It wasn’t clear what was more impressive from the Los Angeles Rams’ 21-19 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 11.
Was it the Rams picking off Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold four times? Or was it Seattle having a chance at a walk-off field goal despite all those Darnold donations?
The Week 16 rematch in Seattle might not be sufficient for these NFC West rivals, who could easily meet for a third time in the playoffs, with much more at stake.
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The Pick Six column zooms in on those four Darnold picks, enlisting a veteran NFL coach to find patterns across all 11 Darnold interceptions in an otherwise stellar season for the reborn veteran passer. Seattle, like Darnold’s Minnesota team last season, looks like a Super Bowl contender, if only the quarterback can play better when it matters most.
Those interceptions were not the only takeaways from a Rams-Seahawks game with major implications in the NFC. The full menu:
• Rams-Seahawks takeaways
• Josh Allen tops Betrayal Index
• Ben Johnson vs. Kevin O’Connell
• DPOY case for Kyle Hamilton
• Kenny Easley’s unknown legacy
• Two-minute drill: Improved Chiefs
1. Darnold’s four interceptions doomed Seattle, but the Seahawks nearly won anyway. Here are my top five takeaways
Takeaway No. 1: The panic gene is part of Darnold’s DNA until he proves otherwise.
Darnold took nine sacks against the Rams in the playoffs last season. Those were not all his fault, of course, but they fed the narrative surrounding his big-game readiness. Darnold took no sacks Sunday, but this was his third career game with exactly zero touchdown passes and four picks, more than anyone else since 2000 (there have been 56 such games total).
“Sam is just going to have that in him for life,” one veteran coach said. “He will play great. He will play good. Then he is going to have those plays. The problem is, when you get established as a playoff team, everyone is scared to death that is going to happen.”
A different coach flipped through Darnold’s interceptions this season and saw a quarterback who holds the ball too long and/or plays hero ball under duress.
On the first interception Sunday, which leads the highlight package above, this coach said: “Here, he thinks he is Aaron Rodgers. He is going to fall away and do a wrist flick. At least he made the tackle.”
On the second interception, featured above: “Trying to hit the speed out, and he underthrows it. He is holding the ball. You gotta throw it.”
On the third interception (above): “Jittery. Fiddling with the ball. He stares it down, and the safety jumps all over it.” (Color commentator and retired NFL tight end Greg Olsen said on the broadcast that Darnold likely expected his target, tight end Elijah Arroyo, to bend his route farther inside.)
On the fourth interception (above): “Just complete panic. No reason to throw this. We are jumping like Roger Staubach throwing to Golden Richards.”
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As the other coach put it: “I don’t think anyone is coaching jump passes anymore.”
Opponents are clearly aware of Darnold’s tendencies.
“The rush contains him, and he wants to get rid of the ball, and he’s flinching up,” said Rams safety Kam Kinchens, who snagged the first and third interceptions. “He don’t want to get sacked. He’s just trying to get the ball out of his hands, so that’s when I knew there was an opportunity.”
Darnold will have to live with this narrative until he disproves it.
Takeaway No. 2: Sean McVay and Mike Macdonald were not the only coaches in this game. How about a nod to Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula?
The Rams jumped one spot to third in defensive EPA per play after collecting more EPA off turnovers (21.9) in this game than any McVay-era defense since the final game of the 2018 season, a span of 122 total games.
The performance against Seattle upstaged the much-anticipated matchup between McV
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