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Game Recap
Darnold Threw for 379, and the Streak Died on the One Throw He Wants Back
Seattle’s 12-game winning streak ended Sunday in Landover, 33-31 to Washington, and it ended on a throw Sam Darnold already wants back. Down 27-24 with under four minutes left, he rolled out, the edge held, and backup linebacker Kain Medrano returned his pass 50 yards for a touchdown with 3:57 to play. Medrano was only out there because Leo Chenal had been carted off with a neck injury. Football is cruel. It is especially cruel in the rain.
Everything else is what makes it maddening. In his first full game since the opener, Darnold threw for a career-high 379 yards and four touchdowns without taking a sack. Seattle outgained Washington 437-258 and had 28 first downs to 17. Marcus Mariota, the backup, threw for 183 yards. Seattle lost a game it outgained by 179 yards, which is the football version of paying for the whole house and leaving your keys in the door.
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Seattle’s turnover margin Sunday. It outgained Washington by 179 yards and still lost.
The first interception bounced off a defensive lineman’s helmet, so fine, the universe owed somebody. The second one Darnold owned himself: he said he “should have dirted it at his feet” and that it was “a ball I got to throw away.” No excuses, no glute talk. I respect it. I also yelled the same thing at my television.
Mike Macdonald didn’t let the defense off either, saying of Mariota’s day that “we need to find more ways to be aggressive.” Playing without Julian Love and Ty Okada, Seattle kept handing Washington short fields and paid for it. Macdonald’s closing message was “go through, not around,” which sounds like a man who has already cued up the film.
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The first interception bounced off a defensive lineman’s helmet, so fine, the universe owed somebody.
Am I worried? Not really. This one looks like the clunker every contender coughs up once. The Chargers are at Lumen on Sunday. Fix the ball security and move on.
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Backfield
Jadarian Price Put It on the Ground Again and Watched the Rest of the Half
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That’s two fumbles in three games, both lost. For contrast, Zach Charbonnet has never fumbled in 522 touches as a Seahawk. Price said the coaches told him his name would be called again and that he had to “flush the past,” which is healthy, and also something you’d rather not need to say in September.
Without him the run game went nowhere. Seattle finished with 44 yards on 18 carries, one week after putting up 162 on Arizona. All four touchdowns came through the air, so the backfield is still waiting on its first rushing score of the year.
44
Seattle’s rushing yards on 18 carries at Washington, a week after running for 162 against Arizona.
Charbonnet’s PUP minimum runs through the Chargers game. Last week this backfield had everything except a touchdown. Now it’s missing the ball too.
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AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
Nick Emmanwori left in the second quarter with a hamstring injury and later returned. It was his second game back from ankle surgery, and his body found something new to complain about. With Love and Okada already out, the safety room would like everyone to stop touching things. Seahawks.com
Seattle had Washington stopped on third down with the game tied 24-24 until AJ Finley, in his first NFL start, drew a personal foul for a helmet hit. Washington kicked a field goal. Field Gulls’ read: the receiver lowered his head into Finley. Somehow that’s on the safety. Field Gulls
Ernest Jones IV ran down Marcus Mariota in the red zone for a possible touchdown-saving tackle, and Washington settled for three. Four points saved in a two-point loss. Arithmetic has no sense of fairness. Field Gulls
Next up: the Chargers at Lumen Field on Sunday at 1:25 p.m., their first trip to Seattle since the 2018 season. They get a Seattle team that just spent Monday watching itself turn it over three times. I wouldn’t want to be first through that door. Chargers.com
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
Remember the Rams’ trip to Denver, billed as a possible Super Bowl preview? Los Angeles led 16-0 at halftime and lost 30-26. Talanoa Hufanga took a Matthew Stafford pass back for a pick-six, and Stafford closed the night by throwing an interception on the final play with the win still on the table. A preview is supposed to show you the good parts. This one ran the whole second half.
NINERS
San Francisco handed out 80,000 George Kittle bobbleheads Sunday, and Kittle scored twice in the fourth quarter to keep the 49ers unbeaten. Lovely. The defense, meanwhile, spent the afternoon facing 81 offensive plays from Jacoby Brissett’s Cardinals. The fans went home with a tiny Kittle. The defense went home needing an ice bath the size of Levi’s Stadium. See you at Lumen on October 11.
CARDINALS
Arizona lost 36-30 in Santa Clara, and the team’s own recap noted the offense looked much better “once the Cardinals stopped drawing yellow flags.” Jacoby Brissett summed it up: “You can’t beat yourself and beat them.” They tried both anyway. The last chance died when San Francisco recovered the onside kick. Arizona is 1-2 and learning, slowly, that both halves count.
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
In the 1997 draft, Seattle traded up to take Walter Jones at No. 6 and, three picks earlier, this Ohio State cornerback, who made the Pro Bowl in his second season. Who is he?
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Shawn Springs. The son of former Cowboys running back Ron Springs, he gave Seattle two top-six picks in one first round, and one of them turned into a Hall of Famer.
THE GOLDEN EGG
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The quarterback changed and JSN didn’t notice. With Darnold back in the lineup he caught 10 of 14 targets for 128 yards and two touchdowns, a 1-yarder and an 11-yarder, making it three straight games over 120 yards. He’s at 27 catches, 405 yards and six touchdowns through three weeks.
He also threw a pass. In the fourth quarter, on a double pass, JSN hit George Holani for 14 yards on his only attempt, which means he now has a better completion percentage than anyone in the building. Seattle lost the game. It didn’t lose because of him. The Golden Egg goes to the guy who gave Washington a problem it never solved.
128
Receiving Yards
2
Touchdowns
1/1
Passing, 14 Yards
Got a Question After That One?
Mad about the Finley flag? Want to know if Price keeps the job? Send it in. The Rooster answers the best ones, with more patience than he had on Sunday.
One loss. The Chargers are next. Hold on to the ball. — The Rooster