Sam Darnold gets poor grade for 2 'major mistakes' vs. tough Texans defense

Sam Darnold came out firing against the best scoring defense in the NFL on Monday night.

The Seattle Seahawks went three and out on their first drive but scored touchdowns on the next two, which included a 27-yard strike to Elijah Arroyo, a 32-yarder to Cooper Kupp and an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

That put Seattle up 14-0 and everything was going their way until they got robbed of a safety and Klint Kubiak called for a ridiculous trick pass by Kupp that ended in an interception.

Those plays turned the momentum in Houston's favor, and the Texans took advantage by swarming Darnold from the start of the second half until the end of the game. Darnold coughed up a strip-sack fumble in the end zone and also threw an interception, ruining what would have been another exceptional start.

For this efforts, Darnold earned a mediocre "C" grade from Brent Sobleski at Bleacher Report.

"However, Darnold made two major mistakes during Monday's contest... The Seahawks were fortunate that Houston couldn't muster any offense, because Seattle's offense made plenty of mistakes that would have cost the team against other opponents."

In Darnold's defense, there wasn't much he could have done when backed up into his own end zone on Will Anderson Jr.'s strip-sack. The interception was also more of a great play on the ball by Derek Stingey than a bad throw.

Nevertheless, it adds two more turnovers to Darnold's total for the season and after it was over he took responsibility for both.

On the positive side, Darnold led some very strong drives against an elite defense and his connection with Jaxon Smith-Njigba is as good as any QB-WR combo in the sport right now.

In the end Darnold finished the game with a line of 17/31 for 213 yards, one touchdown, one pick, a QBR of 40.0 and a passer rating of 73.7.

Things should get a bit easier going forward from here. After they return form the bye week the Seahawks will visit Dan Quinn's Washington Commanders, who rank 27th in total defense.

Sam darnold — Sep 25, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) looks on in the second half against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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