For the first time in 315 days, the Seahawks walked off the field on the wrong side of the scoreline.
Seattle’s 33-31 loss on the road to the then-winless Commanders was a jolt, a reminder that talent alone doesn’t protect you in the NFL. The Seahawks made too many mistakes, and against a Washington team that was playing without its starting quarterback, that was enough to turn a game they could have had into a loss they’ll probably spend a while thinking about.
Sam Darnold still gave Seattle every reason to trust him at quarterback. Even with the fourth-quarter pick-six that deepened the hole, he answered back in a hurry, going 5-for-5 for 68 yards and a touchdown in just 66 seconds to pull the Seahawks within 33-31.
He finished 31-of-45 for 379 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions, and he wasn’t sacked. For a player who could barely walk after injuring his glute, he moved better than expected and kept Seattle alive late.
That was enough to end any talk of a Sam Darnold vs Drew Lock debate before it could really start.
What didn’t work, though, was the run game. After piling up 162 rushing yards and a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals, Seattle’s ground attack vanished against Washington.
The Seahawks managed just 44 rushing yards as a team. Rookie Jadarian Price led the way with 15 yards on five carries, but his role shrank after he lost his second fumble in as many weeks.
Emanuel Wilson, who had 92 yards by himself in Week 2, was held to 14 yards on nine carries. The offense got stuck throwing far too much, with Darnold dropping back 45 times while the team ran it only 18.
That’s not the balance Seattle wants, especially when the ground game is supposed to be a strength.
Even with the loss, Jaxon Smith-Njigba kept looking like the best receiver on the field. The reigning Offensive Player of the Year caught 10 of 14 targets for 128 yards and two touchdowns, following up his big game against the Cardinals with another huge performance. He now joins Jerry Rice as the only two players in NFL history to have 120-plus receiving yards and at least one touchdown in each of their team’s first three games to start a season.
Seattle’s defense had a frustrating finish of its own. The Seahawks came in riding a franchise-record streak of 29 straight games without allowing a 100-yard rusher, the longest active streak in the NFL.
That number still stands, but it felt a lot less meaningful after the way the game ended. With Seattle trailing 33-31 and still having 2:51 and three timeouts left after Darnold’s touchdown to Cooper Kupp, the defense needed one stop.
Instead, Washington gashed the Seahawks for a 19-yard run to the outside, then Marcus Mariota finished the job himself on 3rd-and-7 after Seattle had burned through its timeouts. The Commanders were only 1-for-11 on third down before that sequence.
That collapse at the end was brutal.
There was also the decision near the end of the first half that left points on the table. Trailing 14-7, Seattle had a chance to take a chip-shot field goal at the goal line and instead went for it on fourth down and failed.
The Seahawks had already done the same thing at the goal line in Week 2 against the Cardinals and gotten away with it. This time, it hurt them.
In a game that ended 33-31, those three points would have mattered.
In Other News...
Cardinals Offensive Line Is Raising A Bigger Concern Than Fans Expected
Through the first three games, the Cardinals offensive line has been a mixed bag, and the bigger issue has not been keeping the quarterback clean so much as creating anything reliable on the ground. Pro Football Focus early grades point to a unit that has held up better in pass protection than many expected, but the run blocking has lagged enough to become a real concern as the season settles in.
The offseason reshuffling has left Arizona still trying to find the right combination, with the evaluation of players like Isaac Seumalo, Elijah Wilkinson, Hjalte Froholdt, Isaiah Adams, Jon Gaines and Paris Johnson showing how much the group is still being sorted out. For a team that needs the line to be a strength, the early tape suggests the Cardinals are getting just enough in one phase to mask a problem that could grow if the run game does not catch up. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Suddenly Have A Backfield Question Fans Cant Ignore
The Cardinals loss to the 49ers did more than extend a frustrating streak against NFC West foes. It also put a spotlight on Jeremiyah Love, who drew the start at running back and made the most of the opportunity by handling a heavy workload, logging 56 offensive snaps while producing 109 total yards and two touchdowns.
Mike LaFleur left little doubt that the backfield will remain fluid from here. He said playing time will be shared and that Loves role will be sorted out on a week-by-week basis, a setup that keeps Arizonas running game interesting even as the team tries to steady itself after another division setback. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Defense Is Putting Mike LaFleur In A Tough Spot
The Cardinals early-season defensive slide has turned into one of the first real pressure points of Mike LaFleurs tenure. Arizona has spent the opening weeks near the bottom of the league in expected points added per play and yards allowed per play, numbers that have underscored how often the unit is getting pushed around before it can settle in. LaFleur pointed back to coaching when addressing the issue, saying the fix has to start with clearer teaching and cleaner execution.
For a defense built around Nick Rallis scheme, the concern is not just production but whether the group is playing with enough urgency and precision to make the system work. Tackling has been a recurring issue, and the timing of blitzes has not consistently created the kind of disruption the Cardinals need. The bigger question now is whether Arizona can sharpen the fundamentals and become more aggressive without losing structure, because right now the margin for error is looking awfully thin. [Read more 🡒]