Michael-Shawn Dugar The Athletic
Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught eight passes for 162 yards and a touchdown, and the Seattle Seahawks pass rush sacked Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence seven times, as the Seahawks went on the road and walked away with a 20-12 win Sunday.
Sam Darnold had another efficient day for Seattle, completing 16 of 27 passes for 295 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. It was a defensive struggle in which neither team could get much going in the run game, combining for just 119 yards on the ground.
Neither team committed a turnover, and the Jaguars lost despite owning a 33:21 to 26:39 edge in time of possession.
Seattle improved to 4-2. Jacksonville is also 4-2 after its three-game winning streak came to an end.
### Lawrence harasses Lawrence
The Seahawks were short-handed in the secondary for the second straight week, but unlike in Week 5, Mike Macdonald’s defense adequately embraced its “next man up” mindset and held its opponent to just 12 points on 11 possessions. Trevor Lawrence threw for 258 yards and two scores but was sacked seven times by a Seattle pass rush that was delighted to have outside linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence back in the mix. DeMarcus Lawrence was credited with 2.5 sacks on Trevor Lawrence, including on third-and-9 to kill Jacksonville’s final offensive possession.
### JSN-Darnold chemistry proves deadly
Smith-Njigba posted a season-high 162 receiving yards and now leads the league in that category after torching Jacksonville’s secondary. His 61-yard touchdown in the second quarter gave Seattle a 10-6 lead, and the road team never looked back. Smith-Njigba and Darnold are the deadliest duo in the league right now and one of the main reasons the Seahawks are 4-2 and undefeated on the road this season.
### Jaguars burned by own mistakes
The Jaguars followed up their emotional victory in Week 5 with a bit of a dud in Week 6. Seattle played well, but the Jaguars have themselves to blame for many of the issues Sunday. Travis Hunter lined up offside and negated a long touchdown. Brian Thomas Jr. dropped a critical third-down ball while the offense was trying to mount a comeback. The kicking game was unreliable. The Jaguars are much improved relative to last season but still have some work to do to be taken seriously as contenders.
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