Sam Darnold’s night was over almost before it got going, and Dre’Mont Jones made sure everybody knew he was happy about his part in it.
Early in Wednesday’s game against the Patriots, Jones came flying in from behind on a third-down sack as Darnold tried to extend the play. The hit sent Darnold limping to the sideline with a hip injury. He briefly waved off trainers, but the situation kept worsening as he headed to the medical tent and, eventually, the locker room.
The play gave Jones his first sack of the season, and he treated it like a personal milestone even though New England fell 13-10. The next day, he posted a photo of the sack on Instagram and wrote, “Year 8.
First NFL sack of the season. Gotta win the close ones but we will next time #gopats.”
Fans did not let that slide. One reply read, “st i’d be mad too if a team cut me then immediately won the bowl😂 enjoy your dogst QB tho bro🙏,” while another said, “corny af posting video clip of someone getting injured.” A third added, “Almost beat your sack total in Seattle in one game atta boy.”
The reaction wasn’t just about the loss. It also came down to the optics of celebrating a sack that helped injure an opponent, which many viewed as crossing a line.
Jones’s history with Seattle added another layer to the response. He spent 2023 and 2024 with the Seahawks before the team moved on from him, a move that came before Seattle’s Super Bowl LX championship run without him on the roster.
Jones then signed a three-year, $39.5 million deal with New England in March after stops in Tennessee and Baltimore. Before Wednesday, he had 37.5 career sacks across four different franchises.
As for Darnold, the recovery picture is still unclear. Head coach Mike Macdonald said there’s no fracture, but testing is ongoing as Seattle waits to learn when its starting quarterback might be back.
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For Seahawks fans, the timing is the point. Shanahan has spent years making the 49ers one of the NFCs most consistent threats, with repeated playoff runs and Super Bowl trips along the way, and the prospect of him sticking around only deepens the challenge in a division where every season already starts with familiar pressure. The deal removes any lingering speculation about San Franciscos most important figure, and it leaves Seattle facing the same problem it has had for much of this rivalry: a proven coach with no immediate exit in sight. [Read more 🡒]