Winners and losers in Seattle Seahawks’ disappointing loss to Washington Commanders

Well, the Seattle Seahawks weren’t going to win every game. They were also inevitably going to lose to a bad team, and to suggest that Mike Macdonald would be immune to that would seem like arrogance. Nearly every contending team, including teams coached by all-time greats over the years, manages to throw a clunker at least once per season. We accept this in all other sports except football.

That said, I didn’t think they would lose this game to the Washington Commanders. It was a deceptive 33-31 shootout loss considering the number of short drives the Commanders scored, but it’s still a loss that’s about as disappointing as any I remember from the Mike Macdonald era.

Alright, it’s been a minute since we had to do a negative column on winners and losers. I need to dust off the cobwebs for this one!

Jaxon Smith-Njigba is a dual threat

So much for JSN who finished throwing passes. He’s 1/1 for 14 yards this season after the double pass to George Holani.

But the main thing he paid for? He’s still good at it. 10 more catches for 128 yards and a few touchdowns. There have been a few false starts and a drop off from JSN, but he’s producing at such a comically high level that those negative moments are just a blip on the radar. Of all the players he could compete against for OPOY, it could be…Kenneth Walker? I’m just saying.

Tory Horton and Cooper Kupp come to life

The Seahawks got their non-JSN targets involved a lot more than in the previous two weeks. Horton had three catches for 48 yards and Kupp had four catches for 46 and a touchdown. Seattle needs to have a passing attack that doesn’t live and die on JSN’s production, and while the Commanders’ pass defense isn’t very good, it was very welcome to see.

Brian Fleury releases AJ Barner as pass catcher

Do the Seahawks have a screen game now? AJ Barner had five catches for 69 yards and had his best game of the young season. Brian Fleury heavily involved his primary tight end and it worked. Elijah Arroyo’s continued non-involvement is a bit embarrassing.

Sam Darnold’s pick 6 was expensive, but he still played a great game

I can’t justify or defend the pick six thrown by Darnold. Bad reading, bad decision, a real headache. But on a day when he returned from injury and didn’t have a running game to support him, he carried the brunt of the offense. He finished 31/45 for 379 yards and four touchdowns, albeit with an additional interception on a rushing drill. Darnold skillfully avoided pressure and wasn’t sacked, making excellent throws throughout the afternoon.

Even recognizing the picks, his performance provided some relief in terms of mobility and what the passing offense could look like for the rest of the season.

Welcome back to the end zone, Eric Saubert!

Saubert’s previous trip to the end zone as a Seahawk was the most important two-point conversion in franchise history. His first real touchdown as a Seahawk is, so far, a receiving touchdown. I wonder if there will be a statistical correction coming if he fumbled before crossing the plane. It might be “another” touchdown in the form of a rare offensive fumble recovery, but we’ll see.

Leonard Williams is still dominant

He had one of Seattle’s two sacks, three tackles for loss and three QB hits. Big Cat hasn’t missed a beat as 2026 approaches.

Jason Myers’ kicking struggles are behind him

Making a 57 yarder in wet conditions is a big milestone. He has yet to miss a kick this regular season.

Jadarian Price’s ball security is a real concern

Two weeks in a row with a lost fumble. He didn’t carry a huge number of carries at Notre Dame, but the question marks over ball security were raised at the time. I have no problem with his bench; he’s a rookie and you hope he improves and learns some lessons. The cost is any sort of speed and elusiveness in the Seattle backfield. If he can’t figure that out, he won’t have a heavy workload anytime soon.

Rashid Shaheed’s contract looks fragile

I gave it another week, there’s still plenty of time left in the season, but Shaheed finished another game without a big return and he only had two catches for 14 yards. He just hasn’t performed well enough in this offense to start the year, and that seems most glaring when Tory Horton immediately outplays him when he gets extended snaps for the first time this season. At $17 million per year, that’s not the productivity Seattle should be achieving. One wonders if Horton having a healthy 2025 would have influenced Shaheed’s decision.

Botched sanctions don’t stop

The Seahawks accepted eight penalties against them, including several pre-snap penalties on Jaxon Smith-Njigba and a false start on AJ Barner. There are some real procedural issues hurting them on offense, and they’ve been undisciplined and a bit disorganized early this season.

The run blocking, as a whole, was terrible

Perhaps the Seahawks are missing Anthony Bradford? I don’t know yet, because the Commanders’ D-run has actually been good for two straight games and the Seahawks beat the Arizona Cardinals last week without Bradford. But they struggle in short yards in the low red zone and don’t reset the line of scrimmage in their favor. I’ve been saying this for two weeks straight, but I’m concerned about Abe Lucas’ ability to anchor and move laterally. The worst runs seem to happen on the right side of the field. Emanuel Wilson and George Holani offered nothing more than Price on the field, and Wilson’s plodding style is most exposed when he can’t immediately go north-south.

A total of 39 yards on 17 carries from the ball carriers. That won’t be enough.

AJ Finley’s first start will likely be his last

It’s hard to ask to be thrust into the starting lineup after a midweek calf injury for Julian Love. It’s a good reminder that not all preseason stars translate to regular season action. Finley was picked off for the entire game and was spared bigger plays against him thanks to an illegal formation penalty resulting in a 48-yard touchdown, as well as a rush review erasing a long catch by Dyami Brown. The penalty he received for roughness was completely unnecessary, so I have to defend him there. But he was brutal and Seattle needs one of Love or Ty Okada next week. At a minimum, D’Anthony Bell should be elevated next week.

Edge rushers don’t go home

Derick Hall recorded a sack but went unnoticed while going after Mariota. DeMarcus Lawrence had at least three QB hits, but it was otherwise a game in which neither Uchenna Nwosu nor Dante Fowler Jr made much of an impact. Leonard Williams was his usual excellent self, but Seattle needs more from its edges and not just the interior.

Michael Dickson may have had one of his worst matches ever

Dickson had a touchdown (his first of the season) on his first punt. His last three punts traveled 44, 38 and 40 yards while in his own half. It was a windy day, but it did nothing to overturn the field, and that’s part of why the Seahawks continued to provide the Commanders with favorable field position.

For what it’s worth, Seattle’s kick coverage has not impressed throughout the season and seems to default to giving the ball to returners at 30 or better. This is why the defense was deceptively worse than it actually was (258 yards allowed, 3/13 on third down, four yards per play).

Seattle’s special teams losses to free agency and injuries are felt here.