The Seattle Seahawks were once again missing several key defensive players. They were coming off a difficult last-second loss the week prior. And they were traveling some 2,400 miles across the country to face a surging 4-1 team in a game that kicked off at 10 a.m. Pacific time.
No problem.
The Seahawks simply did what they’ve done so often under second-year head coach Mike Macdonald – win on the road.
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Seattle beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 20-12 on Sunday to improve to 4-2 on the season. It was the Seahawks’ ninth straight road victory and it improved them to 10-1 on the road under Macdonald.
Here are three things that stood out from Seattle’s latest road triumph.
JSN continues his tear
By this point, it’s become clear. Jaxon Smith-Njigba has ascended into one of the league’s top wide receivers.
The third-year Seattle wideout had another monster game, recording eight catches for 162 yards and a touchdown – including five catches for 117 yards and a TD by the midway point of the second quarter. It bumped Smith-Njigba’s season total to 696 receiving yards, which is the 15th-most by any NFL player through his team’s first six games since the 1970 NFL merger, according to Stathead.
Smith-Njigba’s biggest play came on a 61-yard TD catch midway through the second quarter, when he raced past newly acquired cornerback Greg Newsome II and hauled in a perfectly placed deep ball over the top from Sam Darnold for the longest reception of his career. Smith-Njigba also had catches of 35 and 32 yards, which gives him an NFL-high eight receptions of 30-plus yards this season.
Touchdown JSN! 61 yards.
SEAvsJAX on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/2RqhCoOuX4
— NFL (@NFL) October 12, 2025
Seattle’s pass rush takes over
With the Seahawks down three key players in the secondary — two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Devon Witherspoon, veteran safety Julian Love and cornerback Riq Woolen — they needed a bounceback performance from their pass rush after mustering only one sack in last week’s 38-35 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The pass rush delivered in a massive way.
Seattle applied constant pressure on Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence and piled up a season-high seven sacks — which was especially impressive considering that the Jaguars entered the day having allowed just six sacks through their first five games. DeMarcus Lawrence and Byron Murphy II led the way with 2.0 sacks apiece, Uchenna Nwosu had 1.5 sacks, linebacker Drake Thomas added a sack on a blitz and Leonard Williams was credited with a half-sack.
.@TankLawrence came through SWINGING.
📺: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/wjR4kfb1mR
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) October 12, 2025
Moreover, two of the sacks came in particularly pivotal moments. Late in the first half, DeMarcus Lawrence took down Trevor Lawrence for a 9-yard loss that created a longer field-goal attempt for Jacksonville kicker Cam Little, who then proceeded to miss his ensuing 50-yard attempt. And with the Seahawks holding an eight-point lead with less than 4 minutes left, Lawrence and Nwosu combined for a third-down sack that forced Jacksonville to punt. And the Jaguars never got the ball back.
Hawks close it out
For as well as the Seahawks have played this season, they’ve had issues closing out games.
In their Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, they blew a late four-point lead by surrendering a go-ahead TD drive in the closing minutes. In last week’s loss, they blew a late seven-point lead by giving up a game-tying TD drive and then handing the ball right back to Tampa Bay on a costly interception that set up the Buccaneers’ game-winning field goal. And several weeks ago against Arizona, they blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead before winning on a last-second field goal.
For a moment, Sunday’s game was in danger of following a similar script. After taking a 20-6 lead into the fourth quarter, the Seahawks surrendered a 14-play, 82-yard TD drive and then gave the ball right back to Jacksonville following a three-and-out by their offense. Suddenly, the Jaguars had the ball with a chance to mount a game-tying TD drive.
But this time, the Seahawks closed it out. Seattle’s defense stymied the Jaguars the rest of the way, holding them to just 17 yards combined on their final three possessions. Darnold then provided the knockout punch, connecting with wide-open tight end AJ Barner for a 61-yard completion that ultimately sealed the victory.
AJ Barner in open space for 61 yards!
SEAvsJAX on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/JLe1knRY7E
— NFL (@NFL) October 12, 2025
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