Not all is lost

The loss that the Seahawks suffered on Sunday wasn’t nearly as big as the one the Mariners avoided.

At least that’s how I’m feeling this morning.

So while there are plenty of reasons to stomp around about Sam Darnold and his unfortunate tendency to give the ball to the opposing team, I would like to pause and thank the Mariners for behaving like a responsible major-league franchise.

Josh Naylor reached an agreement to re-sign with the Mariners, news which was first reported by Jeff Passan of ESPN and later corroborated by Ryan Divish and Adam Jude of The Seattle Times.

For once it seems, the Mariners did not quibble about price. They pushed their way to the front of the line and paid what it took to get a middle-of-the-order hitter who:

1. Consistently puts his bat to the ball;

2. Actually likes batting in Seattle;

3. Is amazingly proficient at stealing bases.

To be clear: There should have been no question about re-signing Naylor, whom the Mariners acquired from Arizona.

But the Mariners being the Mariners, there were absolutely questions. A year ago, Seattle’s big plan at first base was to sign Carlos Santana, a perfectly fine player and tremendous clubhouse presence. He was also 38 at the time, and someone Seattle had elected not to re-sign two years earlier. The fact that Seattle couldn’t even land Santana, who chose a comparable offer from Cleveland, underscored Seattle’s underwhelming approach to free agency.

Not this year. Naylor is the guy Seattle needed. Someone who makes contact AND has pop and the Mariners paid what it took to keep him. I’m so happy I’m not going to complain (all that much) about whatever else happens this offseason.

Now, after that little bit of sunshine, let’s start poking at the dark cloud that was the Seahawks’ 21-19 loss in Los Angeles.

What’s the biggest reason the Seahawks lost? Sam Darnold was intercepted four times. No Seattle quarterback has been intercepted that often since December 2016 when Russell Wilson was picked off five times in Green Bay, resulting in Seattle’s first bona fide blowout loss in five years.

Two of Darnold’s interceptions were of the particularly reckless variety:

The first, he threw off his back foot. This occurred on Darnold’s second pass of the game, the Rams Tyler Davis having pushed Seattle center Olu Oluwatimi back into Darnold’s lap. Seattle’s quarterback retreated, threw over the middle and was intercepted by Kamren Kinchens.

On the fourth and final interception, Darnold was actually airborne when he released the ball, having jumped to throw the pass. This is not something that coaches usually tolerate let alone advise.

It was third-and-3, Seattle had the ball at the LA 36, which would have translated to a 53-yard field-goal attempt. Pressure from Poona Ford forced Darnold to step up in the pocket where Kinchens was bearing down on him.

Darnold saw rookie tight end Elijah Arroyo.

By the time Darnold had jumped to release the ball, Darious Williams had already stepped in front of Arroyo.

Were the turnovers the only reason Seattle lost? No.

Each team had four red-zone possessions, meaning they had the ball within 20 yards of the end zone. The Seahawks kicked three field goals and scored one touchdown. The Rams scored three touchdowns and turned the ball over on downs.

Was Mike Macdonald too conservative? It’s easy to conclude that in retrospect. The Rams converted a fourth down on two of their three touchdown drives. Perhaps Seattle should have gone for it on fourth-and-goal from the 3 at the end of the first half instead of kicking a field goal. Or maybe the Seahawks should have gone for it on fourth-and-1 at their own 40 midway through the third quarter after A.J. Barner was stopped on third-and-1.

But the Seahawks were -3 in turnover margin, they started four drives inside their own 20 while the Rams started four drives in Seattle’s half of the field and yet Seattle still wound up one career-long field goal from winning that game. Accordingly, I’m not inclined to make any sweeping condemnations of Macdonald’s fourth-down decision making.

Anything positive from this game? Tons. The Rams’ longest drive over the final three quarters: 25 yards. Matthew Stafford, who’d been on a historically efficient streak, passed for 130 yards. Los Angeles was two-for-11 on third downs.

In fact, even after committing four turnovers, the Seahawks very well may have won if not for one of the most remarkable punts I’ve ever seen. With less than 2 minutes in the game, the Rams punted from about midfield. Ethan Evans’ punt landed at the Seattle 2, bounced up and landed inside the Seattle 1. It came within inches of hitting the pylon, which would have resulted in a touchback. Instead, Seattle began its final drive in the worst possible position and still came remarkably close to winning this game.

So I’m supposed to be excited because they came close to winning? No. You should be excited about the way this defense played, though.

What about the quarterback? Feel free to join the chorus of people who will pair this game to Darnold’s thoroughly disappointing performance at the very end of last season, and conclude that no matter how good Darnold has been, you can’t trust him in big moments.

Are they right? Maybe. And if you came into this game convinced that Darnold is the one who will lead the Seahawks to their next championship, I can see how you would be rethinking that position this morning.

I was not someone who felt that way, however. Then again, I am someone who has chuckled whenever people have mentioned Darnold as a legitimate MVP candidate because I’m of the belief that Jaxson Smith-Njigba—not Darnold—has been the most valuable component of Seattle’s offense this season.

So there’s nothing to worry about? I didn’t say that. The turnovers are a bona fide problem. In fact, that pair of second-half turnovers in the blowout of Arizona don’t seem so innocuous in retrospect. 

Seattle has turned the ball over 20 times this season, most of any team in the league. That’s usually a death sentence. Of the teams that rank in the top 10 in turnovers right now, seven currently have losing records. The fact that Seattle is 7-3 is kind of remarkable.

Turnovers have been an issue throughout Darnold’s career both interceptions and lost fumbles. He tends to put himself in vulnerable positions because he doesn’t anticipate or sense pass rushers closing in.

It’s quite possible this will turn out to be a fatal flaw in Darnold’s career. As much as he has improved over the past three seasons, this tendency for turnovers may very well keep him from from being able to lead a team to postseason success.

Or maybe this is something he’ll be able to temper or to tamp down in which case he very well could be Seattle’s long-term starter at quarterback.

In the meantime, the biggest question is how his teammates react to Sunday’s loss.

I’ve covered teams where things have gotten testy in the locker room because guys on the defense felt the quarterback is giving the game away. It can get really uncomfortable.

But linebacker Ernest Jones provided such a strong statement of support for Darnold after the game that the Seahawks posted an uncensored video, leaving two particularly powerful swears in.