Analyst names Seattle Seahawks' potentially fatal flaw for NFL playoffs

The only thing that could stop this train en route to a Super Bowl is not taking care of the ball.

Nov 9, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) fumbles a snap during the second quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at Lumen Field. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

As tough as the Seattle Seahawks look heading into the final month of the regular season, the truth is there's no such thing as a flawless NFL team, even heavyweight contenders.

When it comes to personnel, the Seahawks could still stand to upgrade their starters at right guard and center. Defensively it's tough to find any fault and their special teams look marvelous, as well.

Operationally, the one thing that could sink this team's Super Bowl aspirations is a lack of ball security. According to Vinnie Iyer at The Sporting News, turnovers are Seattle's one potentially fatal playoff flaw.

TSN on Seahawks turnovers

"For a winning team, the Seahawks have given the ball away a lot. Their 23 combined interceptions and fumbles lost are No. 2 in the NFL, behind only the Vikings. Sam Darnold has had his share of faults, making unforced errors despite strong pass protection. He's up to 11 INTs through 13 games. Darnold needs to avoid those or it would be lights out for the Emerald City."

Dec 7, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) celebrates after a victory over the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

At the end of the day, Darnold is ultimately responsible for those turnovers and for cleaning them up. However, it's probably worth mentioning that more than one of his interceptions has come while facing quick interior pressure - something that's unlikely to change against high-quality pass rushing teams with the current offensive line in place.

Since the Seahawks don't seem to be in any hurry to replace Anthony Bradford, it falls to offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak to try to engineer a solution to the sometimes-lethal reps where he doesn't block anybody, resulting in Darnold having to choose between bad and worse options fast.

At this point it's clear that Darnold is going to occasionally throw some picks and cough up some fumbles, but his ratio is still pretty strong.

Heading into Week 15 he has a 2/1 TD-INT ratio and last season he finished around 3/1. That should be more than enough to get this team all the way to the promised land given the supporting cast around him.

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