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LANDOVER, MARYLAND - NOVEMBER 02: Cody White #82 of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates his touchdown catch with AJ Barner #88 during the second quarter against the Washington Commanders in the game at Northwest Stadium on November 02, 2025 in Landover, (Greg Fiume / Getty Images)
The Seattle Seahawks looked every bit the part of a Super Bowl contender on Sunday night in Maryland as they delivered a dominant performance on both sides of the football in a 38-14 blowout victory over the Washington Commanders.
Sam Darnold was a perfect 16-of-16 for 282 yards and four touchdowns in the first half alone as Seattle compiled 418 yards of total offense and averaged over eight yards a play.
Meanwhile, Seattle's defense completely shut down Jayden Daniels and the Washington offense before the Commanders' quarterback left the game midway through the fourth quarter with what appeared to be a gruesome left elbow injury.
The victory keeps the Seahawks tied for the best record in the NFC at 6-2, and they have the second-best point differential in the conference at plus-81.
About the only thing not clicking right now for the Seahawks is their rushing attack, which continued to be hit-and-miss on Sunday night.
But everything else showed complete dominance by Seattle as they now enter the second half of the season as one of the most formidable teams in the NFL.
Here are the takeaways from Sunday night's win over the Commanders:
Sam Darnold put on a quarterback clinic for Seattle
You cannot play quarterback any better than Sam Darnold played the position for the Seahawks in the first half on Sunday night.
It wasn't just that Darnold didn't have a single incompletion in the half. He was making big throws for big completions and four touchdowns – three of which were of at least 25 yards. With 16 completions for 282 yards in the half, he averaged over 17.5 yards per attempt in building a 31-7 halftime lead for Seattle.
"Obviously, I can feel the flow of the game and understand that we’re doing really good on offense, but no, I didn’t know that I hadn’t thrown an incompletion," Darnold said. "It’s pretty cool. Someone at halftime said to me that I hadn’t thrown an incompletion, so I think he’s to blame for throwing an incompletion in the second half. Not going to say who it was."
Darnold led a 12-play, 90-yard touchdown drive on Seattle's first possession that actually required 104 yards to be gained due to penalties. A 4-yard touchdown pass to Tory Horton was the shortest of his four touchdown strikes on the night.
A 25-yard touchdown to Horton followed as he roasted Mike Sainristl in man-to-man coverage for a wide open shot throw from Darnold for a 14-0 lead. After a fumble on the ensuing kickoff gave the ball back to Seattle, Darnold ripped a 26-yard touchdown throw to Elijah Arroyo behind the ear of safety Tyler Owens for a 21-0 lead, and a 60-yard catch-and-run strike to Cody White made it 28-0 after safety Quan Martin missed a tackle that could have saved a score.
"Sam's execution right now, he's just ridiculous," head coach Mike Macdonald said. "All the things we've been talking about that he's been doing, but decisive, making smart decisions. Our receivers doing a great job, I thought the protection was really good. Just a great win."
And the touchdowns may not have even been his best throws of the night. He worked up in the pocket away from pressure to find Jaxon Smith-Njigba on a slightly off-platform throw for 22 yards, and later delivered a shovel pass to running back Zach Charbonnet as he was getting tackled for a would-be sack that gained 21 yards.
"Believe me when I say it: I'm not surprised," Macdonald said. "We watch Sam every day and how he operates. He's the same guy every day, which is what you love about him. We're chasing it. The guys are determined, and it's fun to watch."
The lone wart on Darnold's performance was an interception by Sainristl in the third quarter when Darnold tried to throw across his body to White over the middle of the field. The throw was tugged a little behind White, which allowed Sainristl to make a play on the ball. If he had put the ball on the mark, it could have been another big play for White and the Seahawks' offense.
Darnold finished with 330 yards passing on 21 completions and 24 attempts with four touchdowns and the lone interception. He also wasn't sacked once as he continues to work in harmony with Seattle's pass protection.
Offense shines despite Cooper Kupp absence
With the injuries at wide receiver entering the game, it seemed unlikely that this kind of performance was coming for Seattle's offense. Cooper Kupp was ruled out pre-game with a hamstring injury, and Jake Bobo (Achilles) and Dareke Young (quadriceps) were ruled out on Friday.
Seattle had to promote Cody White and Ricky White III from the practice squad to join Smith-Njigba and Tory Horton as healthy receivers for the game on Sunday night.
If there was ever a situation for a defense to focus their energy on slowing down Smith-Njigba, this appeared to be just such a case.
Mission: Failed.
Smith-Njigba entered Sunday night averaging 117 yards a game through the first seven weeks of the NFL season. Smith-Njibga had 119 yards in the first half alone as the Seahawks carved up the Washington defense. He finished the night with eight catches for 129 yards before starters were pulled in the fourth quarter.
It helped that Horton had two early touchdown catches to show Seattle had another available target able to do damage. Elijah Arroyo caught his first touchdown of his career on a 25-yard strike from Darnold, and White took a pass for a 60-yard touchdown for the first of his NFL career as Seattle built a 28-0 lead.
"That's why we train the way we do. It's why we practice. It's why we take all those reps, so those young guys can develop and grow," Macdonald said.
And while he didn't find the end zone, Smith-Njigba just continued to shine for Seattle.
Smith-Njigba matched Steve Largent's franchise record for most 100-yard games in a single season recording his sixth of the year Sunday night.
Reminder, it's Week 9.
"Jax is a really good player," Darnold said. "He forces the defense to do certain things that they might not be super comfortable doing. That leads guys like Tory Horton to have a really good game, which he did. We know Jax is going to find a way to catch the rock and get YAC the way he does. Again, everything that he does opens up other guys as well, and we have really good skill players that can take advantage of that."
Smith-Njigba remains as the NFL's leading receiver with 948 yards on the year in eight games. He's 117 yards ahead of No. 2 Ja'Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals, who has played one more game than Smith-Njigba as well. He's now on pace to become the first receiver in NFL history to have 2,000 yards in a single season.
Obviously, there's still nine games left to play, but the run Smith-Njigba is on right now is incredible.
Defense delivers another dominant effort
While the offense was tremendous in the first half, it wasn't clear if it was even the better unit in the game for Seattle at that point.
The Seahawks pressured Jayden Daniels all night and caused more problems for the Washington quarterback than Seattle's four sacks indicated.
Ty Okada recorded his first career interception on an attempted throwaway from Daniels in the first half. Nose tackle Brandon Pili forced a fumble from Jaylin Lane on a kickoff return that setup Seattle's third touchdown, and Washington gained just 41 yards on 18 plays over their first three possessions.
"It was incredible, it was incredible," Macdonald said of Okada's interception. "Yeah, just made it almost feel like it happened in slow motion, seeing the second foot come down and toe-tapping. Wish I could say we taught him that, but that's just a phenomenal play all around. That was a big point in the game right there, between that and the fumble and the kickoff return that really helped us."
Washington did put together a 10-play, 69-yard touchdown drive late in the first half, but Seattle was already up four scores at that point.
The Commanders' first three drives after halftime were equally impotent, gaining just 61 yards total over three possessions and 16 plays with two punts and a turnover on downs.
Seattle has allowed over 20 points just once in a game this season – a 38-35 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5. In the seven other contests, they're allowing just 17 points per game. The 27 sacks the Seahawks have recorded through eight games is tied for third-most in the NFL this season.
Odds & ends
– Linebacker Ernest Jones IV and cornerback Josh Jobe each left the game with injuries for Seattle.
Jones injured his knee when an offensive lineman fell on the outside of his right leg late in the first half. Jobe sustained a concussion with a friendly fire helmet-to-helmet hit from safety Ty Okada.
"Ernest has a bit of a knee," Macdonald said. "We'll figure it out. I don't know. It's not season-ending, but we'll see how it goes. (Jobe)'s in the (concussion) protocol, so we'll see how that goes too."
Jones was in street clothes on the sidelines celebrating plays throughout the second half, which seems like a somewhat positive sign. However, Macdonald did say there's a chance Jones will miss games.
Tyrice Knight replaced Jones in the lineup alongside Drake Thomas for the remainder of the game.
"Tyrice had like nine tackles, and really proud of him coming in and playing good football," Macdonald said.
– The Seahawks were thinking about Jayden Daniels in the aftermath of his injury Sunday night. Daniels was injured being sacked by Drake Thomas midway through the fourth quarter. He placed his left arm on the ground to brace his fall and his elbow moved in ways it shouldn't as Daniels immediately writhed in pain.
"Your heart goes out to him, man," Macdonald said. "You never want to see anybody get injured in our game. He's just, you don't. It’s just it. He's a great player, any player, you just want guys to be healthy. And when a guy goes out like that and it didn't look good. They were telling me upstairs. Yeah, your heart goes out to him. Our sideline is right there with him, and we're rooting for him. We want him to get back as soon as possible, and want him to be healthy. Say a prayer for him, and hopefully he's back as soon as possible."
Added Darnold: "Thinking about Jayden as well right now. That last play that he had didn’t look too good, so just thinking about him and what he’s going through right now, I just wanted to say that."
The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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