Commanders Upset Seahawks

The Washington Commanders upset the Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks 33-31, ending their 12-game winning streak much to the delight of the 64,027 rain-soaked fans at Northwest Stadium.

Washington was led by veteran backup quarterback Marcus Mariota stepping in for Jayden Daniels who is sidelined with a dislocated elbow.

The team rallied around him and handed the Seahawks their first loss since last November.

Mariota played well against Seattle’s elite passing defense finishing 19-31 for 183 yards and three touchdowns and a nice 110.0 rating. But his best move was the brilliantly called third down quarterback keeper around right end with 1:36 to play that moved the chains and clinched the victory for the Commanders now (1-2).

Rushing yards were hard to come by for both teams. The Commanders were led by running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt who finished with a gritty 36 yards on 19 carries. Rachaad White added 35 yards on eight carries.

Mariota completed passes to nine different receivers, but his favorite target was captain and veteran wide receiver Terry McLaurin who caught six passes for 77 yards and one touchdown on a play where he streaked down the left side of the field and turned around at just the right time to catch the ball and land into the endzone.

Wide receiver Stefon Diggs finished with four catches for 33 yards.

The Commander’s defense was a force causing three turnovers and the first quarter fumble recovery by rookie linebacker Sonny Styles led to Washington’s first touchdown.

Set up at Seattle’s 21-yard line Mariota engineered a five-play scoring drive concluding with a 6-yard scoring pass to White and the score now 7-0 with 9:14 to go in the first quarter.

After the teams traded punts, Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold led his team on a 90-yard 12 play drive finishing with a 1-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba making the score 7-7 with 13:31 to go in the second quarter.

Smith-Njigba was a problem for the Commander’s defense all game long.

The teams again traded punts before Mariota led his team on a 10-play scoring drive ending with and 11-yard scoring strike to wide receiver Treylon Burks making the score 14-7 with 6:51 to go in the second quarter.

On Seattle’s next drive they appeared ready to tie the game, but safety Jeremy Reaves broke up a fourth-and-goal pass play keeping the Commanders lead safe.

The Seahawks did add a field goal before the half and Washington answered back with their own field goal making the score 17-10 at the break.

In the third quarter Styles struck again when a pass hit a lineman’s helmet and bounced into the air and into his waiting arms setting up the Mariota 30-yard touchdown pass to McLaurin making the score 24-10 with 10:50 to go in the third quarter.

Darnold responded with a 10-play 60-yard drive and his scoring strike made the score 24-17 with 6:05 to go in the third quarter.

He later added another touchdown pass to Smith-Njigba making the score 24-24 with 11:57 to go in the fourth quarter.

After a Commanders 37-yard field goal gave them a 27-24 lead the Washington showed up again.

Linebacker Kain Medrano jumped a short Seattle pass route and showed off his wide receiver moves with his 50-yard interception return for a touchdown making the score 33-24 with 4:09 to go in the game and the home crowd went wild.

Seattle, their winning streak in jeopardy, scored again with a Darnold 7-yard pass to wide receiver Cooper Kupp making the score 33-31and setting up the exciting finish.

The Washington defense really “Raised Hail” (a favorite team slogan) with that goal line stand and game-changing turnovers while holding Seattle to 44 yards rushing for the game.

The first-round draft pick from Ohio State, Styles played with takeaway style and was the leader with one forced fumble, an interception and four tackles.

Medrano was also big finishing with three tackles and a 50-yard pick-six.

Seattle led with 432 total yards to 258 for Washington. They also had 379 passing yards to 183 for Washington, so the three Seahawk turnovers were the difference in the game.

Darnold finished 31-45 for 379 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. Running back Jadarian Price led them in rushing with 15 yards on five carries and Smith-Njigba caught 10 passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns in a losing effort for the (2-1) Seahawks.