Field Gulls
The Seattle Seahawks (6-2) kicked off to the Washington Commanders (3-6) 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.
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...
