The Seahawks rolled to a lopsided win over the Saints on Sunday, improving their record to 2-1 thanks to standout play on offense and defense, and some massive plays on special teams that turned the game into a blowout early.
Here are six rapid reactions to Sunday's win over New Orleans:
- Special teams wins ballgames.
A favorite cliché of football coaches everywhere is that games can be won and lost on special teams. Offenses and defenses are on the field for significantly more plays in a game, but the big swing that can happen on special teams can be game-altering.
And on Sunday, that proved to be very true for the Seahawks, who opened up a big lead on their way to a blowout victory thanks in large part to early plays made on special teams.
After taking a more traditional route to a 7-0 lead—the defense got a stop, then the offense scored on its opening possession, with Sam Darnold hitting Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a 12-yard touchdown—the Seahawks really blew the game open with big plays on special teams.
Rookie receiver Tory Horton got things started with a 95-yard punt return touchdown, the longest in franchise history. Not long after that, safety D'Anthony Bell blocked a punt, giving the offense a short field it would quickly turn into another touchdown, with Kenneth Walker III scoring from 3 yards out to make it 21-0 in the first quarter.
Adding to the big day on special teams was receiver Dareke Young, who had a 60-yard kick return to give the offense another short field. That possession ended on a Darnold touchdown pass to Horton.
Kicker Jason Myers also got in on the action, making all eight of his kicks, three field goals, including a long of 56, and five extra points, while linebacker Chazz Surratt had a big block on the punt return score as well as a hard-hitting tackle on kick coverage. Cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett also deserves a mention for his block, which took out two Saints players, to help spring Horton on his return.
The halftime score, and stats, helped demonstrate how significant Seattle's special teams dominance was. The Seahawks led at halftime 38-6 despite the Saints having more first downs (15-11), yards (206-177) and a big time of possession advantage (22:19-7:41)
- Have a day, Tory Horton.
During training camp, fellow rookie Nick Emmanwori predicted that receiver Tory Horton, a fifth-round pick out of Colorado State, was going to be the steal of the draft. And while it's still very early in the season, Emmanwori's prediction isn't looking too bad after three games.
Horton, who last week scored his first career touchdown on a 21-yard reception, put himself in the Seahawks record books on Sunday, taking a punt back 95 yards for a touchdown that was the longest punt return in franchise history, besting 94-yard returns by Charlie Rogers in 1999 and Nate Burleson in 2007. It was also the Seahawks' first punt return touchdown since Tyler Lockett had one early in 2015, his rookie season.
Horton ended the day with two touchdowns, adding a 14-yard touchdown reception from Darnold in the 2nd quarter.
- Sam Darnold was nearly perfect.
The Seahawks were good enough in all three phases that they didn't really need a big performance from their quarterback to earn a victory, but Darnold turned in one heck of an outing anyway. Before exiting the game after three quarters, Darnold completed 14 of 18 pass attempts for 218 yards, two scores and no interceptions, giving him a 154.2 passer rating that fell just short of the perfect 158.3 mark.
With Darnold carving the Saints up, the Seahawks scored on their first seven possessions, with Michael Dickson's first punt coming in the fourth quarter after the Seahawks had pulled Darnold and several other starters.
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba was feeling well enough to have another big game.
On Saturday, the Seahawks added leading receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba to the injury report, listing him as questionable due to illness. Smith-Njigba was well enough on Sunday to not only play, but to once again lead the Seahawks in receiving.
After 100-yard games in the first two weeks of the season, Smith-Njigba fell just short of that mark, in part because he and several other starters didn't play in the fourth quarter, but he had another strong performance, catching five passes for 96 yards, including his first touchdown of the season.
- The lopsided score allowed the Seahawks to pull some players ahead of a Thursday night game.
An added bonus of building such a big lead in Sunday's game is that the Seahawks were able to pull some of their key starters early, giving them a little bit of rest ahead of a Thursday night game in Arizona.
Quarterback Sam Darnold, center Jalen Sundell, left tackle Charles Cross, running back Kenneth Walker III and receivers Cooper Kupp and Jaxon Smith-Njigba all sat out the fourth quarter. On defense, the Seahawks got defensive lineman Leonard Williams and outside linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence out of the game early in the fourth quarter, and later pulled out several other starters, including Ernest Jones IV and Jarran Reed.
- Another game, another pick for Derion Kendrick.
Since taking over the nickel role in place of an injured Devon Witherspoon, cornerback Derion Kendrick has shown a knack for being around the ball in the past two games. Kendrick, who the Seahawks claimed off waivers earlier this month, had an interception last week, then added another on Sunday. He also had two other passes defensed Sunday, one of which he could have intercepted, matching what he did last week when he missed one interception, then got one later in the game.
Check out the best photos from the Seahawks' Week 3 conference matchup vs. the Saints at Lumen Field. This gallery will be updated throughout the game.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
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Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
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Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
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Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
Seahawks vs. Saints at Lumen Field on September 21st, 2025.
