Sam Darnold and company were the worst in the NFL in this key stat in Week 1

The new-look Seahawks’ offense was pretty lifeless in Sunday’s home loss to the 49ers. One damning statistic stood out when it came to Klint Kubiak’s unit.

Sep 7, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) hands the ball off to Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) during the second half at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

There was a lot of anticipation last Sunday when the Seattle Seahawks hosted the rival San Francisco 49ers. General manager John Schneider overhauled the team’s offense during the offseason, from a new coordinator (Klint Kubiak), to a new starting quarterback (Sam Darnold), to a remodeled pass-catching corps. A much-maligned offensive line has some new faces on the interior in 2025 first-round pick Grey Zabel at left guard and new starting center Jalen Sundell.

It’s only one game, but Kubiak’s attack was fairly lifeless in a frustrating 17-13 loss to Kyle Shanahan’s club. Perhaps he and defensive coordinator Robert Saleh knew what was coming given Kubiak was with the Niners’ organization in 2023.

Seahawks’ new-look offense stifled by the 49ers in Week 1

In any case, here’s a pretty humbling number when it came to a club that finished the afternoon converting only 30.0 percent (3-of-10) of its third-down conversion attempts.

The Seahawks offense was the worst in the entire NFL on 3rd down.

They had a -0.703 EPA/Play, 0.196 lower than the next worst team. pic.twitter.com/ST84ZCxzHo
— Seahawks Today (@TodaySeahawks) September 8, 2025

Those 10 third-down plays added up to a mere 27 yards, and 16 of those came on a Darnold pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba on third-and-4 on the Seahawks’ own 37-yard line late in the third quarter. Of course, the Seattle offense was limited throughout the afternoon. Keep in mind that only the Titans (133), Bengals (141), and Dolphins (211) gained fewer total yards than Mike Macdonald’s team (230) in Week 1. Kubiak’s offense ran 50 plays, meaning Seattle’s offense averaged just 4.6 yards per play.

Throw in lost fumbles by Smith-Njigba and Darnold (late in the fourth quarter) and it’s little wonder Macdonald’s club had the football for just 22:02 in the four-point loss. All told, it was a very disappointing offensive debut for a team that made a lot of changes this offseason.

Seahawks’ new-look offense stifled by the 49ers in Week 1

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