Five games into the 2026 regular season, the Seattle Seahawks will start at quarterback Sam Darnold left the game He suffered a hip injury against the New England Patriots and was later sidelined. Eighth-year quarterback Drew Lock took over for Darnold, marking his first extended NFL stint since the 2024 regular season.
After a shaky start, Lock played well in the second half to lead the Seahawks to a 13-10 comeback win. He completed 16 of 22 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown with a 113.3 passer rating. The big throw was a 45-yard touchdown to Jackson Smith-Njigba that tied the game early in the fourth quarter.
Perhaps Lock’s biggest stat? Zero turns. He said that was his focus when called into action.
“I know what kind of defense we have,” Locke said in an on-air postgame interview on NBC. “I know the players we have on that side of the ball. If I take care of the football, put it in their hands, don’t turn it over, win the transition battle late in the game, I’d like to think we have a good shot to win. And definitely 13-10.”
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After the game, Seahawks coach Mike McDonald said the team had “good news” about Darnold’s injury, as he did not have a fractured hip. Further testing is required and the full extent of the injury is still unknown, meaning Locke could return to action in Week 2 on the road against the Arizona Cardinals.
Locke’s start next week will be his first with the New York Giants since 2024. He appeared in five games as the Seahawks’ backup last season, attempting three passes and completing two. However, prior to last season, Locke had started at least two games in five of his first six NFL seasons.
Locke entered the league out of Missouri in 2019 as a second-round pick of the Denver Broncos, a team still trying to find its way in the post-Peyton Manning era. He injured his thumb before the start of his rookie season, landing him on injured reserve. He returned in late November and started five games for the Broncos, winning 4-1. Locke’s biggest showing as a starting quarterback came in 2020, his second NFL season, when he started 13 games. However, the team was not successful, going 4-9 in the middle.
As of 2021, Locke is the backup. Back up Teddy Bridgewater in Denver started three games of the 2021 season in relief. In the year He was traded to the Seahawks in 2022 and backed up Geno Smith. He started two games for the Seahawks in 2023, going 1-1. He signed with the Giants as a backup in 2024 and started five games, going 1-4. He returned to the Seahawks in free agency last year and backed up Darnold.
Locke had played in 41 NFL games before Wednesday. He had a 10-18 record as a rookie and completed less than 60 percent of his passes, throwing 35 touchdowns to 28 interceptions.
In the year Two games into Locke’s start for Seattle in 2023, Smith suffered a groin injury. The second of those is a Week 15 home game against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Seahawks entered the game with a 6-7 record and their playoff hopes dwindling. The Seahawks trailed by 4 points with less than two minutes left in regulation. Lock led the offense on a 10-play, 92-yard drive. It ends in a touch pass to Smith-Njigba. Smith returned as the starter the following week.
The next season, he had Locke. His best statistical performance His career in the beginning for the giants. Lock threw for 309 yards and four touchdowns, resulting in a near-perfect 155.3 passer rating. He added his fifth touchdown in Week 17 as the Giants beat the Indianapolis Colts 45-33.
As a backup entering this season, Locke has gotten a decent amount of playing time in the preseason. In the exhibition opener against the Dallas Cowboys, Locke completed nine of 13 pass attempts for 40 yards and a touchdown. In the second game against the Tennessee Titans, Locke completed 12 of 14 passes and threw a touchdown pass.
