After a surprisingly strong start to the season, the Seahawks now sit at 3-2 following a 35-38 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While several factors contributed to the defeat, Sam Darnold’s interception on the final play arguably sealed the outcome. Postgame, he took responsibility for the mistake.

The quarterback took full accountability for that final interception. “I feel like that was bad quarterback play on the last snap,” Darnold said. I felt like we could go down and put Jason Myers in a position to be able to win the game. That was disappointing for sure,” he added.

The last snap was as brutal as football fate gets. Seattle had just tied the game, two minutes to steal it, and Sam Darnold was in full control. He moved the chains with a smooth short gain, then on the very next play…it all fell apart. His throw ricocheted off a defender’s helmet and straight into Lavonte David’s hands. Tampa Bay ball. Fifty-eight seconds left.

The Bucs milked the clock, Chase McLaughlin drilled a 39-yarder as time expired, and just like that, the Seahawks’ near-perfect day turned into a cosmic joke. Yeah, it wasn’t a bad read, not a bad route, either. You could pin it down as bad luck, for the most part.

And the worst part? : Darnold was brilliant all afternoon. He finished 28-of-34 for 341 yards and four touchdowns. He kept the offense humming, punished Tampa’s front, and looked every bit like the ‘franchise’ QB Seattle hoped they’d signed.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba was his go-to guy (8 catches, 132 yards), and A.J. Barner turned into a red-zone cheat code (7 catches, 53 yards, 2 TDs). Add Kenneth Walker III pounding out 86 yards on the ground, and the offense finally looked… complete. But if Darnold was ready to take the blame, his teammates weren’t having it.

Locker room backs Sam Darnold

Yes, the Seahawks locker room didn’t pin the blame on their quarterback. Instead, they gave him his flowers. “Everyone keeps talking about the interception. Sam played a great game,” Kenneth Walker told reporters. And A.J. Barner, who caught two TDs said, “We have a very special quarterback here.”

And they’re right. If you’re grading Darnold on the box score, that pick is brutal. If you’re grading him on poise, command, and the ability to make Seattle look like a legitimate passing offense again, that game was yet another statement. And he’s been making those all season long.

This is exactly the Darnold Seattle paid for back in March in a $100 million deal after shipping Geno Smith to the Raiders. The guy who was supposed to bring consistency and edge to an offense that couldn’t stop tripping over itself. And he’s already doing what Geno couldn’t: playing mistake-free, controlled football.

Remember the Cardinals game? Seattle was up 14–3 at halftime, only to see Arizona claw back to 20–20. Old Seahawks might’ve panicked. Darnold didn’t blink. He drove the team just far enough to get Jason Myers into his comfort zone for the walk-off field goal. It’s still insane how he avoided getting sacked on that final drive. The Seahawks edged it out 23-20. He’ll end up being the difference in the Seahawks’ playoff hopes.