Sonny Styles made his presence felt in a big way Sunday, but the Washington Commanders linebacker wasn’t interested in treating it like some finished product.
In just his third NFL game, Styles turned in a stat line that jumped off the page: five tackles, two passes defensed, two forced fumbles, one interception and one quarterback hit. He also delivered one of the game’s sharpest defensive moments, matching Seattle running back Jadarian Price stride for stride down the sideline and knocking away what looked like a potential explosive play.
That performance helped Washington edge the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks 33-31 for the Commanders’ first win. Styles had a direct hand in two Seattle turnovers, and Washington cashed those takeaways in for 14 points. The Commanders don’t walk out of that game with a victory without him.
For Styles, though, the win mattered just as much as the numbers.
“I was glad to get a win,” Styles said. “I hate losing, like you said, didn’t really have too much in college.
But, you know, it’s the NFL; it’s a hard league. Every week, the teams are really good.
Even teams when you get deep in the season that have really bad records, they’re still a good team, so you’ve got to earn each and every win.”
Styles has also been trusted with the green dot for the second straight game with Frankie Luvu out, a sign of how much faith Washington has already placed in him. For a player this early in his career, he carried himself like someone who’s been running the defense for years.
And if the breakout outing had anyone thinking he’d be content, Styles quickly shut that down.
“I think there’s still more plays to be made,” he said. “I don’t think I’m anywhere near like where I want to be, so the emphasis for me is to just keep getting better each and every week.
I think you gotta be real with yourself, hard on yourself, but at the same time, like you said, third week playing in the NFL, so you gotta give yourself some grace too. But you know, I’m always looking to get better.”
That kind of mindset is exactly what Washington GM Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn want to see. Styles isn’t just making splash plays; he’s showing the kind of competitive edge that pushes everyone around him.
The Commanders may have found a rare defensive weapon in Styles, the kind of freakish athlete who can change a game on any snap.
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