Five weeks into the 2026 season, Jaxon Smith-Njigba is, without a doubt, one of the best players in the NFL.

The Seahawks receiver, who is the reigning AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year, has been nearly unstoppable in 2026, and on Sunday he had his fourth 100-yard performance in five games, hauling in five catches for 102 yards and a touchdown.

But following his team's 32-29 loss to the 49ers, Smith-Njigba wasn't interested in the plays he did make, including a 35-yard catch and run to kick off what Seattle hoped would be a game-tying or game-winning drive. Instead, Smith-Njigba was beating himself up for the leaping grab he couldn't haul in on third down, one play before Cooper Kupp was stopped just short on a fourth-down reception, which ended Seattle's comeback hopes.

"I know that I'll learn from this and be better," Smith-Njigba said. "I know our team will be better after this game. That's the good we can pull from it. Obviously not the result that we wanted. Offense, we were just in our way too much, but had the opportunity to go down there and win the game. I have to reel those ones in, and I know that. We'll keep pushing forward. I'm super proud of my team, how we always come out there and fight. The defense, best in the world, they deserved to win the game today, so it sucks to let them down."

Smith-Njigba also was hit by two defenders attempting to make a contested catch two plays earlier, and while that would have been a very difficult catch, he came out of the game focused on those two opportunities rather than the 102 yards and touchdown he did produce.

"That's the one I want," he said. "Those are the ones that matter. I definitely would love to have those back, but I can't sulk in it. We have a game in four days, so just learn from it, move on, and continue to get better.
"At the end of the day, I had a chance to catch the ball. Really, just catch the ball, catch the damn football at the end of the day. I know I'll make the next one."

Quarterback Sam Darnold wasn't surprised to hear that Smith-Njigba was lamenting a missed opportunity late in the game rather than celebrating another 100-yard performance, which, by the way, allowed him to join Hall of Famers Elroy Hirsch, Jerry Rice and Randy Moss as the only players in NFL history with 100-plus receiving yards and a touchdown in four of their team's first five games to start a season.

"Jax is that kind of guy," Darnold said. "He's a perfectionist, I think we all are, but him especially. He's always going to beat himself up over the one thing that he didn't do well versus the 10 things that he did do well. Again, that's just kind of the guy he is. We'll keep lifting him up as the week goes on."