Here's what happened to Darnold in the first quarter and why he didn't play most of Wednesday's game.

Sam Darnold entered his first NFL season as a defending Super Bowl champion. The Seattle Seahawks quarterback faced the very team he helped beat, the New England Patriots, to kick off the 2026 campaign .

The Seahawks are consensus 3.5-point favorites in tonight's game, which is slightly more than the typical spread given to home teams, all else being equal. Seattle is -175 on the moneyline, while the Patriots are +145. The over/under is set at 44.5.

Sam Darnold's injury in the season opener might have been jarring for the Seahawks, but Seattle knows it has a backup it can count on in Drew Lock.

Sam Darnold suffered an apparent injury during the Seahawks' season opener against the Patriots, leaving his status uncertain as Drew Lock took over at quarterback.

The Patriots and Seahawks face off in a Super Bowl LX rematch to kick off the 2026 NFL season.

The Minnesota Vikings are entering the unknown with Kyler Murray, but that might be better than the Seahawks' circumstances with Sam Darnold.

Despite ranking behind their rivals, Podell accurately laid out why Seattle is the only one of those three that’s ahead of schedule in their window.