The Seahawks‘ Super Bowl rematch turned ugly fast. Sam Darnold suffered a hip injury on Seattle’s first drive against the New England Patriots and was ruled out for the rest of the game, exiting after just his sixth snap of the season. With Drew Lock under center, head coach Mike Macdonald addressed the situation at halftime.
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“With Sam, we got some great news back. We’ll say it’s good news right now,” via Sideline reporter Andrew Siciliano’s X post.
Siciliano then doubled down with a follow-up post sharing more details on Darnold’s injury.
“At this point, we’re able to rule out a fracture. There are more tests to be done. But right now, I think a fracture is out, which is great news,” he posted.
Darnold is set for an MRI on Thursday, which should give the Seahawks a clearer picture of what they’re actually dealing with.
Darnold was ruled out for the rest of Seattle’s 13-10 season-opening win over the Patriots after getting hurt on the very first drive Wednesday night.
According to the team’s radio broadcast, it’s his right hip. He landed awkwardly on his right knee after former Seahawk Dre’Mont Jones sacked him from behind on third down. He got looked at in the medical tent, then limped straight to the locker room just as Seattle was heading back out for its next possession.
He was first labeled questionable, then officially downgraded to out.
Macdonald leaned on a team-first message at halftime rather than dwelling on the injury itself.
“We got to pick him up. We got faith in Drew, and he’s settled into the game now, so we should be able to execute our game plan,” he told NBC’s Kaylee Hartung. “But that’s why we say 12 as one. We’ve got to pick him up.”
Last season, across 20 games (regular season and playoffs), Darnold threw for 4,048 yards, 25 TDs, 14 INTs, and a 99.1 passer rating. Losing him that early forced Seattle to adjust in real time against a Patriots defense that shut them out in the first half.
However, Drew Lock came in relief, going 16 of 22 for 187 yards, one TD, and was sacked once.
The news that there is no fracture is a relief. What’s still unclear is when Darnold actually gets back on the field.