The Seahawks beat the Texans 27-19 on Monday night, improving to 5-2 heading into their bye week. They did not, however, play the cleanest of games, but thanks to another big game from Jaxon Smith-Njigba and a great defensive performance, they were still able to earn another win to keep pace in a competitive NFC West.

Here are five rapid reactions to Monday night's win:

1. It was an impressive win, but the Seahawks made that harder than it needed to be.

On their way to another victory, the Seahawks scored 27 points on the NFL's No. 1 scoring defense, seven more points than Houston has allowed all season, and Seattle's defense put together yet another really strong effort, limiting the Texans to 254 yards and one offensive touchdown, so there was a lot to like about Monday night's performance.

But despite all of that, the Seahawks also had to have come out of Monday's game feeling like they should have put this one away a lot earlier than they did.

For starters, the Seahawks turned the ball over four times—there was a fifth fumble that ended up not counting because of a penalty (more on that in a second)—their first four-turnover game since a Week 9 loss to Buffalo in 2020 and their first win with four-turnover game since they beat the 49ers in overtime in Week 10 of the 2019 season.

The first turnover came when a promising drive ended on a trick play, with Cooper Kupp attempting a pass that was intercepted. Later, Sam Darnold was sacked and fumbled in the end zone, with Will Anderson Jr. who also had the sack and forced fumble, recovering for a touchdown. Rookie tight end Elijah Arroyo also lost a fumble, and Darnold was intercepted in the fourth quarter for a fourth turnover.

Then there was Ernest Jones IV's sack and forced fumble that Drake Thomas recovered and nearly returned for a touchdown. But Thomas lost the ball before scoring, with Houston recovering in the end zone. Since a double turnover would have given the Texans a touchback and a new set of downs, the Seahawks instead took enforced a penalty on the play, causing all of that chaos to officially go down as no play, but it was still a big missed opportunity for the Seahawks to add to their lead.

The Seahawks also had a blocked field goal and committed 12 penalties for 93 yards. In the end, none of those turnovers and miscues cost the Seahawks a win, but it made it a lot closer

2. Seattle's defensive front is so, so good.

A week ago, the Seahawks defense held Jacksonville's offense in check thanks in large part to a dominant game by the defensive front, which recorded seven tackles and 17 quarterback hits.

And Seattle's pass-rush got after it again on Monday, though not quite the prolific levels of a week ago. Still, the Seahawks were able to sack C.J. Stroud three times, hit him seven times, an in general make like difficult for the third-year quarterback, who finished 23 for 49 for 229 yards one touchdown and one interception.

But where Seattle's defense was even more impressive this time around was in the ground game. The Texans didn't run the ball much, particularly because they were trailing most of the game, but when they attempted to run the ball, they rarely found anywhere to go.

The Texans finished with just 56 rushing yards, and 25 of those came on a late scrambles by Stroud, with running backs gaining just 31 yards on 15 carries. Most notably, the Seahawks had a third-and-1 stuff to force a punt, as well as back-to-back stops on third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 for a turnover on downs, which gave the offense a short field it turned into a touchdown.

3. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is making 100-yard games look routine.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba came into the week as the NFL's leading receiver, and he only added to that lead with yet another standout performance in a season full of them.

Smith-Njigba had eight caches for 123 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown, giving him five 100-yard games this season. He is just the second player in team history with three consecutive 100-yard receiving games, joining DK Metcalf, who did it last season.

4. Ernest Jones IV is a playmaker, and so is Drake Thomas.

As well as the Seahawks defense played on Monday night—and really, has been playing all season—it can be hard to single out any one player given the contributions coming from so many different places.

But with that disclaimer out of the way, middle linebacker Ernest Jones IV deserves his own mention for another standout game in a year full of them since he joined the Seahawks in a midseason trade last October.

While helping orchestrate another great performance by the Seahawks defense, Jones recorded 11 tackles, a tackle for loss, and most notably, this third interception, which set up a Seahawks field goal. Among Jones' tackles was third-and-1 run stuff in the third quarter, which set up a fourth-and-1 run which the Seahawks also stopped. With the short field, the Seahawks were able to score another touchdown to make it a two-score game at the end of three quarters. Jones also had a tackle for loss earlier on that same possession. And that doesn't include his sack and forced fumble, which as mentioned earlier, the Seahawks had to take off the stat sheet to accept a penalty.

Thomas, meanwhile, continues to thrive since taking over a starting role. Yes, he wishes he could have held on for a touchdown after Jones' forced fumble, but Thomas still had a great game, recording five tackles, three passes defensed and two tackles for loss.

5. Riq Woolen played well in his return.

After cornerback Riq Woolen missed last week's game with a concussion, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said he was looking forward to seeing Woolen play this week, noting he enjoyed a good week of practice.

"He's had a great week of practice," Macdonald said Friday. "Told him yesterday, I'm really excited to see him play, so I can't wait to see him go out there and do his thing."

And Woolen, who has had his ups and downs this season, backed up his coach's words with a very strong performance in his return from injury.

Woolen was one of four players, along with Josh Jobe, Nick Emmanwori and Drake Thomas to record two or more passes defensed in the game, and he played a couple of deep balls really well, playing with good technique to avoid some of the penalty issues that have come up at times this season.

With Devon Witherspoon and Julian Love out again due to injury, Woolen returning and putting in a performance like that was big for Seattle's defense.