Returning to the sideline after finishing off the longest punt return in Seahawks history, Tory Horton, not fully aware of what he had just accomplished, was a little surprised by how out of breath he was.

"It was funny because I came to the sideline talking to (Jake) Bobo, and I was like, 'I'm still gassed from that punt return' and then I looked on the little iPad and I saw it was 95 yards and I was like, 'No wonder I'm so tired, I just ran the whole field,'" Horton said after playing a big role in the Seahawks' 44-13 win over the Saints.

If Horton were playing things by the book he probably would have let that punt bounce, hoping it went in the end zone for a touchback, because a general rule for punt returners is to stand on the 10-yard line and not field anything that goes behind them. But for a player as explosive as Horton, there's a bit more leeway, especially when, in the case of that first-quarter punt, it was a booming kick that gave him time to make a man miss, in no small part thanks to a block by Nehemiah Pritchett.

"I had space, and kind of felt like I had the green light there," Horton said of fielding a punt from the 5-yard line. "I just saw an opportunity, it was a rep that we worked on, and I just wanted to make the best out of that."

Horton's punt return was part of a big day for the Seahawks on special teams, and helped the Seahawks race to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter on their way to a dominant win. He would later add a touchdown reception, his second in as many games, giving him three total touchdowns in the past two weeks.

"I'm excited for Tory," said receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who led the Seahawks with 96 yards on five catches. "I'm excited for T. Him coming out and making plays, big plays that we need on special teams, at the receiver spot. I'm not going to say that I told y'all, but we all know how special he is and how much he can contribute to this team."

Said Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald, "Tory Horton, just a phenomenal game."

Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold has found Horton in the end zone in each of the past two games, and the one he threw Sunday showed trust in the rookie, who was able to make a contested catch despite good coverage thanks to a well-placed ball.

"He's a really talented football player," said Darnold. "He does all the little things that you can't really teach really well. He tracks the ball well. He's got great speed. Good hands. He's got length. So I think at the end of the day, his work ethic is what is going to set him apart in my opinion. That starts with the entire room. I feel like that whole receiver room does a really good job continuing to work and ask questions and do all the little things to continue to get better."

For Horton, these past two weeks have been particularly meaningful given the tough road he took to get to the NFL due to an injury. After back-to-back 1,100-yard seasons at Colorado State in 2022 and 2023, Horton looked like a player with a bright future given his combination of production, elite speed and size. But after a knee injury sidelined him for most of his senior season at Colorado State, Horton went from possibly being a Day 2 pick in the draft to a player the Seahawks were able to land in the fifth round of this year's draft.

Horton's standout training camp helped him win the No. 3 receiver job, and also led to fellow rookie Nick Emmanwori predicting that Horton would prove to be the steal of this year's draft. And now this fast start to his career has, as Horton put it, "Just silenced the doubts. I had a lot of doubt going into the combine. I finally get to prove myself, just going out and competing, that's something that I'm really proud of myself about. And huge kudos to my family for making sure I keep my head straight and not getting too down on myself, because those times can get really difficult for an athlete when you're dealing with injuries. There's adversity that you have to fight through, so getting out of that and being ready to go back on that field, it feels great.

"It's everything I worked for. Just those lonely nights the room, back in my dorm apartment in college, just saying, 'Man, I can't wait for that next step of overcoming this injury, getting back to myself.' It's just falling into place, having that trust, just keep believing, keep taking it one day at a time, taking recovery serious, things like that, and it's kind of falling into place now."