Seahawks find fault in more than Darnold's 4 interceptions in close loss to the Rams

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Sam Darnold threw four interceptions and still had the Seattle Seahawks in position to win on the last play of Sunday's 21-19 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Linebacker Ernest Jones IV said anyone who tries to put the blame solely on the quarterback is sorely mistaken, including Darnold himself.

“Sam’s been balling, right? If we want to try to define Sam by this game, Sam’s had us in every (expletive) game. So for him to sit there and say, ‘Oh, that’s my fault.’ No, it’s not,” Jones said.

“Defensively, we could have made plays. There were opportunities where we could have got better stops. Yeah, I mean, like, it’s football, man. And he’s our quarterback, we got his back. And, if you got anything to say, quite frankly, (expletive) you.”

Darnold drove Seattle off its own 1 in the final 1:41 to give Jason Myers a 61-yard field-goal try as time expired that would won the game. When Myers’ kick came up short, it taught the upstart Seahawks (7-3) how slim the margin for success is at the top of the NFL.

“I think we’re a good team,” Jones said. “We turned the ball over four times, and we lost by two points.”

“We’re that close, and by our standards, offensively, played a very poor game,” wide receiver Cooper Kupp said.

There was plenty the offense could have done better, starting with Darnold having four interceptions in a game for the first time since he memorably said he was “seeing ghosts” in a 33-0 loss to the New England Patriots on Oct. 21, 2019.

In this instance, many of those mistakes came down to what Darnold admitted was an unwillingness to throw the ball away or take sacks. Arguably, the worst instance of that stubbornness came on Darnold’s fourth pick, which happened in Rams’ territory early in the fourth quarter.

Running out of time on third down while under duress from defensive tackles Poona Ford and Kobie Turner, Darnold threw an awkward jump pass straight to cornerback Darious Williams.

“I was just trying to get the ball out of my hands,” Darnold said. “Just a poor decision. There’s a lineman in the way. Didn’t see the DB, trying to make a jump pass, and just didn’t work out. I got to just dirt that one.”

Equally consequential was the Seahawks’ inability to score touchdowns in the red zone. They had one touchdown in four trips inside the 20, finally capitalizing on Kenneth Walker III’s 1-yard run with 2:23 remaining.

Seattle outgained the Rams 414 yards to 249, but Los Angeles successfully reached the end zone in each of its three goal-to-go opportunities.

“We had some good 10-plus play drives out there,” Darnold said. “We just couldn’t finish in the red zone. We got to be better in the red zone. It starts with me, getting the guys out there and executing at a high level. And then, yeah, just can’t turn the ball over. I think that’s the biggest thing. Biggest takeaway from today is just protecting the football.”

In spite of those struggles, Darnold and the offense continued to fight. He ended up 29 of 44 for 279 yards, giving Myers a shot to put the Seahawks atop the NFC West.

To Kupp, that reflects the continued growth and development of Darnold as a player and leader after his well documented struggles as the third overall pick in 2018.

“I mean, that’s not an easy thing to do,” Kupp said. “You just continue to battle, continue to be the same guy. Like I said before, he’s steady. Steady. And you can see just the trials he’s been through, the things he’s gone through, they’re not for no reason. There’s a purpose. He’s learned lessons, and knows that there’s waves, gonna be plays that you want back. But all you can do is keep coming back, keep firing.”

Darnold, who is challenging at the top of the NFC for the second straight season after his unexpected career revival with the Minnesota Vikings last year, understands that the quality of the defense backing him up means the Seahawks can contend for a Super Bowl.

But that is only if the offense does its part, which starts and ends with avoiding turnovers.

“I feel like our defense has been doing a great job all year,” Darnold said. “I got to not turn the ball over, simple as that. I got to do my job, protect the football, get the guys down the field, put the ball in the end zone, and I feel like we’ll always be in a position to win a football game if I just do that.”

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Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold speaks during a news conference after the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Seahawks in an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, let, passes while under pressure from Los Angeles Rams linebacker Byron Young during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, left, is hit by Los Angeles Rams linebacker Jared Verse for an incomplete pass during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, right, passes while under pressure from Los Angeles Rams linebacker Jared Verse during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Katie Chin)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts on Thursday approved the design for the triumphal arch that President Donald Trump wants built at an entrance to the nation's capital, a key step in the project's process.

Commissioners, all appointed by Trump, acted despite overwhelming public opposition to the 250-foot arch, one of several projects that Trump is pursuing alongside a White House ballroom to leave his imprint on Washington.

“The building is beautiful,” the commission's chairman, Rodney Mims Cook Jr., said shortly before the vote on a design revised slightly from what was presented to the federal agency in April.

The arch would stand 250 feet tall (76 meters) from its base to a torch held aloft by a Lady Liberty-like figure on top of the structure. The statue would be flanked on top by two gilded eagles, but the four lions envisioned as guarding the base are now gone. The phrases “One Nation Under God” and “Liberty and Justice for All” would be inscribed in gold lettering atop either side of the monument.

A public observation deck on top would provide 360-degree views of the surroundings.

The commission’s vice chairman, architect James McCrery II, said in April that he preferred the arch without the figures on top, which would have reduced the arch's height by about 80 feet (24.4 meters). Critics of the project argue that the arch would dominate the skyline and disrupt views from the Lincoln Memorial to Arlington National Cemetery.

The arch would dwarf the Lincoln Memorial, which is 99 feet (30 meters) tall, and be close to half the height of the Washington Monument, an obelisk that is about 555 feet (169 meters) tall.

Commissioners were told at Thursday's meeting that Trump considered the suggestion to remove the statue “but elected not to pursue such an option.”

McCrery recommended doing away with the lions on the base and objected to plans for an underground tunnel for pedestrians to get to the arch, which would be built on a traffic circle. Both design elements have been removed.

Preliminary surveys and testing of the site began last week.

A group of veterans and a historian have sued the Trump administration in federal court to block construction on grounds that the arch would disrupt the sightline between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House at Arlington National Cemetery, among other reasons.

The Republican president and his interior secretary, Doug Burgum, have argued that Washington is the only major Western world capital without such an arch. Burgum's department includes the National Park Service, which manages the plot where Trump wants to put the arch.

The president has said some of his other projects, such as adding a blue coating to the interior of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, will beautify the city in time for July 4 celebrations of America’s 250th birthday.

Trump's rehab of the Reflecting Pool is also the subject of a court challenge brought by The Cultural Landscape Foundation, which said the administration’s moves to repaint the bottom of the Reflecting Pool blue without first undergoing relevant reviews ran afoul of federal preservation laws governing historic sites.

The nonprofit group argued in a lawsuit filed last week that the changes at the Reflecting Pool are part of Trump’s broader effort to push through dramatic renovations in Washington without proper reviews and undermine the tone of the area.

A hearing in the case was scheduled for later Thursday in federal court in Washington.

Flags placed by workers are pictured in the Memorial Circle, where President Donald Trump has proposed building an arch to commemorate the United States' 250th anniversary, Friday, May 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

The Memorial Circle, where President Donald Trump has proposed building an arch to commemorate the United States' 250th anniversary is seen, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)