Darnold says Seahawks' NFL-worst 20 turnovers 'unacceptable' - ESPN

RENTON, Wash. — Sam Darnold's four-interception performance last Sunday marked his worst game of what has otherwise been a strong debut season with the Seattle Seahawks. But it also continued an unwanted trend for the Seahawks and their Pro Bowl quarterback.

Despite ranking sixth in scoring at 26.6 points per game, Seattle's offense has turned the ball over 12 times over the past four weeks. As a team, the Seahawks lead the NFL with 20 giveaways.

«It's unacceptable,» Darnold said Thursday of their recent turnover spate. «We understand as an offense, we have to be better, I have to be better, protecting the football. We're doing everything that we can in practice and when the game comes to try to take care of the football a little bit better.»

One of the Seahawks' 20 turnovers actually came on defense, when safety Coby Bryant fumbled the ball back to the Arizona Cardinals while returning an interception. Fourteen of the other 19 have been attributed to Darnold, who has thrown 10 interceptions to 17 touchdown passes and lost four fumbles.

A few of the turnovers on Darnold's ledger weren't entirely his fault, including one interception that deflected off a teammate's helmet amid a collapsing pocket and a fumble that came on a botched snap from a backup center. But there was nothing fluky about the four picks he threw last week in the Seahawks' 21-19 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Asked what he noticed after rewatching that performance, Darnold said he needed to do a better job of recognizing the Rams' shell coverage and moving on in his progressions as opposed to locking onto one or two receivers. He credited Los Angeles for disguising certain defensive looks.

«Just having a better understanding when the ball's snapped [of]