When it came time to hand out game balls to celebrate a dominant Week 3 win over the Saints, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald made sure he had one ready for special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh.

It takes strong play in all three phases to win 44-13 as the Seahawks did on Sunday, and Seattle did indeed have standout play across the board, from quarterback Sam Darnold's nearly flawless performance to the defense keeping the Saints offense in check all afternoon, allowing only a single touchdown late in the game while ahead by 38 points. But what really helped the Seahawks turn a strong performance into a lopsided affair were the big plays they made on special teams.

After taking a 7-0 lead early on a Sam Darnold touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the Seahawks blew the game wide open thanks to a pair of special teams plays. First, rookie receiver Tory Horton took a punt return back 95 yards for a touchdown, a return that included key blocks from cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett and linebacker Chazz Surratt.

Not long after Horton's return, which was the longest punt return in franchise history, safety D'Anthony Bell blocked a punt, giving the offense the ball in the red zone. That set up a Kenneth Walker III touchdown run, and suddenly the Seahawks were leading 21-0 in the first quarter despite having run only eight plays on offense.

The Seahawks would later use a 60-yard kick return by Dareke Young to set up another touchdown, and kicker Jason Myers contributed three field goals, including a 56-yarder, as well as five extra points.

"Really the story the day is our special teams unit," Macdonald said. "They're responsible for 30 points directly. That's pretty high-powered stuff. So those guys deserve a lot of credit. Gave Jay Harbaugh a game ball. Tory Horton, just a phenomenal game as well. D'Anthony Bell with the punt block, great all around.

It was the second straight week that big plays on special teams contributed to a Seahawks victory, with George Holani scoring a touchdown in Seattle's Week 2 win in Pittsburgh by recovering a Jason Myers kickoff in the end zone.

"What that unit did against a good team like that is really powerful for our team," said tight end AJ Barner. "Short fields are everything. There are statistics behind it that are multiple point swings in our favor when those things happen. And the momentum of the game too. That's huge."

Bell, who came unblocked off the edge for his blocked punt, credited coaching with making that play happen.

"It was something that we had prepped for all week," Bell said. "So shoutout to Coach Jay. He had seen it and he was like, 'Hey, when we get our opportunity here, let's take advantage of it.'"

Horton, meanwhile, was quick to credit his blockers for helping free him for a big return.

"Shoot, green grass," Horton said when asked what he saw on the play. "I just made the most out of the opportunity. The core guys, the holdup team, the corners, they did a great job on that play. That's something that we've repped and they went out there and put all their ten toes down on that play. They made the best of it. Celebrating that punt return with those guys because I wouldn't have gotten started without them."

For those players blocking for Horton, it felt like it was only a matter of time before the explosive rookie took one back.

"We've been close to getting one all year, and everything we wanted just happened on that play," said Young. "We know that Tory's explosive, and when you've got an explosive returner back there, that just motivated all the guys who are blocking to block even harder, because we know we were just one block away."