The Seattle Seahawks lost their second game of the season in Week 5, dropping a thriller at home 32-29 to the visiting San Francisco 49ers. It was a wild, sloppy affair for both teams, with both defenses making their mark despite the relatively high score. Unfortunately for Seattle, it was the Niners' defense that ultimately made the more critical plays.
San Francisco forced four turnovers from Seattle, including two interceptions from quarterback Sam Darnold, as well as two fumbles from running backs Emanuel Wilson and George Holani. The turnovers are becoming an alarmingly glaring issue for this Seahawks team, as they have directly contributed to both of Seattle's losses this year. I wrote about it extensively in our Top Takeaways article published
shortly after the Week 5 game.
However, there is another stat from Seattle's loss that is deeply concerning to me. Darnold was sacked five times, which according to Brady Henderson of ESPN, is the most he has been brought down during his tenure with the Seahawks. Keep in mind this was a 49ers pass rush without superstar defensive end Nick Bosa.
Five sacks was the most in Darnold's 24 games with Seattle (including playoffs), per ESPN Research. https://t.co/tUBzFxdH9S
— Brady Henderson (@BradyHenderson) October 12, 2026
Seattle's offensive line struggling is incredibly frustrating to see, especially seeing how much the team has invested in it. Charles Cross and Abe Lucas both got hefty extensions last year, and the team used a first round pick on left guard Grey Zabel. Yes, right guard Anthony Bradford is out, but that shouldn't be much of an excuse for giving up five sacks.
Sacks, like interceptions, aren't always a stat you can singularly blame on an individual. Sometimes there are multiple parties at fault. It is fair to blame Sam Darnold, especially since he is struggling to see the field right now. That being said, I'm less inclined to heap too much blame on him for taking sacks because he was able to evade them expertly in his first game back during the Week 3 loss.
One other thing: the Seahawks oddly struggle more at home under Mike Macdonald than on the road, especially against the 49ers. Seattle is now 1-3 at Lumen Field against San Francisco with Mike Macdonald as head coach, and all three losses have come during the regular season.
This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Concerning stat from Week 5 should have Seahawks worried
