Shortly after the Seahawks signed Sam Darnold, former Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said the one thing Darnold needed to develop to lock himself in as a franchise QB is a “clutch gene.”
“I think the thing that he’s going to have to prove is kind of that clutch gene, making those plays that need to be made in playoff games or big games,” Hasselbeck told Seattle Sports 710 AM in March. “That’s gonna be the next step for him to be in that rare air of consistency as a franchise quarterback.”
Well, Darnold still needs to work on finishing in the clutch, but through five games he has more than shown he is Seattle’s new franchise QB.
It is true that he has come up short in the Seahawks’ two losses – turning the ball over on fluke plays as he tried to rally his team to the win. But how many more times will he have the ball bumped out of his hand by his own blocker and then have a pass carom off a defensive lineman’s helmet into the hands of another defender? Those are just bizarre ways to have comebacks aborted.
The bigger picture everyone should be seeing is this: Darnold is playing like one of the best quarterbacks in the league. He did it again in a 38-35 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, completing 28 of 34 passes for 341 yards and four touchdowns. He just keeps getting better every week.
Darnold also takes accountability for his mistakes – and learns from them. He faulted himself for not checking into a better protection on that final play vs. Tampa, saying, “I feel like that was bad quarterback play on the last snap.”
As this season goes on, we should see less of these last-second letdowns as Darnold’s “clutch gene” starts to develop.
As AJ Barner said after catching two of Darnold’s four TD passes: “We have a very special quarterback here, and I think people are starting to find that out.”
Macdonald is ‘a little pissed’
The Seahawks are 3-2 as a couple of games against AFC South teams loom: at Jacksonville this week and then a Monday night game at home vs. Houston in Week 7. The Hawks need to take both of those, and Mike Macdonald is going to be laser focused to do so.
The coach took the blame for his defense’s failures against Baker Mayfield (379 yards, two TD passes), Emeka Egbuka (163 receiving yards and a TD) and company.
Macdonald told Seattle Sports 710 that he is “a little pissed” and “motivated to get it right.” He said preparation was not good enough last week, and he feels like he let his players down.
“There (are) definitely plays that I want back.”
There are no redos in the NFL, but there is always next week. And Week 6 brings a trip to Jacksonville as Macdonald’s Seahawks look to extend their road winning streak to nine games.
Seattle’s defense will be without Derick Hall (oblique) indefinitely. Devon Witherspoon, who has missed three of the five games, was undergoing an MRI on his knee Monday. Julian Love (hamstring) has missed two of the past three as well, and Riq Woolen suffered a concussion against Tampa. DeMarcus Lawrence also has been out injured.
Macdonald makes no excuses for his short-handed defense though: “Injuries happen in the NFL. I have to design better plays and put our guys in better positions consistently for us to play better on defense. It’s that simple.”
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