Sam Darnold 'Just Ridiculous' In Seahawks' Dominant Week 9 Win Over Washington

Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold had a flawless first half to help lead the Seahawks to a big road win over the Commanders.

Nov 03, 2025 at 12:42 AM

John Boyle

Seahawks.com Senior Reporter

LANDOVER, Md.—Sam Darnold knew he and the Seahawks offense were functioning well in the first half.

Darnold just didn't know quite how well he was playing—he was perfect, statistically—until someone pointed it out to him in the locker room at halftime.

In leading the Seahawks to a 38-14 win over the Commanders, Darnold completed all 16 pass attempts in the first half for 282 yards, including four touchdowns—two to rookie receiver Tory Horton and one each to tight end Elijah Arroyo and receiver Cody White—as the Seahawks built a 31-7 halftime lead. Then in the locker room, someone told Darnold about his hot streak, which, if you're the type who believes in jinxes, could very well explain why his second attempt of the third quarter was an incomplete pass on third-and-short, leading to Seattle's first punt of the game.

"Obviously, I can feel the flow of the game and understand that we're doing really good on offense, but no, I didn't know that I hadn't thrown an incompletion," Darnold said. "It's pretty cool. Someone at halftime said to me that I hadn't thrown an incompletion, so I think he's to blame for throwing an incompletion in the second half."

Darnold would not reveal who told him the news, saying with a grin, "I'm not going to say who it was."

Darnold's 17 consecutive completions tied a franchise record set by Warren Moon, and was about as good of stretch of passing that Darnold could remember since his days at San Clemente High School.

"I've got to go back to the archives for that," Darnold said. "I think I had a similar game in high school, but college or pro, that's probably the most consecutively."

Not long after the first incompletion, Darnold had his first real mistake of the game, throwing behind Cody White while rolling to his left on third down, leading to an interception, but he bounced right back from that to lead a touchdown drive that removed any shred of suspense from the game. In all, Darnold completed 21 of 24 passes for 330 yards and four touchdowns, giving him a 141.0 passer rating, his second game this season with at least 300 yards and four touchdowns, and his fifth in the last six games with a rating of 111.4 or better.

"Sam's execution right now, it's just ridiculous," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. "All the things we talked about that he's been doing—decisive, making smart decisions."

And as great as Darnold was, Macdonald wasn't surprised to see his quarterback put up such impressive numbers.

"Believe me when I say, I'm not surprised," Macdonald said. "We watched Sam every day on how he operates, and he's the same guy every day, which is what you love about him. And we're chasing it. The guys are determined, and it's fun to watch. And when the team comes together, that's this type of stuff that you can do when you play the right way, you prepare the right way. And our coaches deserve a lot of credit too, man. I thought (Offensive Coordinator) Klint (Kubiak) called a great game. All the coaches involved in the game plan process, I thought we had some great answers, and it all came together."

Darnold opened his day by leading a 90-yard touchdown drive, one that saw the Seahawks overcome three penalties for 25 yards on the possession, including a 15-yarder that set up first-and-25. He capped the drive with a touchdown to rookie Tory Horton, who was starting in place of an injured Cooper Kupp, and Darnold would go on to lead the Seahawks to four touchdowns on their first four possessions while going 5 for 5 on third down in the first half.

"Sam, he plays with that chip on his shoulder, he's always bringing his A game, and you can tell how bad he wants it," Horton said. "From the whole week of preparing, we knew he was going to be dialed in. He's one hell of a quarterback, he's on fire right now."

Added Cody White, who had a 60-yard touchdown, "He's playing great football right now. We can't ask for anything more."

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As they so often have this season, Darnold and the offense benefited from some short fields thanks to the defense and special teams units doing their part. Safety Ty Okada had an interception that gave the Seahawks the ball at their own 40-yard line, good field position they'd turn into a touchdown, then not long after, the Seahawks forced a turnover on special teams, setting up a one-play touchdown drive, with Darnold hitting Elijah Arroyo with a perfectly-placed pass for the rookie's first career touchdown.

While the defense enjoys getting stops and plays to set the offense up for success, those players also enjoy watching Darnold go to work once they're off the field.

"I feel like he's kind of been in the zone all season," said defensive end Leonard Williams. "It's been special for us to watch on offense. It's just amazing to have a good defense, get off the field, then just have such complementary football when the offense takes the field and can drive down the field. We're just watching from the sidelines in amazement."

Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who had eight catches for 129 yards for his sixth 100-yard game catching passes from Darnold this season, said of Darnold. "Man, he's just a pro. I love playing with him. He's going to be ready throughout the week. He's going to make sure his troops are ready. He's going go out there and execute. He's going to play his hardest. That's all you can ask, you know. He's just playing and giving his heart up, putting it all out there on the field. We're all going to follow him. He's just been so great for us."