The Seattle Seahawks kicked off to the Washington Commanders to begin Sunday Night Football, then proceeded to kick their asses for 60 minutes.
It was a masterclass we’ve seldom seen from the Seahawks in
recent years, but it is reminiscent of the contending teams that won playoff games. Sam Darnold had an all-time great first half, going 16/16 for 282 yards and four touchdowns as the Seahawks raced out to a 28-0 lead. It was so comically easy to the point where it looked like the Commanders were showing little resistance on a night in which they were honoring their 1980s Super Bowl teams, as well as retiring the legendary Art Monk’s jersey number. The final score was but the outcome was decided so early that Commanders fans were heading to the exits well before the fourth quarter.
Cooper Kupp’s absence provided Tory Horton with a big opportunity to step up, and boy he stepped up. The fifth-round rookie caught a couple of touchdowns, while rookie Elijah Arroyo and practice squad elevation Cody White caught their respective first NFL scores. Jaxon Smith-Njigba still had eight catches and 129 yards, but no touchdown on this occasion because his teammates did the work. For good measure, while the Seahawks rushing attack didn’t wow on a per-down basis, we got a rushing TD from A.J. Barner on a sneak.
Seattle remains in first place in the NFC West and tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (who crucially hold the head-to-head tiebreaker) and Philadelphia Eagles (who have the conference record tiebreaker as of Week 9) for the best record in the conference.
We cannot go through this recap without acknowledging the serious arm injury suffered by Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels, who was tackled by linebacker Drake Thomas and immediately needed a cast, which tells you all you need to know. Why Daniels was still in the game in the fourth quarter of a 38-14 blowout is something only Dan Quinn has the answer to. We wish the best for Daniels, a supremely talented player whose injury-riddled 2025 is surely over.
Seattle also had its own injuries in the form of Josh Jobe (concussion) and Ernest Jones IV (knee). The Jones injury could be a huge deal for Seattle’s linebacker group, although it seemed like Jones was in good spirits while wearing sweats and watching the game from the sidelines.
Game recap
Washington received the ball on the opening drive and picked up one first down before punting away. A rare blindside block penalty derailed Washington’s drive. If only they had Sam Darnold and the Seahawks offense, who overcame a 1st and 25 after a debatable Robbie Ouzts chop block penalty and marched 90 yards for a beautiful opening drive touchdown. Sam Darnold was 6/6 for 67 yards and a touchdown to Tory Horton, stepping up in place of the injured Cooper Kupp.
The next Commanders possession was promising and worked into Seahawks territory, but a would-be conversion on third down was nullified by a Chris Paul face mask penalty on Ernest Jones IV. That set up 3rd and 17 back in Washington’s territory, and Jayden Daniels heaved a pressured throw into Ty Okada’s path. A remarkable interception befitting of a wide receiver, not the backup safety!
Seattle took advantage beautifully. Tory Horton’s big night continued on a third down deep ball from Sam Darnold (whom at this point, was a perfect 9/9) for a second touchdown. Mikey Sainristil left the field with third-degree burns.
From bad to worse for Washington, but great to amazing for Seattle! Rookie returner Jaylin Lane had the ball jarred free by big Brandon Pili. Connor O’Toole recovered the ball for Seattle’s first forced and recovered fumble all year.
Next play? Touchdown from Sam Darnold to another rookie in Elijah Arroyo. IS THIS REAL LIFE?
Another punt by the Commanders meant more time for the Seahawks offense to wreck shop. Sam Darnold threw his fourth TD, this time for 60 yards to… CODY WHITE?! Yes, called up from the practice squad, and he has his first NFL touchdown at long last!
Jayden Daniels engineered Washington’s first touchdown drive of the night, capping things off with a one-yard touchdown run. However, he left too much time on the clock for Sam Darnold, who dissected Washington’s porous defense and easily drove the team into field goal range. Jason Myers tacked on a field goal to make it 31-7 Seahawks at the half.
The scoring onslaught slowed in the second half, with Darnold even getting picked off on a bad throw across his body behind Cody White. Thankfully, the defense was up to the task and stymied Daniels and company. Leonard Williams made a ridiculous 4th and long play to prevent Daniels from scrambling for a first down. He’s a big man with a big motor and opposing offenses can’t do a damn thing about it.
The Seahawks closed out their scoring with a one-yard sneak by A.J. Barner after Darnold led another terrific drive. He improvised a falling flip to Zach Charbonnet for 21 yards and converted a key third down to JSN. It was all too easy.
For whatever reason, the Commanders kept Jayden Daniels in the game even after Seattle pulled its defensive starters. There’s no need to show the replay of the second-year quarterback’s gruesome injury. Drake Thomas made a legal tackle to stop Daniels from scoring, and unfortunately a terrible outcome happened. Chris Rodriguez scored on the next play in the most afterthought touchdown possible.
Drew Lock and company got some garbage time snaps to wrap things up. They went three-and-out, the Commanders came in and ran a series of handoffs to end a truly disastrous night for them. It was a wonderful night for the Seahawks, whose fans emanated the “SEA-HAWKS” chant at Northwest Stadium as the clock wound down to 0:00.
Seahawks injury report
Linebacker Ernest Jones IV was ruled out with a knee injury suffered late in the second quarter. He was replaced by Tyrice Knight, while Drake Thomas moved to middle linebacker.
Cornerback Josh Jobe was ruled out with a concussion after getting whacked by Ty Okada in a case of friendly fire in the first quarter. Riq Woolen replaced him in the lineup after sparingly playing in the early stages of the game.
Next week’s opponent
The Seahawks return home for a Sunday, Nov. 9 showdown with the Arizona Cardinals (2-5). Kickoff is 1:05 pm PT on CBS live from Lumen Field.
