SEATTLE -- Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks won Super Bowl LX despite a turnover problem that plagued them for most of the 2025 regular season. It's again an issue in 2026 -- and on Sunday, it was the difference.
Two more Darnold interceptions and two more lost fumbles by their short-handed backfield doomed the Seahawks in a 33-29 loss to the San Francisco 49ers at Lumen Field. Three of those turnovers turned into 21 points for the 49ers, who snapped the Seahawks' nine-game home winning streak and dropped the defending champions to 3-2, two games behind San Francisco in the NFC West standings.
The Seahawks have turned the ball over nine times in five games, which is tied for fifth most in the NFL. That includes three turnovers in their Week 3 loss to the previously winless Washington Commanders.
"We need to grow quickly in terms of complementary football," coach Mike Macdonald said. "Definitely [in] taking care of the football. Way too many giveaways at this point in the season."
For the second week in a row, Darnold was intercepted on Seattle's opening possession. He was trying to hit Jaxon Smith-Njigba on a third-down throw toward the sideline when 49ers cornerback Renardo Green picked it off. Green got him again on Seattle's first drive of the third quarter, when he jumped in front of a throw over the middle to tight end Elijah Arroyo that didn't have enough air under it.
Darnold was sacked five times -- his most in 24 games with Seattle (including playoffs), per ESPN Research -- and did well to keep several plays alive amid a barrage of pressure.
"There's a couple of decisions that I would like back," said Darnold, who completed 18 of 29 attempts for 195 yards and a touchdown. "The second one that I threw, just being able to kind of throw that over the top and let him go get it. I think the other one is just poor decision. Just got to continue to trust myself, trust my feet, trust what I'm seeing, which I'm doing. But just got to be better taking care of the football."
Darnold has thrown five interceptions since he returned from a glute injury, compared to zero turnovers by Drew Lock while he filled in for most of the first two games. Darnold led all players with 20 turnovers during the 2025 regular season, though he didn't give the ball away in three playoff games despite playing through an oblique injury.
"We're not panicking or anything like that," Macdonald said. "We're just going through what we do every day. I think if we become more efficient and more effective as an offense, that's going to help our quarterback, too. I think it's everybody. It's not just Sam. Sam knows. It's not like he wants to turn it over. We need to just play collectively more efficient. I think when that happens, then the ball doesn't become in jeopardy as much."
As Macdonald said, it's not just a Darnold problem. Emanuel Wilson's fumble midway through the second quarter set up an easy 49ers touchdown. Disaster then struck in the closing seconds of the half. As the Seahawks were trying to run out the clock while backed up against their own goal line, George Holani was stripped in the end zone for another San Francisco touchdown.
Wilson has been serving as the RB1 with Jadarian Price sidelined by a chest injury, and while the Seahawks have cobbled together a serviceable run game at times, they're missing the rookie first-round pick's explosiveness. Neither Wilson nor Holani had a run longer than 9 yards Sunday as they combined for 68 yards on 24 attempts.
The Seahawks are also missing Zach Charbonnet's ball security, among other things that last season's co-starter does well. Charbonnet, who has not fumbled in his first three NFL seasons, is still working his way back from February ACL surgery. Macdonald said Seattle's current plan is that he won't play Thursday night against the Denver Broncos (8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video). Price -- who lost two fumbles of his own before going on injured reserve last week -- has to miss at least two more games.
The Seahawks' 28 turnovers last season were second most in the NFL. They overcame them thanks to the league's best scoring defense, ESPN Analytics' top-ranked special teams and an offense that was plenty explosive when it hung on to the ball.
Special teams did its part and then some Sunday, with Jason Myers hitting all five of his field goal tries and Nehemiah Pritchett forcing a fumble on a muffed punt. Pritchett's interception was one of two takeaways for Seattle's defense, which controlled the game for three quarters -- the 49ers' only points in that span came via turnovers -- until San Francisco put together consecutive scoring drives in the fourth.
"Without a doubt, there's frustration," wide receiver Cooper Kupp said. "We were very aware of how good the defense is playing, the fact that up to that point we had given them two short fields that the 49ers did a great job of capitalizing on. And then you gift them seven points there at the end. We just can't do that. Offensively, we put the defense in a lot of really tough positions. They have bailed us out over and over and over again, and we just can't do that.
"We can't put them in those spots. That's all there is to it."
Between their franchise-record 150 penalty yards last week and seven combined turnovers in their two losses on either end of a narrow win over the Los Angeles Chargers, Macdonald's team is not playing clean football.
Still, the Seahawks had a chance to tie or win this game on their final possession. It started with a 35-yard completion to Smith-Njigba, who then dropped two passes over the next three plays. One came on a quick slant in which he took a shot from a 49ers defender, causing him to miss the next snap. But his second drop came on an uncontested deep throw.
"I have to reel those ones in and I know that," said Smith-Njigba, who caught five passes for 102 yards and a touchdown.
This time last year, the Seahawks were also 3-2, having lost a shootout to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home. Then they won 11 of their next 12 games to earn the NFC's No. 1 seed.
"There was no talk of that," Darnold said. "I think a lot of guys are just pissed about not winning the game. Again, it's a whole different year. We're not in the business of comparing this year to last year. There's a lot of things that we need to get better at, plain and simple. We got to have a sense of urgency to do that."