Jaxon Smith-Njigba's 'Remarkable' Season Continues With Big Performance In Win over Commanders

Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba had yet another big game in a season full of them to help his team to a road win over the Commanders.

Nov 03, 2025 at 12:51 AM

John Boyle

Seahawks.com Senior Reporter

LANDOVER, Md.—Almost ten minutes into his postgame press conference, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald was asked his first question about receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the NFL's leading receiver who had just become the first player in franchise history to record four consecutive 100-yard receiving games.

So routine is Smith-Njiba's greatness this season, people tend to forget to talk about it.

In a season full of standout performances, Smith-Njigba was able to do it again on Sunday night, catching eight passes for 129 yards in a 38-14 win over the Commanders, a team that knew full well that Smith-Njigba would be a focal point of the offense, especially with Cooper Kupp out, and a team that still couldn't stop Seattle's standout receiver.

With Sunday's big performance, Smith-Njigba not only became the first Seahawks receiver with four straight 100-yard games, he also tied Steve Largent for the most 100-yard games in a season (6), doing so with nine games left on the schedule.

"It's remarkable," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. "And I think I don't know the stat, but it seems like it's the first time we've done it for our team. Let's keep doing it, and it's only three-quarters of the work. So, team football. I mean, it's either like it feels like it's almost like he's the catalyst to spark somebody else that gets open, or if the run game is working. That sets it up for Jax. Just feels like it's complementary right now. When his number is called, he's coming through. It's tremendous. In my opinion, one of the biggest game plays of the game was the first play of the two-minute (in the first half). Coming out, getting the ball moving, in a situation where if we don't complete that pass, Washington might get the ball back, and now you're talking about a different type of football game. But being able to answer that touchdown with points was really critical for us."

In addition to the team records Smith-Njigba is setting—he also passed DK Metcalf for the most receptions through three seasons in team history—his start to this season is also putting him in elite company, league wide.

Smith-Njigba is now up to an NFL-leading 948 yards this season, making him one of two players, along with Isaac Bruce, with at least 900 yards in the first eight games of a season at age 23 or younger. He also became the fifth player in the Super Bowl era with at least 75 yards in each of his first eight games of a season, joining Adam Thielen, Antonio Brown, Michael Irvin and Dwight Clark.

"He just continues to find a way to do some crazy stuff out there," said guard Grey Zabel. "Especially when teams start to hone in on him and double-cover him, and he continues to do stuff. It's just one of those deals of him being him."

That Smith-Njigba is doing this while teams put a lot of energy into stopping him makes his play all the more impressive, and that extra attention he is getting from opposing defenses has helped his teammates make plays, including the four touchdowns Sam

Darnold threw on Sunday to Tory Horton, who had two, Elijah Arroyo and Cody White.

"Jax is a really good player," Darnold said. "He forces the defense to do certain things that they might not be super comfortable doing. That leads guys like Tory Horton to have a really good game, which he did. We know Jax is going to find a way to catch the rock and get YAC the way he does. Again, everything that he does opens up other guys as well, and we have really good skill players that can take advantage of that."