The Seattle Seahawks are rolling into the playoffs with serious momentum - seven straight wins to close out the regular season, the No. 1 seed in the NFC, and a defense that’s been nothing short of elite. But there’s one glaring concern that could derail their Super Bowl hopes: turnovers. Specifically, turnovers from quarterback Sam Darnold.
Let’s be clear - this team is built to win now. They’ve got a top-tier defense, a ground game that can control the clock, and an offensive line that’s been quietly excellent down the stretch.
But when you’ve turned the ball over 28 times as a team - second-most in the league - you’re playing with fire. And in the playoffs, fire burns fast.
That’s why Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt didn’t mince words when he appeared on Seattle Sports’ Brock & Salk show. His message to Darnold was simple: protect the football.
“They're pretty sound offensively,” Klatt said. “I was pretty impressed with their win at San Francisco. I really was, and when you can run the football that effectively and protect the quarterback... guys like Seattle will win the Super Bowl if Sam Darnold doesn't turn the ball over.”
It’s hard to argue with that. The Seahawks have everything else in place. Their defense has been dominant - arguably the best in the league - and the offense has found a rhythm under offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, whose name is now surfacing in head coaching conversations across the league.
Darnold, for his part, has shown real growth. He completed 67.7% of his passes this season, threw for over 4,000 yards, and tossed 25 touchdowns.
Those are the kind of numbers that win you games in January. He’s looked confident, poised, and in command of the offense - a far cry from the inconsistency that’s defined much of his early career.
But here’s the issue: 14 interceptions and six lost fumbles. That’s 20 turnovers in 17 games. You don’t need a stat sheet to know that’s a problem.
Darnold has the arm talent to make every throw in the playbook - deep outs, tight-window slants, sideline fades - you name it. And Kubiak has kept the offense aggressive, trusting his veteran QB to make plays.
But there’s a difference between aggression and recklessness. In the postseason, that difference is everything.
Some of those picks, to be fair, came in situations where the risk was calculated - what coaches call “arm punts,” deep throws on third-and-long that essentially serve as field position plays. And four of those interceptions came in one game, a clear outlier. But even so, turnovers are turnovers, and they tend to show up at the worst possible times.
This is a quarterback-driven league, and no matter how good the defense is - and Seattle’s is championship-caliber - playoff games are often decided by one or two plays under center. If Darnold can clean up the mistakes, the Seahawks have a real shot to make a deep run. If not, all that regular-season dominance could go to waste.
Bottom line: the pieces are in place. The defense is suffocating.
The run game is humming. The coaching staff has this team locked in.
Now it’s on Darnold to take care of the football - because if he does, Seattle might just be the team to beat in the NFC.