Reporters didn’t notice it. Cameras kept clicking. Equipment managers kept walking. The night moved on like nothing had happened. But Jones felt something tightening behind his ribs—a strange tugging sensation, as though someone invisible was pulling him toward the shadows beyond the parking lot.
He ignored it at first. There were bigger problems to handle. A 4-INT loss. A fan base boiling over. And a quarterback—Sam Darnold—who was already drowning in a sea of criticism. Jones knew the questions the media would ask. Knew the headlines waiting to be written. One of them, already, had floated past him on a reporter’s phone screen: Darnold Implodes Again.
But none of that was what pushed Jones over the edge later that night.
It was the creature.
The one he met in the forest.
1. The Press Conference That Broke the Dam
Inside the media room, everything smelled like sweat and static. Bright lights. Tired faces. Players collapsing into chairs as microphones crowded them like vultures. Sam Darnold sat two seats from the podium, staring into his palms, shoulders carved out of defeat.
Reporters pounced—some cautiously, others like wolves.
“Sam, can you walk us through what happened on the third interception?”
“What changed after halftime? Did you misread the coverage?”
“Do you think Coach will consider benching you?”
Jones watched teammates wince. He watched Sam swallow hard each time. And finally, when a reporter leaned forward and said, “Some fans are calling this the worst quarterback performance in the league all year—what do you say to that?” Jones snapped like a tree trunk under sudden frost.
He stepped in front of the microphone.
“Quite frankly,” he said, his voice flat but shaking underneath, “f— you.”
Gasps flickered through the room. Cameras pivoted so fast the motors whirred.
“You think this man doesn’t work?” Jones continued. “You think he didn’t give everything tonight? Four interceptions isn’t the story. The story is resilience. Accountability. And unless you’ve strapped on pads and taken a hit from a 300-pound rusher, maybe sit down before you talk like that.”
Someone tried to interject, but Jones raised his hand, cutting the air like a blade.
“Sam is our quarterback. Period.”
That was supposed to be the explosive moment that dominated headlines.
But not for Jones.
As he left the building, the real story—the stranger one—had already begun unraveling behind him.
The scream came again.
This time he followed it.
2. Into the Woods
Lumen Field sat near the edge of a preserved greenbelt—dense trees that seemed normal by day but felt prehistoric by night. Jones walked toward them instinctively, the way sleepwalkers search for something they can’t name.
Each step seemed pulled forward by the same vibrating tension he’d felt earlier. Something was calling him. Not a voice. Not a whisper. Something stranger—like a magnetic hum beneath the ground.
He stepped past the first row of trees.
And the noise stopped.
Silence fell so total it felt thick enough to touch.
Then he saw it.
A figure—small, crouched, trembling—half-hidden behind a fallen log.
At first, Jones thought it was an animal. Injured. Suffering.
Then it turned toward him.
And its eyes were nothing like any animal he’d ever seen.
They were large, round, reflective like liquid silver. No pupil. No whites. Just shifting metallic shades, as if it were made of moonlight instead of flesh. Its skin flickered between colors—blue to green to a faint iridescent pink—each change moving like waves under transparent water.
Jones froze.
The creature didn’t move.
For a moment, they simply stared at each other, the forest breathing shallow around them.
Then something unexpected happened.
It spoke.
Not through sound—but directly into his mind, like a thought that was not his own.
“You defended the broken one.”
Jones stumbled back.
“What—what are you?”
The creature tilted its head, and the colors along its skin rippled faster.
“You defend what others destroy.”
“I don’t—” Jones swallowed. “If you mean Sam, he’s not destroyed. Just had a bad day.”
Its eyes glinted.
“Pain leaves marks that may not be seen. But you see them.”
The words hit him harder than any lineman ever had.
“How do you know that?”
The creature lowered itself to the ground, trembling again, as though whatever energy it used to communicate was draining. Jones stepped closer without realizing it, an odd instinct rising in his chest—something protective, almost paternal.
“Are you hurt?”
The creature didn’t answer directly. Instead, it projected an image into Jones’s mind: trees burning, shadows chasing it, metal nets, flashes of electricity. Fear. Deep. Old. Animalistic.
And then another image—almost too fast to understand: a forest unlike any on Earth, glowing with blue-white leaves.
Jones exhaled. “You’re not from here, are you?”
“I am lost.”
3. The Creature’s Warning
Jones crouched beside it, heartbeat loud enough to drown the wind.
“What do you need?” he asked.
The creature’s colors dimmed.
“To hide. Until the dark ones stop searching.”
“What dark ones?”
The creature shook uncontrollably, the ground beneath it glowing faintly as though reacting to its fear.
Images hit Jones again—men in dark suits stepping out of trucks, equipment humming with unnatural frequency, cages made of shimmering metal. A symbol on their uniforms: a triangular shape with three interlocking rings.
Jones didn’t recognize it.
But the creature’s terror was real. And contagious.
He heard footsteps behind him—several sets, heavy, coordinated.
Flashlights.
Voices.
Men.
“Over this way!” someone shouted.
A Leader Protecting His Quarterback — and His Team’s Identity
Jones’ message wasn’t random. It wasn’t emotional chaos. It was calculated, protective, and deeply rooted in the season Seattle has built.
The Seahawks entered Week 11 at 7–2, tied for the NFC West lead, undefeated on the road, and boasting a top-five offense. Darnold was playing the most efficient football of his career: 19 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, and one of the league’s highest passer ratings on deep attempts.
He was not the problem. He was part of the solution.
And Jones made sure that reality didn’t get lost after one bad afternoon.
Inside the building, Jones is viewed not just as a tackling machine — though with over 150 tackles and multiple interceptions since arriving via trade last season, he certainly fits that label — but as the emotional heartbeat of Mike Macdonald’s defense.
Macdonald, known for cultivating disciplined, team-first cultures, empowered Jones early in the season by naming him the on-field signal-caller. Jones has rewarded that trust by playing with relentless physicality and serving as a vocal leader during Seattle’s ascent.
So when Jones jumped to defend Darnold, it wasn’t just about the quarterback. It was about sending a message to the entire locker room:
This team moves together. No one carries the blame alone.
A Quarterback Who Has Earned the Locker Room
Darnold’s 2025 resurgence has been one of the league’s most unexpected storylines — a career revival built through patience, continuity, and a coaching staff that gave him the one thing he never had in New York or Carolina: stability.
Before Sunday’s meltdown, his Week 9 performance in Washington — where he threw four first-half touchdowns — briefly propelled him into legitimate MVP dark-horse discussions. His chemistry with receivers DK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Tyler Lockett had turned Seattle’s passing attack into one of the NFL’s most explosive units.
Off the field, teammates praise Darnold for his humility, work ethic, and willingness to shoulder blame even when it isn’t his alone.
That’s why Jones reacted the way he did.
He saw the quarterback who pulled the offense together during training camp. The quarterback who stayed hours after practice to throw extra reps with young receivers. The quarterback who, by all internal accounts, has helped transform Seattle’s sideline culture this season.
The guy who had a bad day — not a bad season.
Seattle’s Defensive Statement Lost Amid the Turnovers
One part of the story that easily gets overshadowed: Seattle’s defense played well enough to win.
They held the Rams to just 262 total yards, forced five punts, and sacked Stafford three times. After halftime, Los Angeles gained only 106 total yards — a testament to Jones and the defense’s dominance.
But four turnovers are hard to overcome, especially against a disciplined division rival playing at home.
Despite the miscues, Seattle still had a chance to steal the game late. Darnold led a frantic final drive, moving the Seahawks to midfield before Jason Myers’ 61-yard field goal attempt came up just a few yards short.
It was that near-comeback that reinforced to the locker room that the team is not broken — they just lost one game.
And Jones wanted the world to understand that before the narrative spiraled.
Why Jones’ Comments Matter Beyond the Headlines
Public defenses of quarterbacks aren’t rare. But what made Jones’ outburst go viral was the tone — the authenticity, the edge, the emotion of a leader drawing a hard line around his teammate.
It was reminiscent of:
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Richard Sherman defending Russell Wilson in 2014
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Fred Warner backing Brock Purdy after early 2023 doubts
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Ray Lewis famously taking blame off Joe Flacco in 2009
Moments that defined locker-room solidarity and built trust.
Jones didn’t just support Darnold — he planted a flag.
He challenged the media’s tendency to flatten complex losses into simple scapegoats.
He reminded fans that the locker-room view doesn’t always align with outside narratives.
And he told critics — bluntly, unapologetically — to back off.
Does This Change Anything About Darnold’s Future?
Externally, the natural question is whether Seattle should worry about Darnold’s long-term viability after a loss this big.
Internally, there is no such discussion.
Sources inside the Seahawks organization insist there is zero quarterback controversy. Macdonald didn’t waver during the game. He didn’t hesitate in his postgame comments. And Jones’ emotional defense only reinforced the message:
Sam Darnold is the quarterback of this football team. Period.
The Seahawks believe the film will show a mix of misreads, tipped passes, protection breakdowns, and miscommunication — not a quarterback falling apart.
They also know Darnold’s response in practice this week will matter far more than anything he said at the podium.
A Defining Stretch Ahead
The Seahawks don’t get much time to recover emotionally or physically.
Their next three weeks could define their season:
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Week 12: at Tennessee Titans
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Week 13: vs. Minnesota Vikings (Darnold’s former team)
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Week 14: at Atlanta Falcons
Two playoff contenders. Three physical defenses. No margin for error.
This stretch will determine whether the loss in Los Angeles is merely a stumble or the beginning of a slide.
And it’s clear that Jones intends to make sure it’s the former.
