Stacy Rost: Seahawks’ faltering offense is a multi-layered issue

The Seattle Seahawks’ offense is going nowhere fast. Or at least it was for the vast majority of Thursday night’s loss to the Denver Broncos.

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There’s no run game to speak of. That doesn’t stop Seattle from calling it, but it routinely added a rhythm-crushing clunker to the few bright spots on second-half drives.

Which wouldn’t have felt so painful without an equally poor performance from the offensive line, which allowed five sacks of Sam Darnold. Which wouldn’t have been as costly without Sam Darnold holding onto the ball for far too long, taking a sack to move out of field-goal territory twice and throwing an interception to crush Seattle’s improbable comeback attempt twice.

You get the picture. There isn’t just one problem here, and that’s anything but a silver lining. Seattle’s struggling offense is a multi-layered issue, and there’s no quick fix in sight. Rookie running back Jadarian Price isn’t eligible to return until Seattle’s Monday Night Football game in Week 8 against the Chicago Bears — and that’s assuming he’s good to go after missing four weeks on injured reserve. Zach Charbonnet could return next week, but how many carries will he have just nine months removed from ACL surgery?

The single biggest question is the one the Seahawks could fix soonest. But should they?

That one, of course, concerns the quarterback. Interceptions will be part of Darnold’s game, but explosive pass plays and game-winning drives aren’t here right now. It’s hard to tell whether the issue is Darnold’s hip or something between the ears. Maybe it’s a new offensive coordinator, a struggling offensive line or the run game, but whatever it is has cost the Seahawks three games so far.

Darnold has thrown seven interceptions in four games, already half his total from last season. Those turnovers (and a few from running backs) were the single biggest factors in two- and three-point losses to the Commanders and 49ers. The offense as a whole was a huge issue against the Broncos Thursday, but it still fought its way into overtime. And then it threw it away.

Should the Seahawks bench Darnold? It’s a fair question, particularly if they have questions about his health. Drew Lock didn’t throw a pick in two games for the Seahawks, though it’s worth noting his profile as a passer is similar. Contending teams need to find ways to adapt and make difficult decisions — and perhaps they make a few difficult decisions of their own over the next month — but I’d caution this: a quarterback carousel is rarely the tool of a contender.

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