Sam Darnold Blames Teammate for Fumble vs 49ers Before Seahawks OL Denied QB’s Claim

Seattle fans were busy all season hyping up their quarterback. But all love was lost after Sam Darnold‘s fumble in the red zone with just 43 seconds left in the game, which pretty much sealed a 49ers victory with a scoreline reading 13-17. Darnold finally opened up about the fumble in the post-game interview, and let’s just say he’s pinning the blame on somebody else.

Yeah, he’s pointing fingers elsewhere. “It came out off somebody. I don’t know who hit it or what…I think it was off one of our offensive linemen’s back. It didn’t slip out or anything like that.” He’s talking about lineman Abe Lucas here. And while it did seem like the ball went off his back, Lucas flat-out denies the claim.

Let’s talk about the play itself. Darnold drove Seattle into the red zone late and, on second down from the SF 9, Nick Bosa bull-rushed right tackle Abe Lucas into Darnold, forcing a fumble that Bosa recovered, and the 49ers ran out the clock. Yep, it led to a block-and-recover by Bosa that ended the game.

The sad part? Darnold’s day looked pretty solid until that fumble. He went 16-of-23 for 150 yards, and that 40-yard strike to Jaxon Smith-Njigba set up what looked like the game-winning chance before the fumble. While we’re at Smith-Njigba, the man was cooking all game too, finishing with 9 catches for 124 yards.

And when Darnold said it “didn’t slip out,” he was right. It was Bosa driving Lucas back into Sam Darnold and knocking the ball loose right as he was trying to throw. The strip-sack looks more like a classic sack-strip rather than a loose-ball that “slipped.” So yes, Darnold’s claim that the ball came off a lineman’s back is reasonable. But perception and reality aren’t always identical in split-second chaos, and that’s where it gets interesting.

Abe Lucas denies the claim

Abe Lucas, fresh off that three-year, $46 million extension before Week 1, said after the game he never felt Darnold lose the ball off his back while winding up to throw as Bosa pushed him. He added that if he had, he would’ve reacted. Basically, he’s not taking the blame for it either. No one is.

And you can’t really argue with either of them. Lucas probably didn’t feel the contact with Sam Darnold after that push from Bosa, whom he called a “helluva player” post-game. And in the heat of it all, you sometimes don’t. And Darnold had consequent contact with Lucas, which knocked the ball down. It was just a smart play from the 49ers pass-rusher. Nothing more, nothing less.

Let’s talk about Lucas’ backdrop. He’s the guy Seattle just paid to lock down the right side. But the extension was a rather bold bet, because injuries haven’t been kind to him. He’s played merely 13 games in the last two years because of a knee issue that even required surgery in early 2024.

And you can’t help but wonder if this incident might have an impact on the locker room. No one’s taking accountability, which might start the blame game. And that’s really not something the Seahawks can afford right now.

They showed more fight than many expected against the 49ers, and the performance had plenty of positives. What they need now is to build on that progress, not let finger-pointing chip away at their momentum.