The Seahawks are breathing a sigh of relief, both after a second-half comeback victory to open the season and due to the latest update on quarterback Sam Darnold's health.
Darnold, who was ruled out just prior to halftime of Wednesday's 13-10 season-opening win over the Patriots due to a hip injury, is still having tests done but a hip fracture has been ruled out, head coach Mike Macdonald said postgame.
Macdonald described the results of Darnold's testing as "great news," though the team still does not know the extent of the QB's injury.
Darnold underwent a CT scan on his hip at the Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and received encouraging but inconclusive results, per ESPN's Adam Schefter, who added Darnold is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Thursday.
Darnold suffered his injury during Seattle's first drive, a five-play, 30-yard march, when he was sacked on third down by Dre'Mont Jones. Trainers did not initially attend to the QB on the sideline, but he went to the blue tent during New England's opening possession. Drew Lock then entered the game in relief while Darnold limped to the locker room as Seattle's offense took the field for a second time.
Darnold was 1 of 2 for 13 yards before sustaining the injury with the Seahawks and Pats knotted at 0.
Seattle's offense went silent without Darnold. The Patriots were able to open up a 7-0 lead over the course of the first half as Lock proved unable to lead any of his five drives into enemy territory.
The Seahawks became just the third reigning Super Bowl champion to get shut out in the first half of their season opener, joining the 1984 Raiders and 1967 Packers, per NFL Research. Like those Raiders and Packers teams, who recovered for a win and a tie, respectively, Seattle would not lose.
The defense played tremendously, allowing only a field goal the rest of the way and ending all three of New England's fourth-quarter possessions with interceptions, including an end-zone pick by Joshua Jobe with 21 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
Seattle's smothering defense allowed Lock just enough opportunity, as the Seahawks overcame a double-digit deficit with two field goals and a 45-yard touchdown reception by Jaxon Smith-Njigba, making Lock the first backup QB in NFL history to throw a TD in a reigning Super Bowl champion's season opener. He was buoyed by the defense's stellar performance, but Lock protected the ball and showed why he's one of the league's more trusted reserves, going 16 of 22 for 187 yards and the aforementioned TD.
It remains to be seen how many games, if any, Darnold will miss, but at least for Wednesday night, the Seahawks found a winning formula in his absence.
