In October 2003, a white tiger bit—and held—a man’s head in its mouth.
This incident happened at the Mirage hotel in Las Vegas, and it wasn't part of Siegfried and Roy’s show. At least it wasn’t supposed to be, but when you’re dealing with a 7-foot, 400-pound jungle cat, there’s a certain amount of risk involved.
A year after this (near) tragedy, the comedian Chris Rock riffed on the event in his stand-up act, “Never Scared”:
“The whole world is going crazy. Siegfried and Roy, the tiger bit the man in the head, and everybody’s mad at the tiger. Talk about the tiger went crazy. That tiger didn’t go crazy. That tiger went tiger.”
The unusual thing, in Rock’s view, was that the tiger had ever been trusted to participate in such a show in the first place.
I think about Rock’s line every time Sam Darnold is intercepted.
This probably isn’t entirely fair. He wasn’t responsible for the most disastrous of Seattle’s four turnovers on Sunday against San Francisco. That was George Holani’s goal-line fumble at the end of the first half, which San Francisco recovered for a touchdown.
But when the Seahawks’ first throw of the first half was picked off?
He went Darnold.
When the first play of the second half resulted in an interception?
He went Darnold.
He’s been picked off five times in the three games + five plays that he’s been available for this season, a rate that is actually worse than last season when he was intercepted 16 times and committed a league-high 20 turnovers.
The difference? Last season, the Seahawks had a running game to help prop things up.
Not so much this season. At least not yet, and while that’s certainly not a terminal diagnosis at this point, it is cause for concern.
🔥 Heat Index 🔥
How spicy is your opinion of the Seahawks’ game this week?
Mild 🌶️
The 49ers remained undefeated because the Seahawks beat the Seahawks by a score of 32-29. All three of San Francisco’s first-half touchdowns came off Seattle turnovers. The first two gave the 49ers the ball inside the Seattle 20, and the third was actually recovered in the end zone for a defensive score. Still, Seattle was one dropped pass away from being in position to kick a game-tying field goal. Hell, if Holani scores a touchdown instead of dropping the football without being touched in the second quarter, Seattle might win this game. The Seahawks will get healthier at running back. They’ll be fine.
Medium 🌶️🌶️
Seattle is relying on replacement-level running backs, and its passing offense is mostly, “Throw it to Jaxon Smith-Njigba.” The Seahawks defense is so good it will keep them in every game, but their offense is so limited that it will also keep them in every game. Yes, Seattle likely would have won both games it lost if not for turnovers, but it could have easily lost to the Patriots and Chargers if those teams took better care of the ball. The Seahawks very much deserve to be 3-2.
Spicy 🌶️🌶️🌶️
You know that sputtering ground game? The Seahawks let the running back who was the Super Bowl MVP leave as a free agent. You see how Mike Evans posted up Josh Jobe? Seattle also let a tall corner walk in free agency. Yes, I know Riq Woolen gave up the decisive touchdown in last year’s Week 1 loss to San Francisco, but he was great in the second half of the year and has something Seattle’s current group of cornerbacks decidedly lacks: length.
How hot is your take?
I’m inclined to the Medium.
After all, the 49ers didn't take great care of the ball, either. Turnovers played a huge part in setting up scoring opportunities for both teams.
For every officiating decision Seattle might question (such as the spot on Cooper Kupp’s fourth-down catch on that final drive), there is one San Francisco could point to (such as whether it was the ground that actually caused Deebo Samuel to lose control of the ball on his third-quarter fumble).
Seattle’s offense has some issues right now.
The running game is not effective.
This may improve once Jadarian Price returns from injury and Zach Charbonnet is activated.
The passing game is too dependent on Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
He has been targeted 50 times this season. A.J. Barner—a tight end—ranks No. 2 with 20.
The team commits too many turnovers.
This was true last year, too, but Seattle overcame it. Not sure it will be able to do the same again.
I know this is a results-oriented business where any loss triggers an agonizing introspection about the depth of a given team’s deficiencies.
And the Seahawks, like every team, do have deficiencies. I also think it’s worth noting that it was the most physical and most exciting game in the league so far this season.
It’s also worth noting this is the second consecutive year that Seattle has fallen to 3-2 after losing at home by three points in Week 5.
Last season, it was Tampa Bay, and turnovers were part of the conversation after that loss, too. Seattle committed two of them, with the final one coming in the final minute when Seattle had the ball at the TB-32, and the score tied 35-35.
On 2nd-and-3, Darnold dropped back to pass only to be intercepted.
He didn’t necessarily go Darnold, though. He was hit as he threw, and his pass skipped off a Bucs lineman's helmet and to Lavonte David for an interception. The Bucs ran five plays, gained one first down, and kicked the game-winning field goal.
The Seahawks lost only one game the rest of the season, and while I’m not saying that to predict what will happen this season, I am saying this week’s result should not be mistaken for a referendum on the rest of the season.
Finally, it’s worth noting that the milk that is Seattle’s kicker most decidedly has not gone bad as I feared before the season began. Jason Myers was 5-for-5 on field-goal attempts vs. San Francisco; each kick was 40 yards or more.