Sam Darnold has been sacked 10 times in the Seattle Seahawks’ last two games, both losses by three points, and the next defense on the schedule belongs to the only undefeated team in the AFC.
Kansas City (5-0) visits Lumen Field for Sunday Night Football in Week 7. Seattle (3-3) used its mini bye after the Thursday night loss in Denver to reset. “I think we’re definitely more aligned as a team than we were a few days ago and I’m excited about where we can go, honestly,” Mike Macdonald said Monday, per the team’s website. Three fixes have to show up on the field against the Chiefs.
George Karlaftis is the edge rusher Seattle has to block
Denver hit Darnold 17 times and sacked him five times in the 17-14 overtime loss, a week after San Francisco also got him five times. In Denver, Darnold went 27 of 51 for 278 yards. He averages 3.08 seconds to throw, and his 18.9% pressure-to-sack rate ranks 17th among qualified quarterbacks, according to PFF.
Karlaftis is the problem coming next. The Chiefs’ edge rusher has 27 pressures, seventh among 115 edge defenders, and 14 quarterback hits, second at the position, with a 79.1 pass-rush grade from PFF. His 19 pressures since Week 4 lead the NFL, per the Chiefs, and he had a sack and three quarterback hits against the Chargers on Sunday. That was only his first sack of the season, but the Chiefs as a team pressured Justin Herbert on 17 of 44 dropbacks.
Darnold’s interceptions have to stop against a ball-hawking defense
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Darnold has seven interceptions on 149 attempts, a total that ranks 33rd of 35 qualified quarterbacks, and PFF has charged him with 10 turnover-worthy plays. Two of those picks came in Denver, including Ja’Quan McMillian’s interception on Seattle’s first possession of overtime. The week before, the 49ers scored 21 points off four turnovers in a 32-29 win.
Kansas City has forced multiple turnovers in four of its five games. Against Los Angeles, Jack Cochrane intercepted Herbert, and L’Jarius Sneed forced a fourth-quarter fumble that Drue Tranquill recovered. Macdonald said Monday the issue isn’t the playbook. “It’s how we get to the plays. It’s how we run the plays, how we choose the plays, how we execute the plays,” he said.
Byron Murphy II has to hold up against Kenneth Walker III
Walker, who left Seattle in free agency, leads the NFL with 665 rushing yards and 6.3 yards per carry. He has topped 100 yards in four of five games and has 52 broken tackles, according to Next Gen Stats. He ran for 128 yards and two touchdowns against the Chargers.
Murphy has been Seattle’s best interior rusher, with three sacks and 19 pressures, and the Seahawks need the rest of the defense to step up next to him. Against the run, his numbers are mixed. Murphy has 17 run stops, but his 38.8 run-defense grade ranks 115th of 129 interior defenders, per PFF.
Seattle did hold Denver to 74 yards on 28 carries, and Ernest Jones IV led the team with nine tackles. Walker breaks more tackles than any back in the league, and Macdonald pointed to tackling as a fundamentals issue. “If we are not tackling well, it’s not because the guys don’t want to tackle,” he said.
Seattle already trails San Francisco by three games in the NFC West. A fourth one-score loss, this time to a former teammate, would make the climb back much steeper for the defending champions.
More on the Seattle Seahawks
- Seahawks’ Sam Darnold Must Clean Up His Mistakes Against Chiefs
- Seahawks Need to Address Offensive Weakness Before Trade Deadline, and It’s Not a Running Back
- Seahawks Blockbuster Trade Proposal Lands Former First-Round WR Brian Thomas Jr.
- Seahawks Built in Extra Time to Decide on Sam Darnold This Year, and It Matters Now
