The Seattle Seahawks don't have many excuses after their first loss in nearly an entire calendar year . Three total turnovers and zero takeaways make any game difficult to win, and the Washington Commanders took advantage of it in a 33-31 win over the Seahawks on Sunday.
Two of those turnovers came from Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold on interceptions. The second one - a fourth-quarter pick-six when Seattle was only trailing by three - was backbreaking, and it made their potential comeback attempt that much harder.
Now needing to make up a nine-point deficit in less than four minutes, the Seahawks fell short.
"Just [a] bad decision," Darnold said of the second interception after the game . "Got out there, the [defensive] end did a good job of not letting me escape to the outside, and I had to make a quick decision, and I should've dirted it at his feet."
Backup linebacker Kain Medrano returned the interception 50 yards for a touchdown. Darnold finished the game completing 31 of 45 passes for 379 yards, four touchdowns and two picks. It was his first game since suffering a hip injury five plays into Week 1.
"I saw him," Darnold said of Medrano. "He made a really good play, but yeah, that's a ball I've got to throw away."
Even though the Seahawks responded with a rapid one-minute touchdown drive, Darnold and the Seahawks have to avoid those major mistakes that make a should-be victory that much harder. It's not uncharacteristic of Darnold, but it's an area you'd hope he'd improve at over time.
The Commanders were suffocating in the run game and, at least at times, made it difficult for Darnold to throw the ball. It was just one of those games where the defending champions looked like anything but themselves.
"You've got to tip your cap to those guys," Darnold said of Washington. "They played a really good game defensively. You know, all around, they played a really good game."
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald didn't directly address Darnold's turnovers, but it was clear he was unhappy with his team's ball security all game.
"It's kind of like a microcosm for the whole game," Macdonald said of Darnold's performance. "I think our guys played hard; I thought we did a lot of good things. Offensively, we thought we threw the ball relatively well, but we've got to take care of the ball as an offense."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/seahawks/onsi as Seahawks QB Sam Darnold Laments 'Bad Decision' on Pick-6 vs. Commanders .
