The Seahawks don’t appear to be moving on from struggling Sam Darnold anytime soon. 

After a 17-14 overtime loss to the Broncos on Thursday night, Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald backed his starting quarterback despite another ugly night on offense. 

“I think we have a lot of faith in Sam,” Macdonald said. “Sam’s played great football for us. He’s done a lot of great things this year. We’ve obviously turned the ball over more than we want to. I feel like there’s things on our end that can help him play better football. And I think he’s definitely part of the solution, rather than the opposite.”

Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald responds to reporters’ questions during a news conference after an NFL football game, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Denver. AP Photo/David Zalubowski

Darnold, who completed just 52.9 percent of his passes while throwing two interceptions during the loss, hasn’t quite looked like the same quarterback that led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl win last February. 

In five games, Darnold has an NFL-leading seven interceptions with seven touchdown passes. 

His passer rating has dropped from 99.1 a year ago to 77.4 after Thursday’s contest. 

As a whole, the Seahawks’ offense has taken a step back in 2026, going from 5.8 yards per play last season, which ranked top five in the league, to 5.3 through six weeks, which is roughly middle-of-the-pack. 

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold throws against the Denver Broncos during the second half of an NFL football game in Denver, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. AP Photo/David Zalubowski

Complicating matters is the play of backup Drew Lock, who replaced Darnold when he went down with a glute injury during Week 1. 

In two appearances, Lock threw for four touchdowns without an interception while completing more than 70 percent of his passes. 

Lock led the Seahawks to perhaps their best offensive showing of the season in Week 2 when Seattle blew out the Cardinals, 31-7.

The Seahawks will host the Chiefs on “Sunday Night Football” next week as they look to get back above .500.