One of the exciting games of the week fell on Monday Night Football, and this matchup was between the Chicago Bears and the Seattle Seahawks. These two teams are fighting to reach the Super Bowl this season, but both have dealt with quarterback injuries.

Keeping both teams’ passers healthy is critical, and in tonight’s game, Seahawks QB Sam Darnold took a scary hit.

Sam Darnold Took a Worrying Hit Against the Chicago Bears

So far, this game has been extremely physical on both sides, helping keep the score close. Early in the first quarter, Seahawks wide receiver Tory Horton took a major hit from Bears cornerback Cam Lewis while trying to make a catch, but an even more concerning collision followed later.

On third-and-8, Darnold escaped the pocket and scrambled in an attempt to move the chains. Once he realized he was going to come up short, Darnold began his slide, but he went down late enough for Bears defender Devin Bush to make contact. The hit looked dangerous and could have resulted in a serious injury.

It looked like a flag should have been thrown, especially because Darnold’s head was hit, but that didn’t happen.

The NFL World swiftly reacted:

Reporter Arielle Orsuto expressed confusion after the flag was not thrown from the hit, “No flag called after Sam Darnold is hit in the head on a slide. Pretty unbelievable, tbh (to be honest). Seahawks forced to punt for the second time.”

NFL analyst Skip Bayless was shocked that there was no flag, and alluded to the league having influence, “No flag on that??? League wants Caleb, not Darnold?”

NFL insider Albert Breer brought up that replay assist could have been used after the hit, “I’m surprised replay assist didn’t jump in on the Devin Bush hit on Sam Darnold. Seemed pretty clear.”

Seahawks reporter Brady Henderson revealed that head coach Mike Macdonald was livid on the sidelines and took it out on the officials, “Mike Macdonald was fuming on the sideline after officials did not flag Chicago for a hit on Sam Darnold and he was sliding on a scramble. He’s still talking to officials right now.”

NFL analyst Jason McIntyre couldn’t believe that Darnold didn’t suffer a concussion after the hit and spoke on the physicality the Bears are bringing, “Sam Darnold took VIOLENT hit. Bears out here sending a message early. No idea how Darnold wasn’t concussed. Refs are swallowing the flags tonight.”

Seahawks content creator Sami ON Tap claimed that this was one of the worst QB hit missed calls they have ever witnessed, “This was no flag on the Sam Darnold hit. He tried to take his head off. This is absolutely absurd. Never seen that bad of a missed call on a QB head hit while sliding.”

With no flag thrown, several NFL reporters and commentators expressed disbelief over the no-call and relief that Darnold was able to continue.

This season, Darnold has not had the best year compared to his success with Klint Kubiak in 2025/26. He came into the Monday night game against the Bears ranked 20th in PFN’s QB Impact Metric, but hopefully he can turn it around.