The Seattle Seahawks entered Week 3 undefeated. They leave Washington with their first loss after one of the wildest finishes of the young NFL season.
Washington defeated Seattle 33–31 despite being outgained by nearly 200 yards, taking advantage of three Seahawks turnovers and getting three touchdown passes from Marcus Mariota.
Sam Darnold nearly completed an incredible fourth-quarter comeback, but a costly pick-six ultimately proved to be the difference.
First Quarter: Washington Strikes First
With Jayden Daniels unavailable, Marcus Mariota got the start for Washington and helped the Commanders grab the early advantage.
Mariota found Rachaad White for a six-yard touchdown to give Washington a 7–0 lead.
Seattle’s offense couldn’t answer in the opening quarter, leaving the Seahawks chasing the game early.
Second Quarter: Seattle Responds
Seattle finally got rolling early in the second.
Darnold moved the Seahawks into the red zone before turning to his top receiver.
Darnold connected with Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a one-yard touchdown, tying the game at 7–7.
Washington answered.
Mariota found Treylon Burks for an 11-yard touchdown to put the Commanders back ahead 14–7.
The teams then traded huge field goals before halftime.
Jason Myers drilled one from 57 yards to cut Washington’s lead to four, only for Drew Stevens to answer with a 57-yarder of his own with three seconds remaining.
Washington entered halftime leading 17–10.
Third Quarter: Commanders Keep Seattle at Arm’s Length
Washington opened the second half with another explosive scoring play.
Mariota connected with Terry McLaurin for a 30-yard touchdown, extending the Commanders’ lead to 24–10.
Seattle refused to disappear.
Darnold found Eric Saubert for a 13-yard touchdown to bring the Seahawks back within seven at 24–17.
That set up a fourth quarter in which everything went crazy.
Fourth Quarter: Absolute Chaos
Seattle completed its comeback early in the fourth.
Darnold connected with JSN for an 11-yard touchdown — Smith-Njigba’s second score of the afternoon — to tie the game at 24–24.
Washington responded with a 36-yard Drew Stevens field goal to regain the lead, 27–24.
Then came the play that changed everything.
With Seattle possessing the football and a chance to take control, Darnold threw an interception to linebacker Kain Medrano.
Medrano took it all the way back for a pick-six, suddenly giving Washington a 33–24 lead with just over four minutes remaining.
It looked devastating.
Darnold responded immediately.
Seattle came right back with three straight completions as Darnold attacked Washington through the air, refusing to let the interception end the game.
He capped the drive by finding Cooper Kupp for a seven-yard touchdown, cutting Washington’s advantage to 33–31 with 2:55 remaining.
From a pick-six to a two-point game in barely more than a minute.
Seattle just needed one more possession.
It never came.
Rachaad White broke a huge 19-yard run on Washington’s next possession, and Mariota later scrambled for nine more as the Commanders picked up the yards they needed to drain the remaining clock.
Washington kneeled it out.
Ballgame.
Final Thoughts
Seattle will look at this game and wonder how it got away.
The Seahawks produced 437 total yards compared to Washington’s 257 and averaged 6.8 yards per play. Darnold threw for 379 yards and four touchdowns, while JSN continued his tremendous start to the season with 10 catches for 128 yards and two touchdowns.
But Seattle turned the football over three times.
Washington didn’t turn it over once.
That was the difference.
Mariota wasn’t spectacular statistically, finishing with 183 passing yards, but he threw three touchdowns without an interception and consistently capitalized when Washington was given opportunities.
For Seattle, Darnold’s late response after the pick-six deserves credit. He could have folded after making the biggest mistake of the afternoon. Instead, he immediately marched the Seahawks back down the field and made it a two-point game.
But the damage had already been done.
Washington gets its first victory of the season, while the defending champions suffer their first loss.
Final score: Commanders 33, Seahawks 31.
Washington improves to 1–2. Seattle falls to 2–1.
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