The Seattle Seahawks absorbed an early blow Wednesday night when starting quarterback Sam Darnold left their game against the New England Patriots with a hip injury.
Initially listed as questionable, Darnold was later ruled out, leaving the offense in the hands of backup Drew Lock and placing first-year offensive coordinator Brian Fleury in a difficult spot on his play-calling debut.
Head coach Mike Macdonald addressed the situation heading into halftime, emphasizing collective responsibility rather than individual misfortune.
“We got to pick him up. We got faith in Drew [Lock] and he’s settled into the game now so we should be able to execute our game plan,” Macdonald told NBC Sports’ Kaylee Hartung. “But that’s why we say 12 as one. We’ve got to pick him up.”
Those words carried extra weight because of what Darnold had delivered the previous season. Across 20 regular-season and postseason games in 2025, he completed passes for 4,720 yards, 30 touchdowns and 14 interceptions while posting a 99.6 passer rating.
Losing that production so early forced Seattle to adjust on the fly against a Patriots defense that held the Seahawks scoreless in the first half.
Lock completed six of eight passes for 51 yards before the break and was sacked once. The most encouraging sign on offense came from running back Jadarian Price, who rushed six times for 42 yards and showed the kind of contact balance that had excited observers during training camp.
Price already faced a heavy workload with Kenneth Walker III out and Zach Charbonnet remaining on the physically unable to perform list for at least the first four games of 2026. His early success offered Seattle a potential path forward if the passing game remained limited.
Fleury’s challenge is considerable. He had never called plays in an NFL regular-season game before Wednesday, and he is now doing so without the quarterback around whom the offense was built. The first-half result reflected that disruption: stalled drives and zero points.
Macdonald’s message, however, framed the remainder of the night as a test of the team’s stated identity. “12 as one” is more than a slogan in Seattle; it is the expectation that every player and coach absorbs the absence of a key starter.
Lock himself had spoken during the preseason about the unique pressure of the quarterback position, noting that the ball is always in the passer’s hands and that everyone is watching.
Those comments now apply directly to him. Whether the Seahawks can generate enough balance between Lock’s arm and Price’s running to stay competitive will determine if Macdonald’s halftime call for resilience translates into a second-half response.
For one night at least, Seattle’s season already hinges on how well the group picks each other up.
