leash cannot be infinite.
If the turnovers continue, the conversation changes whether Seattle wants it to or not.
The Seahawks are saying Darnold is still the answer.
Now Darnold has to stop giving everyone reasons to ask the question.
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