The Seattle Seahawks couldn’t have asked for a worse start to their title-defending campaign.
Hosting the New England Patriots in front of a sold-out crowd to unveil their Super Bowl banner, Mike Macdonald’s team went from joy to despair in a matter of minutes.
Sam Darnold left the field limping after being sacked on the Seahawks’ first offensive drive, immediately going to the blue tent and, eventually, the locker room.
The Seahawks announced that Darnold would not return.
After the Seahawks’ announcement, NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported that Darnold is undergoing testing “of-site.”
Drew Lock in at QB after Sam Darnold exits
Darnold completed one of two passes for 13 yards before taking that sack, and Drew Lock replaced him for the second drive of the series.
Lock is 1-0 in his career against the Patriots, becoming the youngest quarterback to take down Bill Belichick at Gillette Stadium back in 2020 when he was just 23.
However, it was far from a smooth showing, as the former Denver Broncos quarterback completed just 10 of 24 passes for 189 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions for a passer rating of 34.9, according to StatMuse. He had to rely on six field goals and a strong defense to beat the Patriots 18-12.
A lot has transpired since that matchup, and while Lock has come a long way as a backup and got into a nice rhythm in the preseason, he only threw three passes in the 2025 regular season.
The fact that Darnold could leave the field on his own power was certainly encouraging, but this will be a situation to keep a close eye on.
