> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Rapid Reaction: Byron Murphy II, Seahawks Eek Out 20-12 Road Win in Jacksonville
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/rapid-reaction-byron-murphy-ii-seattle-seahawks-eek-out-20-12-road-win-in-jacksonville/
- Published: 2025-10-12T20:53:52.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T05:57:48.000Z
- Author: Corbin Smith
- Tags: Analysis, Game Day, Seahawks, Byron Murphy II, Demarcus Lawrence, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, AJ Barner, Josh Jobe, Coby Bryant, Drake Thomas, Leonard Williams, Ken Walker III, Zach Charbonnet

Racking up seven sacks on quarterback Trevor Lawrence and forcing eight punts, the Seattle Seahawks used a stingy effort from their front seven on defense and a pair of Sam Darnold touchdown passes to turn away the Jacksonville Jaguars for a bounce-back 20-12 road victory.

Despite the Seahawks finishing with only one third down conversion on 12 opportunities and punting seven times themselves, Darnold turned in another solid outing with 295 passing yards and a 61-yard bomb to Jaxon Smith-Nijgba, who finished with a game-high 162 receiving yards to establish a new team record for yardage through six games. Defensive tackle Byron Murphy II and defensive end Demarcus Lawrence paced a vicious pass rush with two sacks apiece, while Uchenna Nwosu added 1.5 and four quarterback hits.

Back in the win column and keeping pace in the NFC West, here are five takeaways from Seattle’s latest road win under Mike Macdonald:

**1\. Darnold, Smith-Njigba carry Seattle’s offense on a feast or famine type of afternoon.**

On a day where neither offense could consistently find much traction, the Seahawks went three-and-out on three of their first five possessions and had six possessions of four or fewer plays that ended in punts. From that perspective, it was an afternoon to forget for offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. But fortunately, sandwiched between all of those short possessions, Darnold and Smith-Njigba continued to show why they belong among the NFL’s best quarterback/receiver duos, carving up the Jaguars with several explosive chunk plays through the air. After opening with two three-and-done drives, Darnold linked up with his favorite target along the sideline for an 18-yard pickup and then hit him in stride wide open over the middle for a 32-yard gain to set up a short Jason Myers field goal.

On the ensuing possession, following a three-and-out by Seattle’s defense, Darnold struck quickly to put his team in front for the first time. Coming off a play fake, he launched a perfectly thrown deep ball from the pocket as if it came out of a JUGS machine and hit Smith-Nijgba right on the hands in stride after the receiver had smoked cornerback Greg Newsome for a 61-yard scoring toss. At that point, Smith-Njigba already had 117 receiving yards, and he added a 13-yard catch on the opening drive of the third quarter to jumpstart another touchdown possession where Cooper Kupp found the end zone to extend the lead to 20-6\. By the end of regulation, he had finished with half of Seattle’s 16 catches for 162 yards and an impressive 20.3 yards per reception, continuing to build an All-Pro resume.

**2\. Pass protection (mostly) remains sharp, but run blocking didn’t travel to Jacksonville.**

Away from Darnold and Smith-Njigba’s theatrics and a decisive 61-yard catch and run by tight end AJ Barner late in the fourth quarter, however, the Seahawks steered an offensive ship without a sail or a rudder for most of the afternoon. Part of the problem lied in a regression from the run game, which didn’t stay hot after averaging over 130 rushing yards per contest in the past two games. Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet had little to work with for most of the 60 minutes of play, as the Jaguars regularly created penetration off the snap to blow up plays before they could even get started and set a firm edge to take away any running room on the perimeter as well. Between the two runners, they amassed eight carries netting zero or negative yardage, a clear cut sign of a dysfunctional rushing attack as the team averaged a dismal 2.3 yards per carry behind a line that struggled to create much push.

On the flip side, though Jacksonville did get home for a sack and a couple of quarterback hits on Darnold in the fourth quarter bringing extra defenders on the blitz, Seattle’s offensive line did a fine job of protecting the signal caller for most of the afternoon. The Jaguars only got to Darnold for a total of four hits the entire game on 29 drop backs, including none by standout edge rusher Josh Hines-Allen. A couple of poorly protected third downs late in regulation involved missed blitz pickups by running backs and simply having more rushers coming than the front line could block, so overall, it was another positive step forward in that regard even if the offense as a whole spent much of the day struggling to move the chains.

**3\. A banner week for Big Cat, Byron Murphy, and a feisty defensive line harassing Trevor Lawrence.**

As pointed out by Macdonald after Friday’s practice, Williams and the rest of his defensive line cohorts had an off day against Tampa Bay last week, as the unit produced a grand total of one quarterback hit on Baker Mayfield. But the return of Demarcus Lawrence, who sat out last Sunday’s game with a quad injury, rejuvenated the unit and they wasted no time making life miserable for Trevor Lawrence. On the first play from scrimmage, Murphy chased the quarterback down from behind as he tried to scramble and tripped him up for a two-yard sack, leading to the first of what felt like a million Jacksonville punts. In the second quarter, Williams and Nwosu collapsed on the pocket at the same time for a critical third down sack to force another punt, and the Seahawks had three sacks by the half.

Lawrence’s nightmare continued after intermission, as Murphy teamed up with Nwosu and Lawrence on back-to-back rushes for split sacks on Jacksonville’s first possession of the half, leading to another punt. Linebacker Drake Thomas got into the act coming on the blitz on the next series and by the fourth quarter, Demarcus Lawrence and company went into full pin back their ears mode, as the veteran rusher joined Nwosu for a late split-sack that - you guessed it - produced another Jaguars punt. The home team had only allowed Lawrence to be sacked six times total in the first five games, but by the time Darnold kneeled out the clock, the Seahawks had gotten to him seven times with a whopping 17 quarterback hits in a punishing performance.

**4\. Botched coverage assignments proved to be best offense for Jaguars to keep game tight.**

In five of their six first half possessions, not including a late kneel, the Jaguars punted four times and also failed to score on a promising drive late in the second quarter when kicker Cam Little slid a 50-yard field goal wide right. They ended the afternoon with four three-and-outs and a dismal 25 percent third down conversion rate of their own. But in between that dominant stretch for the Seahawks’ defense, a secondary missing starters Devon Witherspoon, Riq Woolen, and Julian Love endured more coverage-related breakdowns after giving up 38 points last week that led to an ugly touchdown drive allowed to the opposition. On two different occasions on Jacksonville’s third possession, Seattle had the home team backed up facing 3rd and 11 and 3rd and 15 situations, only to give up explosive plays to extend the drive.

On the first play, Lawrence side-stepped a couple of rushers, including Nwosu, who had jumped offsides, and dumped a pass off to tight end Johnny Mundt for a 14-yard gain to convert on 3rd and 11\. Only a few plays later, receiver Brian Thomas came wide open along the left sideline with cornerback Josh Jobe and safety Coby Bryant appearing to not be on the same page with coverage assignments for a 19-yard catch. To end the drive, Lawrence pump faked to a bubble screen and both Derion Kendrick and Shaquill Griffin bit on the fake, allowing Thomas to leak out wide open for a 21-yard touchdown to put the Jaguars in front on yet another breakdown. Fast forwarding to the fourth quarter, the quarterback benefited from Jobe mistiming his jump to play the ball in coverage as he linked up with Tim Patrick for a 26-yard touchdown on 2nd and 10 to cut the lead to eight. In other words, all 12 points allowed shouldn’t have happened, which will eat at Macdonald in film study on Monday.

**5\. Special teams execution works in Seattle’s favor again as third phase helps seal a road win.**

Winning games in the NFL isn’t easy, but getting the job done on special teams typically improves a team’s chances, especially on the road. As has been the case in most of Seattle’s games so far this season, coordinator Jay Harbaugh’s squad proved to be the superior one in Jacksonville by simply executing. Little, who normally is quite reliable as Jacksonville’s place kicker, shanked an extra point after Thomas’ first quarter touchdown, keeping the score at 6-0\. He later missed a 50-yard field goal that sailed wide right of the uprights, drawing groans from the hometown crowd. Moments later, Myers split the uprights from 53 yards out to finish off a six-point swing, which ended up being crucial in a one-score contest.

Even in the battle of the punters, Dickson wound up being a hair better than his counterpart, averaging north of 50 yards per attempt while pinning Jacksonville inside the 20-yard line three times. In a tight game, field position matters a great deal, and he was able to pin the Jaguars deep in their own territory several times that set up Seattle’s defense for success.