The Seahawks played their first complete game of the season and put themselves in the conversation of the NFL’s elite teams. A dominant display by the defense harassed, hunted and hounded Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels for four sacks, one interception and seven quarterback hits. The special teams caused a turnover, and the offense played its best first half of the season.
“ Great win. Man. I’m just really proud of our team. Our approach, the whole week, coming out of the bye. We got guys banged up thoughout the game. But this is the stuff that we preach on how we train our guys,” Mike Macdonald said after the game.
Sam Darnold sets the tone.
Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks’ offense played a flawless first half, going into the halftime break with a 31-7 lead and never looked back. Darnold was a perfect 16 of 16 for 282 and four touchdowns. Aiding Darnold in his near-perfect first-half performance was a stellar complementary play by the Seahawks defense and special teams. The only somber note for the Seahawks was the knee injury to Ernest Jones IV late in the second quarter. While he said the injury was not season-ending, Macdonald did not provide a timeline.
EARLY JUMP START
The Seahawks’ defense forced a Commanders punt on their first possession. Darnold immediately went to work on the Seahawks’ opening drive with a dominating 12-play 90-yard drive that ended with a four-yard pass to Horton. Ty Okada’s circus interception gave the ball back to Darnold, who connected with Horton for his second TD of the game and fifth of the season.
“Yeah, it was obviously a great all-around game from our defense, special teams, and as an offense, I feel like in the first half we just put together good drives together,” said Darnold after the game. “ We were a lot better on third down today than we have been.”
The gifting continued when Bradon Phil forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. Connor O’Toole recovered the fumble, and all it took was a Darnold to Elijah Arroyo 26-yard touchdown pass for the 21-0 Seahawks lead. A forced punt by the defense saw Darnold complete his fourth touchdown pass of the half. The fourth was his best. An exquisite 60-yard dive to Cody White gave the Seahawks the insurmountable 28-0 lead. A one-yard run by Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels averted the first-half shutout. The half ended with a 41-yard Jason Myers field goal.
Rocky start to the second half.
The Seahawks received the ball to start the second half but stumbled out of the gate. Darnold threw his first incomplete pass of the game on 3rd and one after throwing 17 consecutive passes in a row. Darnold underthrew Jaxson Smith-Njiba of all people. Although he did not catch a touchdown pass, Smith-Njiba finished the day with seven receptions for 119 yards. It was the sixth out of eight games in which Smith-Njiba had over 100 yards receiving.
The Seahawks punted, and things went from bad to worse when the Commanders’ Mike Sainristill picked off Darnold’s intended pass for Cody White.
The defense continued its dominance when Leonard Williams ran down Daniels on fourth and 15 at the Seattle 46-yard line. Darnold showed his resiliency by shaking off the bad mojo and directed a scoring drive that ended with an AJ Barner touchdown from the one-yard line.
The Commanders scored one more touchdown with 7:14 left in the game. The game took an ominous turn when Jayden Daniels was tackled by Drake Thomas and suffered a gruesome elbow injury, and was left the game. Marcus Mariota finished the game for Daniels.
BIG TAKE
The Seahawks’ other injury was to Josh Jobe, who was a victim of friendly fire when Ty Okada hit him. Jobe will be in concussion protocol. This was a big win for the Seahawks, as it reaffirms what Macdonald has been preaching to his team about the importance of next man up and staying connected. Every team preaches ‘next man up,’ but it’s the teams that have built a genuine connection that can overcome injuries. Give credit to Macdonald and his coaching staff for the way they conduct their practices. Intense, situational, and competitive practices have prepared the Seahawks to be confident in games.
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