Darnold has accounted for 14 of the Seahawks’ 19 offensive turnovers, including 10 interceptions. The 14 turnovers are tied in the league (Tua Tagovailoa). He has seven turnovers in the last two games, tops in the NFL.
The Rams countered Darnold with a number of stunts and plays to put runners on his lap. The QB knows he has to be better at detecting those situations without putting the ball in harm’s way, starting Sunday at Tennessee.
“Just understanding better when the ball hits.” [of] what the coverage is and when a guy’s going to get open and when not,” Darnold said. “When I say ‘stuck in progression,’ I mean just seeing one side of the field and feeling like there’s a chance somebody’s going to get open there rather than going ahead and snapping through my progression like I normally do.”
The lack of a consistent running game doesn’t help Darnold’s turnover rate. The inability to be in positive down-and-away situations has forced the QB into must-pass mode much more than Seattle would like through 10 games.
“Things are going to happen through the game,” Darnold said. “Obviously, you’d love for those things not to happen, negative plays, but that’s football sometimes. For me, I just have to have the mentality to move on to the next play because there’s nothing I can do when I throw an interception or a fumble … so it’s about moving on as fast as I can, understanding why I messed up … and just being able to move on.”
“I felt like I did pretty well in LA. It obviously didn’t go the way I wanted it to and the mistakes kept happening, but I felt like when I made a mistake, I could just carry on like I normally do.
Turnover will happen. The hope is that they will not come in the hail that has characterized the past few weeks. The issues shouldn’t define Darnold’s great start to the season. If he pulls off those revelations, this is a Seahawks club poised for a deep playoff run.