What Is Going On In Seattle?

The Seattle Seahawks don’t look like a team coming off a Super Bowl win. This team is hardly even a shell of itself through 6 weeks of the season. When you watch this team, it’s easy to point the blame to the offensive side of the ball, specifically, Sam Darnold. He is a big reason why the Seahawks are struggling with a 3-3 record but is he the only reason? Is it as simple as a QB problem? I don’t think it’s quite as easy as that and one of these big issues may surprise you.

Offensive Line Struggles

The first issue I see is the offensive line. Two cornerstone tackles are not playing well right now and one of them is losing almost every play. The pressure rate and sack rate are both up from the 2025 season and leads to the place that even if Sam wasn’t turning the ball over, the offense still wouldn’t look great with how the offensive line is playing. The pressure rate and sack rate have both increased from 2026, with the pressure rate going from 29% in 2025 to almost 40% in 2026.

Sam Darnold Turnovers

Even with Sam missing two games, he has 7 turnovers through four games, all interceptions. That is already half of the number of interceptions he had all of last season. Along with the high number of total turnovers, his turnover worthy play rate is also up to just under 5%. It’s pretty simple when it comes to pointing blame at Darnold, the turnovers are killing this offense, and team.

The Run Game

The last big issue on offense I have noticed is the run game. The eye test can just tell you they are missing an explosive back like Walker and the numbers from 2025 to this season prove that. Right now, defenses just don’t respect the run game and that’s leading to a non effective play action game as well. I think some of this has to do with Price being hurt and Charbonnet being out. Another name who has been out that’s worth mentioning is right guard Anthony Bradford. He is a force in the run game and is hopeful to return for their next game against the Chiefs. Hopefully his return, Charbonnet combing back, and eventually Price coming back will turn things around for Seattle.

Red Zone Defense

Let me start this section by saying the defense is not the looming issue, but it is worth noting that the red zone defense has gotten significantly worse from 2025. The ranking clearly shows that and the more alarming number is, even though opponents don’t get there often, when they do they are converting a touchdown 78% of the time. This has to improve if the Seahawks want to get back to being the dominant total defense they were last season.

Where do they go from here?

Knowing all of this, and using the eye test, this simply is not a playoff team as currently constructed. This is not the same team from last season and the offense has a lot to figure out in a hurry with the schedule getting tougher and the division being out of play with the 49ers having a commanding lead. Injuries have played a big part so far this season, where they got pretty lucky last season when it came to injuries. Getting some of these guys back will hopefully help, but can Brian Fleury find answers and can Sam stop turning the ball over? Time will tell and the schedule will show us where this Seahawks team will end up.