By Percy Allen Seattle Times
Everyone raved about Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s 100-yard receiving performance and his touchdown celebration in which he leapt high and dunked a football through the goal post. He drew a few raised eyebrows as well on the 15-yard penalty.
But the Seahawks were really impressed by his ability to remain calm when surrounded by a horde of angry Houston Texans on the opposing sideline.
“That’s a really good job,” receiver Cooper Kupp said, smiling during a postgame interview after a 27-19 win on “Monday Night Football.” “I mean the awareness that he’s outnumbered. There’s only a couple of us that were able to get in there try to help him out. So good call keeping his calm there.”
Coach Mike Macdonald added: “It didn’t look good over there. I’m glad that he’s OK, and I’m glad and he made a smart decision in that moment. That was a really, really poised, smart decision.”
Smith-Njigba didn’t make too much of the fourth-quarter dust up following cornerback Derek Stingley Jr.’s interception.
After the pick, Stingley stiff-armed Smith-Njigba and knocked off his helmet before the Seahawks receiver pushed him out of bounds.
Before he could return to the field, several Texans greeted Smith-Njigba on the sideline, including cornerback Kamari Lassiter and linebacker Christian Harris, and shoved him on the bench.
Smith-Njigba sat there for a several long seconds calmly adjusting his headband while field judge Nathan Jones shielded him from the Texans who were visibly upset.
“I told them I felt comfortable over there,” Smith-Njigba said. “It’s Monday night, not really worried about anything when it comes to facing all that.”
And what did he say to the official?
“We had a nice little conversation,” Smith-Njigba said. “I took a deep breath and tried to enjoy the moment as much as I could and run back to my sideline.”
Smith-Njigba, the No. 20 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft, has thoroughly enjoyed his third season with the Seahawks.
After seven games, the 6-foot pass catcher leads the league with 819 receiving yards and is tied for fifth with 50 receptions.
“He’s done a really good job,” Kupp said. “You’ve seen his ability to kind of move around in the offense. He’s done a great job being able to make guys pay across the field, wherever it is. He’s going come alive in all three phases of the pass game. That’s been really cool to see.
“There’s nothing routine about what he’s been able to do, productivity wise. That’s very difficult. It takes a lot of work to be able to do that.”
Against a touted Houston defense, Smith-Njigba finished with eight receptions and 123 receiving yards, including an 11-yard touchdown catch.
Admittedly, he was extra motivated to play the Texans because it was his first game against former quarterback and Ohio State teammate C.J. Stroud.
“It’s great to compete against my brother,” Smith-Njigba said. “It’s great to win against him, honestly. The relationship that we built is something that is special, something I cherish, and will cherish forever. He just gets all the praise from me. Just a great person, a person that’s a leader. I’m definitely happy of the man that he has become, is becoming. I’m just super excited. He has a lot of great things in his future. Just blessed to have him a part of my life, so it’s awesome.”
Last season, Smith-Njigba had three 100-yard receiving games. This year, he’s done it five times.
“A pretty good start,” he said. “Like I said, my motive has always been to win games, get into the playoffs, get a ring, helping this team win. Anything that I can do, I’m going to do.”
Smith-Njigba is a big reason why the Seahawks are tied atop the NFC West at 5-2. He’s also put himself in the conversation as one of the NFL’s top receivers.
It’s a subject that Darnold, an eighth-year veteran who played for five teams, is familiar with.
During his stint with the Minnesota Vikings last season, Darnold’s top target was acclaimed wide out Justin Jefferson, who was second in the league with 1,533 receiving yards, 103 receptions and 10 receiving touchdowns.
“They’re both obviously really, really good players; great players, if you will,” Darnold said. “They’re really different, but at the end of the day, they both know how to get open and I think that’s the only thing that matters.
“They run routes in different ways, but they just understand coverage. They understand the (defensive back) that they’re going against. And that’s habits. That’s both of their film-study habits that they have every single week. Understanding the guys that they’re going against and understanding the coverages that we’re going to see.”
On a night when the Seahawks offense often sputtered amid four turnovers, Smith-Njigba was a bright spot.
However, his end-zone celebration wasn’t a hit.
“That was surprising, just because we know that’s penalty,” Darnold said sheepishly. “So, yeah. I haven’t really talked to him about that, but he got up I know that. But we’d like to maybe not do that next time.”