The winning streak is over. After 12 straight victories, our Seahawks just coughed up a painful 33-31 upset loss to the Washington Commanders, thanks to three absolutely killer turnovers that handed Washington a staggering 21 points. This one stings, folks, making it arguably the most disappointing loss of the entire Mike Macdonald era. What a gut punch, especially when a pick-six late in the fourth quarter put us down by nine and felt like the dagger.
Mariota’s Magic and Our Costly Mistakes
Seriously, what is it with Marcus Mariota and our Hawks? No matter the jersey, he just owns us. He’s now 3-0 lifetime as a starter against Seattle, with his other wins coming from the Titans and Falcons. It’s like he’s got a personal hex on the Emerald City! And to make it worse, Dan Quinn, our former defensive coordinator, gets to walk away with a win against his old squad. This game was a clinic in how three crucial turnovers can unravel even the best teams. Jadarian Price, who lost a fumble last week too, coughed it up on the first play of our second series, giving Washington the ball right outside the red zone. That quickly turned into the game’s first touchdown, a good catch by Rachaad White past a diving Drake Thomas. Sam Darnold threw four touchdown passes in his return to action, which is awesome, but that costly pick-six? Man, that’s going to sting for a while.
Defense Fought Hard, Offense Found a Spark (Eventually)
Our defense, the best in the league, honestly played their hearts out. They held Washington to only 258 yards and a mere four yards per play. That’s elite stuff, no doubt! But even an elite defense is gonna struggle when you’re constantly giving the other team a short field, especially when we were missing two starting safeties. The average starting field position was just repeatedly favorable for the Commanders. Offensively, we started slow, really slow. A first down on the opening drive with Jadarian Price, then Darnold nearly picked, followed by a 10-yard completion to Rashid Shaheed. But then the fumble and a three-and-out. Our boys finally got to work with a huge 90-yard touchdown drive, capped off by Jaxon Smith-Njigba catching a one-yard touchdown. JSN had three catches for 32 yards on that drive and even drew a pass interference penalty. Big props to A.J. Barner and Brady Russell for their explosive plays in the pass game too. It shows we can move the ball, but we just shot ourselves in the foot way too often.
This loss to the Commanders truly stings, ending our incredible 12-game winning streak. The champs definitely have some issues to figure out, especially in the run game and the low red zone offense. This team knows how to fight, though. They’ll look at the film, clean up those turnovers, and get that run game humming. It’s a tough one to swallow, but the season is long, and our Hawks will bounce back. Go Hawks!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Field Gulls.
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