What a joy this was to experience.
Clearly the Commanders are banged up and reeling. They’ve lost several key players to injury and they’re an ageing team at a lot of key positions.
Even so, Jayden Daniels was back at quarterback and there was a job to be done. I said on the Seahawks Collective this week it’d be a big disappointment to lose this game given the state of Washington’s roster. They didn’t just avoid losing, they absolutely hammered the Commanders.
Sam Darnold’s flawless first-half performance was masterful. He skilfully went through his progressions, showed off his physical talent and looked like a top level quarterback. My favourite two plays were the big third down conversion just before Cody White’s long catch-and-run for a score, and the first touchdown to Tory Horton — where he had to re-set his feet, throw while leaning back and still generate a ton of velocity and accuracy in the red-zone.
His connection to Jaxon Smith-Njigba continues to thrill and even without Cooper Kupp, the passing offense was electric.
Defensively the Seahawks played their brand of football. They’re working together — every level of the defense — to smother opponents. Ty Okada’s amazing interception was a big ‘wow’ moment, as was Leonard Williams chasing down Daniels to force a turover on downs. The unit is still missing key players but they look extremely good — working perfectly with the offense.
Ernest Jones’ injury is a concern. Luckily there’s still time to act if it’s anything serious. Acquiring a linebacker may be necessary — but there’d be competition, least of all from the 49ers. Hopefully Jones sat out as a precaution with the game well in hand.
This team could easily be 7-0. They chucked away the Tampa Bay game and, to a lesser extent, the 49ers game. This is the perfect time to strike before the trade deadline, as Jay Glazer reported they are trying to do. It’s not a good looking 2026 draft. They are right in the mix. Are there a couple of moves to be made?
If they can add before Tuesday, they’ll be in a strong position on today’s evidence. Beating this Washington team isn’t akin to winning in Kansas City, Buffalo or even LA or San Francisco. Yet it’ll be seen as sufficiently impressive to get everyone talking about the Seahawks tomorrow as a contender. That sounds good to me.
