Aug 15, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) participates in pregame warmups ak at Lumen Field. Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

NFL pundit names Seattle Seahawks' biggest problem going into Week 1

Originally posted on Seattle Seahawks on SI
By Tim Weaver | Last updated Sep 5, 2025 12:15 PM ET

The Seattle Seahawks will finally kick off their 2025 regular season schedule on Sunday at home against the San Francisco 49ers. The beginning of the real games is always a blessing, not least of which because it finally brings an end to the season of speculation that runs from the end of the NFL draft to the opening kickoff of Week 1.

The prevailing narrative about Seattle heading into this season is that the front office made a big mistake by swapping Geno Smith for Sam Darnold at quarterback, and they'll likely take a step backwards compared to last year as a result.

We have steadily disagreed with that take all offseason, believing that Darnold showed enough last season with the Minnesota Vikings to prove he's not the same quarterback he used to be - and even if his supporting cast isn't quite as good in Seattle he's still an upgrade over Geno.

That popular narrative isn't going away, though - at least not until Darnold proves it wrong on the field. Going into Week 1 Bleacher Report has named the Seahawks' biggest weakness as Darnold not having as much support as he did in Minnesota.

B/R on Seahawks' biggest weakness

"The Seahawks paid up for Darnold as Geno Smith's replacement following the former top-five pick's breakout 2024 campaign with the Vikings, but Darnold struggled mightily when it mattered most, and he's got a lot less support across the board now. Darnold has less talent surrounding him at receiver, along the offensive line and on defense, which will make it much harder to prove he wasn't a one-year wonder last season in Minnesota. Keep in mind he's on his fifth NFL roster at the age of 28."

Once again, this narrative is dramatically overblown. Darnold doesn't have an elite wide receiver or top-five play-caller like he did with the Vikings, but otherwise the situation isn't any different than it was in 2024.

Seattle's defense should be a top-five scoring unit this season, the same as Minnesota last year. The starting offensive line was positively dominant during the preseason, dismantling one of the biggest theoretical pitfalls for Darnold.

The Seahawks' run game looks strong, their wide receiver corps may not have Justin Jefferson, but it is deeper overall than the group Darnold had to work with last season.

Darnold may have faltered in his first NFL playoff game, but the same is true of two-time MVP Lamar Jackson and many other all-time great QBs. It is not a fair criticism to say that will carry over into 2025.

By now we're exhausted of making these same counter-arguments over and over. Fortunately, there's only two days left before we finally begin to find out who's right.

This article first appeared on Seattle Seahawks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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