Sam Darnold led the league in turnovers. But he’s also got his team on the inside track to a Super Bowl. Wait … what?
It doesn’t happen often, but Darnold thus far has been able to get away with making too many mistakes. He’s chipped in some timely throws, Seattle’s defense is playing lights out, and the team’s running game came on in the second half of the season. They’ve also been very good on special teams.
Whatever the combination of reasons, the Seahawks went 14-3 in the regular season, earning themselves homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.
That’s not the usual outcome for a quarterback who finished with the most turnovers. Darnold in the regular season threw 14 interceptions and fumbled 11 times. He lost 6 of those fumbles, leaving him at 20 turnovers.
This is, of course, a cumulative stat. Other quarterbacks averaged more turnovers. The quarterback he replaced, Geno Smith, finished with 18 turnovers in 15 starts (slightly more). The quarterback who replaced Darnold in Minnesota, J.J. McCarthy, finished with 16 turnovers in 10 games (a lot more).
Nonetheless, when a quarterback leads the league in turnovers, that’s usually not a good sign. In the 32-team era, only four quarterbacks who lead the league in turnovers have also played in playoff games. Only two of those guys won playoff games (Josh Allen in 2022 went 1-1 in the postseason, while Eli Manning in 2007 helped the wild-card Giants upset the undefeated Patriots in the Super Bowl).
Manning in 2007, by the way, turned the ball over in all but one of his regular-season games but had only one turnover four games in the postseason.
| QUARTERBACKS LEADING THE LEAGUE IN TURNOVERS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Record | Int | FL | TO |
| 2002 | Daunte Culpepper, Min. | 6-10 | 23 | 9 | 32 |
| 2003 | Marc Bulger, St.L. | 12-3 | 22 | 6 | 28 |
| 2004 | Vinny Testaverde, Dall. | 5-10 | 20 | 3 | 23 |
| 2004 | Kerry Collins, Oak. | 3-10 | 20 | 3 | 23 |
| 2005 | Brett Favre, G.B. | 4-12 | 29 | 7 | 36 |
| 2006 | Jon Kitna, Det. | 3-13 | 22 | 9 | 31 |
| 2007 | Eli Manning, NYG | 10-6 | 22 | 7 | 29 |
| 2008 | Brett Favre, NYJ | 9-7 | 22 | 2 | 24 |
| 2009 | Jay Cutler, Chi. | 7-9 | 26 | 1 | 27 |
| 2010 | Eli Manning, NYG | 10-6 | 25 | 6 | 31 |
| 2011 | Josh Freeman, T.B. | 4-11 | 22 | 5 | 27 |
| 2012 | Mark Sanchez, NYJ | 6-9 | 18 | 8 | 26 |
| 2013 | Eli Manning, NYG | 7-9 | 27 | 2 | 29 |
| 2014 | Jay Cutler, Chi. | 5-10 | 18 | 6 | 24 |
| 2015 | Blake Bortles, Jac. | 5-11 | 18 | 5 | 23 |
| 2016 | Philip Rivers, S.D. | 5-11 | 21 | 5 | 26 |
| 2017 | DeShone Kizer, Cle. | 0-15 | 22 | 6 | 28 |
| 2018 | Josh Rosen, Ari. | 3-10 | 14 | 5 | 19 |
| 2019 | Jameis Winston, T.B. | 7-9 | 30 | 5 | 35 |
| 2020 | Carson Wentz, Phil. | 3-8-1 | 15 | 4 | 19 |
| 2021 | Trevor Lawrence, Jac. | 3-14 | 17 | 5 | 22 |
| 2022 | Josh Allen, Buff. | 13-3 | 14 | 5 | 19 |
| 2023 | Sam Howell, Was. | 4-13 | 21 | 2 | 23 |
| 2024 | Baker Mayfield, T.B. | 10-7 | 16 | 2 | 18 |
| 2024 | Kirk Cousins, Atl. | 7-7 | 16 | 2 | 18 |
| 2024 | Will Levis, Ten. | 2-10 | 12 | 6 | 18 |
| 2025 | Sam Darnold, Sea. | 14-3 | 14 | 6 | 20 |
—Ian Allan