The Seahawks made a statement on Sunday night.
Seattle won 38-14 over the Commanders, with Sam Darnold throwing four touchdowns without an incompletion in the first half. It was a dominant performance that was made worse for Washington when Jayden Daniels left with his left arm in an aircast in the fourth quarter.
Here are my takeaways:
1. We should take Seattle and Darnold seriously
This was very impressive. We were long past wondering if Darnold’s 2024 success with Minnesota was a fluke, and Seattle already looked so smart for moving on from Geno Smith and giving Darnold a $100 million contract.
Darnold has never looked better than he did in the first half Sunday night – 16-for-16, 282 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions, just a dominant showing on the road against a solid opponent. If you needed an infomercial on how well Klint Kubiak’s offense took advantage of Darnold’s strengths and moved the ball so consistently with ease, this was the half to watch.
Darnold came into the night with stats very close to his breakout 2024 season: his TD/INT ratio last year was 35-to-12, this year was 12-to-4 before Sunday, now even better at 16-to-5. He’s done that in an offense that traded away DK Metcalf and didn’t have Cooper Kupp on Sunday, in part because Jaxon Smith-Njigba has been an All-Pro receiver and a bona fide No. 1.
After Sunday’s win, this is a top-five offense in terms of scoring – they’ve lost only two games and scored 35 points in one of their losses. The NFC West is a three-way logjam, with the Seahawks (6-2) right there with the Rams (6-2) and just ahead of the 49ers (6-3). If the division doesn’t produce two wild cards, it will only be because they beat each other up down the stretch.
2. Daniels’ horrific arm injury is crushing for Washington
The loss Sunday night would have meant the Commanders had more losses at 3-6 than they finished with last year at 12-5. They had already taken a significant step back, with injuries on offense and inconsistency on defense. Two of their three wins are against the Giants and Raiders, who each have only two wins.
Two weeks ago, when Washington lost to the Cowboys by 22 points, it didn’t look like even a potential playoff team, but there was hope that Daniels’ healthy return could shift the team into another gear, like Lamar Jackson with Baltimore.
Now, with Daniels almost assuredly sidelined, this is a lost season of the worst kind, starting with hopes of unseating the Eagles and making another extended postseason run. Now, Washington is just hoping that key pieces will be healthy and an easier schedule will help them be competitive again in 2026.
3. Jaxon Smith-Njigba could make a run at 2,000 yards
Seriously! JSN came into Sunday night leading the NFL in receiving yards and even with a light second half of easy work, he finished with 129 yards, putting him at 948 after only eight games. That means he’s on course for 2,014 yards with a real shot at becoming the first NFL player ever to get 2,000 receiving yards in a season. The mark is 1,964, set by Detroit’s Calvin Johnson in 2012, and JSN’s Seahawks teammate Cooper Kupp got to 1,947 as recently as 2021.
Smith-Njigba has a chance because he’s so remarkably steady – he’s had at least 79 yards in every game this season, and Sunday marked his fourth straight game with exactly eight catches, a model of consistency even as he draws more and more coverage from opposing defenses. That doesn’t mean he’ll get there, but it’s a fun storyline to watch if he just keeps chugging along and keeps it in play in the final weeks of the season.
4. Tory Horton has done a ton for a fifth-round rookie
Horton had two more touchdown catches Sunday, giving him five for the season, not counting a 95-yard punt return also on his resume. Not bad for a fifth-round pick from Colorado State who had one touchdown in six games last season before his college career ended with a knee injury.
Seattle has done so well with third-day draft picks – think about linebacker Tyrice Knight and tight end A.J. Barner in the fourth round last year, think about corner Riq Woolen in the fifth round in 2022, and this is more of the same.
It was a party for Seahawks fans in Landover, Md., on Sunday night, with Tory Horton leading the charge. (Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
4 ½. What’s next?
Arizona played Seattle close in their first meeting, but the Seahawks really should be able to take care of the Cardinals next week.
That sets up the first of two divisional showdowns with the Rams – in Los Angeles in Week 11 and in Seattle in Week 16. If either one can sweep both games, it’s a huge step toward winning the West, and regardless, there could be so much on the line when Seattle finishes the regular season at San Francisco.
One thing Seattle must work on if it’s going to be a team that makes an impact in the postseason, rather than just a cameo: turnovers. The Seahawks went into Sunday’s game at minus-4 in turnover margin, and they picked up one against the Commanders, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a better contender with a worse turnover problem than Seattle. It can be fixed, of course, but if it isn’t, it’s hard to see them making a real playoff run.
Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.
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