The Seahawks looked so fine.
Sam Darnold looked even finer.
And not just because they were in their best uniforms: the throwback royal blues and silver. Darnold was perfect on his first 17 passes. He threw for four touchdowns in the runaway first half alone. Two scores came 11 seconds apart in the decisive second quarter.
As he sensed Friday he’d get the chance to, rookie Tory Horton took full advantage of injuries and absences from veteran wide receivers Cooper Kupp, Jake Bobo and Dareke Young with two TD catches. Jaxon Smith-Njigba kept up his NFL-leading receiver ways with eight catches on nine targets for 129 yards. It was his fourth consecutive game with at least 100 yards receiving.
Coach Mike Macdonald’s defense dominated Jayden Daniels and the Commanders’ stuck offense to complete Seattle’s 38-14 wipeout of Washington Sunday night. Horton, the fifth-round pick this spring from Colorado State, scored on Darnold’s passes of 4 and 25 yards to end Seattle’s first two offensive possessions. It completed a wholly winning week for Horton: He took home the trophy in the Seahawks’ rookie Halloween costume contest back at the team facility in Renton days earlier, thanks to this outfit from The Boondocks.
Darnold was perfect with four touchdowns as the Seahawks romped to a 31-7 lead. He finished 21 of 24 passing for 330 yards and four touchdown passes. His third-quarter interception was on his lone poor throw. Darnold has thrown for 11 touchdowns in the last four games. This was his second four-TD day in four games. Darnold has 16 touchdowns against five interceptions this season.
The Seahawks were dominant Sunday night against a Washington team (3-6) that is a shell of its NFC-championship game squad of last season.
Are they really this good? That is still to be determined. These Seahawks still haven’t beaten the 49ers nor the Rams, the two teams they must conquer to win the NFC West. They play at Los Angeles in two weeks.
The Seahawks are 6-2. They have won six of their last seven games. They remained in first place in the division by tiebreaker over the Rams (6-2), and over San Francisco (6-3). The 49ers beat the Seahawks in Seattle in week one.
The Seahawks improved to 11-1 on the road in two seasons under coach Mike Macdonald. Macdonald became the third coach in NFL history with 11 wins in his first 12 road games as a head coach. He joined George Seifert with the 1989-90 49ers and Sean McVay with the 2017-18 Rams.
On Sunday night, they disassembled a Washington team that went to the NFC title game last season and was desperate to end a losing streak and stay relevant for 2025.
Instead, Seattle bludgeoned the Commanders to their fourth consecutive loss.
Five plays to Seattle’s victory
Five plays in the first half, two sets of consecutive snaps, defined this domination.
Leading 7-0 in the second quarter, Seahawks middle linebacker Ernest Jones broke in free up the middle, pass rushing Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels. Daniels, the 2024 rookie sensation returning from missing a game with a hamstring injury, ran away — but only after Washington guard Chris Paul grabbed Jones’ facemask. Paul ripped the helmet off Jones’ head.
The 15-yard penalty for pulling the face mask negated Daniels’ run for a first down. On the next play, third and 17 instead, Daniels threw wide of his receiver to the Seahawks’ sideline. Seattle safety Ty Okada leaped, grabbed the pass and deftly got both feet down in bounds inside the sideline for the first interception of his NFL career.
The third-year former practice-squad player from Montana State made his fourth consecutive start for injured Pro Bowl veteran Julian Love.
As teammates were still congratulating Okada on the sideline, Darnold threw for 17 more yards to Smith-Njigba. Six plays later, on third down, Darnold saw Horton break wide open into the right side of the Washington defense. That pass was perfect, too. The 25-yard catch and run put Seattle up 14-0.
On the ensuing kickoff, defensive tackle Brandon Pili on special teams punched the ball from Washington returner Jaylin Lane. Seattle’s Connor O’Toole recovered the fumble at the Commanders 26.
On the next snap, Darnold was precise again, this time on a throw to rookie tight end Elijah Arroyo, breaking free straight down the left slot to the goal line. The 26-yard touchdown pass made it 21-0 with two scores in 11 seconds.
Game (essentially) over. Yet the Seahawks were far from done.
Macdonald’s defense got another stop, thanks to a third open-field tackle by Devon Witherspoon immediately following a catch short of the line to gain in the first half. Then Darnold completed his 14th consecutive pass, for a 22-yard touchdown. The Seahawks led 28-0.
The home fans booed. The only reason they didn’t leave: They wanted to see Washington 1980s and ‘90s legend Art Monk being honored at halftime.
After Washington finally scored in the final minute of the first half, Darnold completed two more long passes. That set up Jason Myers’ field goal on the final play of the first half.
Seattle led 31-7.
It was the second time in five games the Seahawks scored more than 30 points in a first half. They had a 38-6 lead at halftime against New Orleans in week three at Lumen Field, and went on to win 44-13.
Horton sparked that breakaway first half that day in September, too. He had a team-record punt return for a touchdown of 95 yards against the Saints.
2 more defensive starters injured
Sunday night was the first time since the first five plays of the season the Seahawks were whole in the secondary. Devon Witherspoon returned from missing five games with a bruised knee ligament. Nick Emmanwori was back after three games away with a high-ankle sprain.
Emmanwori started at nickel inside. Witherspoon and Josh Jobe started outside at cornerback.
Cornerback Riq Woolen was the odd man out of the starting lineup. He came in four times in the first half in dime sets, as the sixth defensive back.
That was until Jobe got hurt. He got a concussion when Okada ran into him at the end of a tackle in the second quarter. Woolen replaced Jobe as the left cornerback for the rest of the game.
Then, later in the second quarter, Jones tried to shake off pain for the next play before he took a knee. He was helped to the sideline and eventually the Seahawks’ locker room with medical personnel. He did not play in the second half because of a knee injury.
Jones watched the second half from the sideline wearing sweatpants and a team throwback hoodie. From the very edge of the sideline. The defense’s leader was nearly leaping with Riq Woolen to break up a Daniels pass on third down in the third quarter. Jones was hootin’ and hollerin’ and into the game more than any Seahawk as Seattle’s rout raged on. The Seahawks got reminded how good Witherspoon is in Macdonald’s defense. The coach had his two-time Pro Bowl cornerback blitzing. He had him in coverage inside, against tight end Zach Ertz. He had Witherspoon covering outside receivers, including Deebo Samuel.
Witherspoon finished with seven tackles, three denying first downs on third down to end Washington drives, and one hit on Daniels.
Daniels left the game with 7:29 remaining in the fourth quarter when Seattle linebacker Drake Thomas sacked him near the Seahawks goal line. Daniels’ left arm bent awkwardly under his as the quarterback went to the ground.
