On a night where the Seahawks were honored for their Super Bowl LX victory, the celebrations felt short lived as starting quarterback Sam Darnold left the game with an injury in the team’s 13-10 win over the New England Patriots at Lumen Field on Wednesday night in Seattle.
As fans settled in under sunny skies in The Emerald City and Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready blared the national anthem with his guitar, the stage was set for a celebratory kickoff, a marquee rematch against the team Seattle defeated for its second Lombardi Trophy.
With the “12’s” bringing deafening noise at kickoff, Seattle opened on offense. However, the initial drive ended with concern when Darnold was sacked by Patriots defensive tackle Dre’Mont Jones.
The 29-year-old Darnold walked off the field with a noticeable limp.
After initially waving off any medical attention, the ninth-year signal caller went into the injury tent and then eventually walked towards the tunnel to the locker room accompanied by team staff.
