Mike Florio ,
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Quarterback Sam Darnold had his worst game as a member of the Seahawks on Sunday, with zero touchdown passes and four interceptions in a 21-19 loss to the Rams.
After the final gun, Seattle linebacker Ernest Jones IV made it clear that he does not want to hear any criticism of Darnold.
“ Sam’s been balling ,” Jones said after the game, via Brady Henderson of ESPN.com. “If we want to try to define Sam by this game, Sam’s had us in every fucking game. So for him to sit there and say, ‘That’s my fault,’ no it’s not. It was plays that defensively we could have made . . . opportunities where we could have gotten better stops. It’s football, man. He’s our quarterback. We’ve got his back, and if you’ve got anything to say, quite frankly, fuck you.”
Even with an off night from Darnold, the Seahawks still had a chance to win the game. And it’s good to see Jones defending his quarterback after a rough game.
Still, a nagging question remains. Darnold has been performing at a high level for two seasons. When the stakes are the highest, and the lights are the brightest, he has not delivered. It started with a Week 18 showdown with the Lions for the No. 1 seed, and it continued eight days later in a playoff loss to the Rams.
It happened again on Sunday against the Rams, when Seattle had a chance to take sole possession of the NFC West.
The next three games (at Titans, Vikings, at Falcons) are winnable. Then comes a Week 15 showdown with the Colts followed by a Thursday night rematch with the Rams. Those two games, four days apart, will be Darnold’s next two opportunities to reverse the narrative that, in big games, the chariot morphs into a pumpkin.
While he has come a long way from seeing ghosts, he still has demons to conquer. Time will tell whether he can.
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