LANDOVER, Md. -- The Seahawks lost a game for the first time since Week 11 of last season, falling to the Commanders, 33-31, at Northwest Stadium.

And the Seahawks didn't see their 12-game winning streak come to an end because they couldn't move the ball, or because the defense wasn't getting stops. They lost, first and foremost, because they lost the turnover battle, 3-0.

More on that and other rapid reactions to Sunday's loss to the Commanders:

1. Three turnovers were too much for the Seahawks to overcome.

The Seahawks outgained the Commanders 437-258, had 28 first downs to Washington's 17, and averaged 6.8 yards per play to Washington's 4.0, and yet the Commanders were able to earn a victory and snap the defending champions' long winning streak.

And the reason the Seahawks fell short in this game came down to one of the things coaches preach every week at every level of football: turnovers.

While the Commanders did not commit a turnover on a damp, breezy day, the Seahawks had three, all of which led to Washington touchdowns. Rookie running back Jadarian Price fumbled early in the game, giving the Commanders the ball deep in Seahawks territory, setting up their first touchdown. In the third quarter, Sam Darnold had a pass deflected at the line of scrimmage and picked off, setting up another touchdown. The Commanders then got a back-breaking interception in the fourth quarter, with linebacker Kain Medrano picking off Darnold before racing 50 yards for a touchdown.

The Seahawks still fought back to make it a one-score game with a quick touchdown drive, but it wasn't enough on a day in which the Commanders were able to get 21 points off turnovers.

2. Despite the turnovers, Sam Darnold did a lot of things well in his return.

While Darnold will be the first to lament the two interceptions -- one of which was more fluky thanks to a tipped ball -- he also made a lot of great plays, throwing for 379 yards and four touchdowns.

Perhaps most importantly, given that he was returning from a glute injury, Darnold looked good moving around the pocket, escaping pressure multiple times and scrambling once to pick up a first down.

3. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is a touchdown machine.

The first time the Seahawks got in the red zone on Sunday, it was clear the Commanders were intent on taking away Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who came into the game with four touchdowns, including three last week. On the first pass attempt in the red zone, not one but two different defensive backs fouled Smith-Njigba, the first being an illegal contact penalty, then the second being a pass-interference penalty that kept Smith-Njigba from going up to make a catch.

Two-plays later, however, Smith-Njigba got single coverage and Sam Darnold took advantage, rolling to his right while Smith-Njigba created separation to make the touchdown catch near the front pylon.

In the fourth quarter, Darnold found Smith-Njigba in the end zone one more time on an 11-yard touchdown throw that tied the score, 24-24. Later in the game, Smith-Njigba's presence led to Cooper Kupp getting wide open for a touchdown while two defenders ran with Smith-Njigba -- a score that was set up by three Smith-Njigba catches earlier in the drive, giving him 128 yards on 10 catches for the game.

With those touchdowns, Smith-Njigba is up to six through just three games, more than halfway to his season total of 10 last year when he won Offensive Player of the of Year honors.

4. Leonard Williams is a beast.

Leonard Williams has been one of the Seahawks' best players ever since he arrived in a 2023 trade, but at 32 years old and in his 12th NFL season, Williams appears somehow be getting even better.

In Sunday's game, Williams record a sack, giving him three this season, one in each game, as well as another tackle for loss, bringing him up to five TFLs in three games.

5. AJ Barner had a nice afternoon, and a lot of pass-catchers had productive days.

With Smith-Njigba having so much success in the first two games, there weren't a ton of completions and receiving yards to go around. And while Smith-Njigba again led the way with his third straight 100-yard game, Darnold did a good job getting a lot of pass-catchers involved in this game.

Leading the way, after Smith-Njigba, was tight end AJ Barner, who had five catches for 69 yards, including an impressive 32-yard gain off a short reception that saw him juke one defender before breaking multiple tackles for a long run after catch.

Kupp added four catches for 46 yards and a touchdown, while Tory Horton had three catches for 48 yards and George Holani had five catches for 48 yards.

6. The defense saw a couple of impressive streaks come to an end.

Perhaps it was that the loss of Julian Love, combined with fellow safety Ty Okada being out again, and the absence of Seattle's veteran safety might have been a bit too much for the Seahawks defense to be at its best. Commanders backup quarterback Marcus Mariota also deserves a lot of credit for his play, but whatever the reason was, Seattle's standout defense saw a couple of impressive streaks come to an end.

After not giving up a single play of 20 or more yards in their first two games, the Seahawks were unable to be quite so stingy when it came to explosive plays this time around. Commanders receiver Jaylin Lane snapped that streak in the second quarter with a 21-yard reception, and more significantly, the Commanders later added to their lead with a 30-yard Terry McLaurin touchdown catch.

The Commanders also became Seattle's first regular-season opponent to score more than 10 points since the Rams in Week 16 of last season.

A lot of the overall numbers were still impressive for Seattle's defense, but it wasn't quite able to do enough to compensate for the three turnovers on offense.