TOP STORIES
Quarterback
Sam Darnold Keeps the Job. Now Keep the Ball.
Mike Macdonald is not benching Sam Darnold. Asked on his Friday morning radio show whether he was considering a quarterback change, a day after Darnold’s two late interceptions handed Denver a 17-14 overtime win, the coach went the other way: “We trust Sam, we believe in him, and we definitely feel like he’s part of the solution,” per ESPN.
The case against is not subtle. Darnold has seven interceptions, tied with Justin Herbert and Drake Maye for the most in the league, and Seattle is 1-3 since he came back in Week 3, per NFL.com. Seattle Sports did the uglier math: 10 turnovers in three losses, those losses by a combined eight points, and 44 points scored off the giveaways. You don’t need a film room for that one. A calculator will do.
44
Points opponents have scored off Seattle’s 10 turnovers in its three losses, which came by a combined eight points.
When someone asked why the offense looked cleaner with Drew Lock, Macdonald said “I respect the question” and then argued it isn’t a one-for-one swap: “There’s definitely more to the equation.” He’s right, which is the annoying part. Darnold got hit 17 times in Denver, and Cooper Kupp said the rest of the offense has to do better around him, from the run game to the protection.
Darnold, to his credit, isn’t hiding. He said he “got greedy” forcing the overtime throw to Rashid Shaheed when Kupp was open underneath. That’s the whole season in one decision: the deep shot when the first down was sitting right there. For the record, I’d keep him too. But the Chiefs come to Lumen on Oct. 25, and I’d like the ball to stay on our side of the field.
SOURCES →
Injuries
The Cavalry Is a Right Guard
Keep Reading ↓
Jadarian Price is “doing great,” Macdonald said, but he has to sit out one more game on IR. “We should be looking at a sooner-rather-than-later return after this game.” Zach Charbonnet got no update at all, and his 21-day practice window closes Oct. 22. Seattle either activates him by then or he stays on PUP for the season. “No update” with five days left on the clock is a choice.
The bad news is Elijah Arroyo, who left Denver with a shoulder injury. “He’s getting some imaging and testing as we speak, so no update yet,” Macdonald said. The team is off until Monday, so everyone gets a whole weekend to stare at that sentence.
SOURCES →
AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
Kenneth Walker III has 537 rushing yards in four games with Kansas City. Seattle has 539 in six, and JSN reportedly liked an Instagram post about the decision to let Walker go. Walker visits Lumen on Oct. 25. Somebody take JSN’s phone. Yardbarker
Seattle now owns an NFL record nobody wants: fewest yards allowed in an overtime loss, breaking a mark the 2004 Bears had held for 22 years. The defense did its job. It just wasn’t allowed to play quarterback too. Field Gulls
Macdonald hadn’t watched the Denver tape when he met the media Friday, because he likes to watch it with a clear, unemotional mind. Healthy habit. The rest of us watched it live, and our minds are still not clear. Seahawks.com
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
The Rams’ Friday injury report came with a surprise guest. Trent McDuffie got added late with a groin injury and is questionable for Arizona. Kam Curl was downgraded to a DNP with an ankle Sean McVay blamed on “soreness” from the Buffalo loss, so he’s questionable too. The good news for the 2-3 Rams is that Sunday’s opponent is a 1-4 Cardinals team playing without its best running back, so maybe it won’t matter. That’s where the preseason Super Bowl favorites are now: hoping it won’t matter.
NINERS
John Lynch went on KNBR Friday and said “a lot of people ask me that” about trading for Khalil Mack. One of those people was George Kittle, who asked him Thursday. Mack is 35, has three sacks for the 0-5 Chargers, and is the same guy San Francisco tried and failed to trade for eight years ago. The unbeaten Niners are going after a pass rusher they whiffed on in 2018, and the tight end is the one making the pitch. Bold strategy.
CARDINALS
Arizona heads to SoFi with four safeties on the injury report. Wydett Williams Jr. and Andrew Wingard are out, Budda Baker is questionable with a groin, and Kitan Crawford is questionable while still technically on injured reserve. The punter’s back is questionable too, and third-string quarterback Carson Beck was limited Friday with a bad back of his own. The Cardinals aren’t traveling to Inglewood so much as being carted there.
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
This USC receiver went 10th overall in the 2005 draft, washed out in Detroit, Oakland and Tennessee, then caught 65 passes for 751 yards as a Seahawk in 2010. Who is he?
Tap to Reveal the Answer
Mike Williams. Pete Carroll, his old coach at USC, brought him back after two years out of the league, and he finished 2010 as Seattle’s leading receiver.
THIS DAY IN SEAHAWKS HISTORY
1976
October 17, 1976
The First Win Ever, Courtesy of Tampa Bay
The expansion Seahawks lost their first five games, then went to Tampa and beat the other 1976 expansion team, the Buccaneers, 13-10. It was the first win in franchise history. Fifty years later, a three-point win sounds pretty good to me.
Got a Take? Send It In.
Bench Darnold? Start Lock? Activate Charbonnet and hand him the ball 30 times? Send your question and The Rooster will answer it with more honesty than anyone at a Friday press conference.
Rest up. Chiefs in eight days. — The Rooster