Unsung Heroes Thrive as Seahawks Throttle Commanders in Primetime Thrashing
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Seattle Seahawks safety Ty Okada (39) celebrates intercepting a pass during the second quarter against the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium. Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images [/caption]
LANDOVER, Md. - Completing 16 consecutive passes and throwing four touchdowns amid a historic first half performance, veteran quarterback Sam Darnold undoubtedly played the starring role for the Seattle Seahawks as they easily disposed of the Washington Commanders in a 38-14 win at Northwest Stadium.
After incinerating Washington’s secondary with 282 yards before halftime, teammates and coaches alike couldn’t have been more wowed by Darnold’s performance. Coach Mike Macdonald characterized his display of impeccable accuracy and precision as “ridiculous,” while receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who continued his own historic tear with a fourth straight game totaling 100-plus receiving yards, lauded him for his remarkable preparation and execution running the entire offense.
But for as phenomenal as Darnold played on the national stage on Sunday night, Seattle’s 24-point drubbing wasn’t just about the quarterback putting the rest of the NFL on notice with his hot hand from in and out of the pocket. As Macdonald noted immediately after the game, with players later echoing his sentiments, the blowout victory showcased the team’s impressive depth at a number of key positions on both sides of the football in their most complete all-around showing of the season to this point.
“Man, just really proud of our team, our approach the whole week coming out of the bye,” Macdonald said. “We got guys banged up, even guys throughout the game, but this is the stuff we preach on how we train our guys and we’re really bringing the ready squad and the 70 (man roster) to life here. That’s probably what I’m most proud of, the guys stepping in, upholding the standard, the mentality of the team when we get leads to try to finish the right way.”
Even coming out of a bye week, the Seahawks were far from the healthiest team rolling into Sunday’s matchup. On Saturday, the team placed safety Julian Love on injured reserve after re-aggravating a hamstring injury, while receivers Cooper Kupp, Jake Bobo, and Dareke Young all sat out with injuries of their own. During the midst of the game, Ernest Jones IV and Josh Jobe left with a knee injury and concussion respectively in the first half, further depleting the defense.
But while many teams gladly spout “Next Man Up” when it comes to replacing injured players, this Seattle squad lives and breathes that mantra. As Darnold torched Washington’s secondary with beautiful throw after beautiful throw, less heralded backups such as safety Ty Okada and receiver Cody White lit up fireworks of their own with crucial plays to fuel the onslaught.
Moments after Darnold’s first touchdown pass, which came on a bootleg rollout to the left and ended in the hands of rookie Tory Horton for a four-yard score, the Seahawks stiffened up on defense after the Commanders advanced past midfield. A rare offensive facemask penalty against guard Chris Paul knocked Washington back into its own territory and on the ensuing snap, cornerback Devon Witherspoon delivered a hit on Jayden Daniels on a blitz, leading to a wobbly throw from the quarterback toward the sideline.
Seizing his opportunity as he regularly has since filling in for Love in the lineup a month ago, Okada flexed his receiving chops, high-pointing the throw with receiver Jaylin Lane draped on him. Somehow managing to get both feet down, he held onto the ball through the ground, completing a spectacular interception that quickly gave the ball back to Darnold and the offense, who turned the turnover into another Horton touchdown to extend the lead to 14-0.
Coming off a strong outing against the Texans on Monday Night Football two weeks ago where he finished with a sack and a pass breakup, it was just the latest example of delivering in a key moment for Okada, a former undrafted signee out of Montana State who has become more confident with each passing week in Macdonald’s defense.
“It was incredible. Just made it almost feel like it happened in slow motion seeing the second foot come down and toe tapping,” Macdonald said of Okada’s pick. “Wish I could say we taught him that, but that’s a phenomenal play all around. That was a big point in the game right there, between that and the fumble and the kickoff return that really helped us.”
Like clockwork, another unexpected hero in an unexpected role followed up Okada’s magic in coverage with a special play of his own. Covering a kickoff at north of 330 pounds, nose tackle Brandon Pili reached out and punched the ball out of Lane’s hands, forcing a fumble that undrafted outside linebacker Connor O’Toole recovered for a second straight turnover.
When asked what led to Pili earning an opportunity to cover a kick, Macdonald refused to delve into the strategy deployed by special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh. But with the new kickoff rules instituted last year not requiring players to run far downfield, the coaching staff has sprinkled in more big bodies on the play to help blow up blocks.
As it turned out, the decision bore far greater fruit than imagined, rewarding assistants for their trust in an unconventional approach.
“I’m not going to share the tactic behind it,” Macdonald smiled. “But, there were some things on why we wanted to [use Brandon on kickoff], and that’s a shoutout to Jay and Fitz [Devin Fitzsimmons] on how they strategize and use our whole roster. So, they think out of the box, and they’re always trying to find ways to give us an edge.”
Aiming to put the dagger in the Commanders well before halftime, Darnold went for the jugular on the next snap after Pili’s first career forced fumble, lofting a dime over the shoulder of safety Tyler Owens to tight end Elijah Arroyo for a 26-yard touchdown. In less than a minute, two quick turnovers had resulted in 14 points, and just like that, some fans already began to leave for the exits in a 21-0 rout.
Making matters worse for the home crowd fans gutting it out in the stands, after a second punt by Washington, lightning struck again with Darnold rolling out to his right to find a wide open White uncovering from two nearby defenders on a crossing route. As he turned upfield down the sideline, the journeyman receiver broke a tackle and took off for the races on a 60-yard touchdown that turned a lopsided affair into a full-fledged laugher much to the chagrin of a frustrated and stunned audience.
From Okada’s pick to Pili’s punch out to White’s long dash to the end zone, all three plays provided further examples of players fully buying into what Macdonald and the coaching staff are selling, showing the willingness to do whatever it takes to help the Seahawks win football games. That attitude has permeated throughout a tight-knit, well-connected locker room from big-name starters all the way down to practice squad players, showing up in spades between the lines each week.
“I think it’s just a nod to the type of team we have,” defensive tackle Leonard Williams remarked. “We trust everybody in this building. We do a good job of practicing against each other… This was clearly just a team win. I don't think it’s just any one guy getting the job done. Backups are coming in, guys getting hurt mid-game and stepping up, like Tyrice Knight stepped up huge today when EJ went down. I think it’s just a nod to our team that we can trust everybody that way.”
Looking towards next week’s rematch with the Cardinals at Lumen Field and beyond, the Seahawks will have to continue counting on their backups down the depth chart to deliver when called upon as they vie for their first NFC West title since 2020.
While it remains to be seen if Jones will miss any time with his knee injury, Knight jumped in and performed admirably with a team-high 10 tackles on Sunday, and the burden will fall on him to help pick up the slack with Drake Thomas sliding into the MIKE role if necessary. In the secondary, Love will miss a least the next three games as required per NFL rules on injured reserve, meaning Okada will continue to start through Week 12, if not longer.
As for the offensive side of the ball, the status of Kupp, Bobo, and Young could be a week-to-week proposition as well, potentially pushing Horton into the No. 2 role behind Smith-Njigba and giving the likes of Cody White and Ricky White III more opportunities coming up from the practice squad.
But if this season has provided any lessons thus far about Macdonald’s squad, the Seahawks have been built to handle such losses with shrewd drafting and roster construction bringing onboard 70 players that fit the team’s culture and identity. Holding the utmost trust in everyone in the building to do their job, that depth stands out as a major reason why the franchise sits in a prime position atop one of the deepest divisions in the NFL and provides a key ingredient that could keep them there into January.
