Status Report: Seahawks regroup after first loss of 2026

Turns out the defending Super Bowl champions have weaknesses after all.

After the Seahawks’ 2-0 start to the season, the Washington Commanders exposed some flaws in a 33-31 victory Sunday. The road loss snapped a 12-game Seattle winning streak.

What’s behind Seattle Seahawks’ short-yardage struggles?

While there were issues on both sides of the ball, perhaps the most glaring shortcoming was the turnovers, which led to 21 Commanders points.

Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold returned from a glute injury and threw a pair of interceptions, including a pick-6 with 3:57 left. It was the first pick-6 Darnold had given up in five years.

Rookie Jadarian Price also fumbled early in the first quarter and Washington recovered.

Darnold’s interceptions spoiled what would otherwise have been a stellar return. He completed 31 of 45 passes for 379 yards and four touchdowns.

“I mean, the takeaways are tough, but again, we’ll look at them and see why we made those decisions and see what we can do to make better decisions. But I think on the whole, I mean, he kept us in the game,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said.

Darnold was injured on the Seahawks’ first series of their season opener against the Patriots. Backup Drew Lock took over and helped Seattle to a 13-10 victory. Lock then started in a 31-7 win at Arizona.

The team announced on Friday that Darnold would play against the Commanders. He said he felt fine heading into the game.

“I think obviously I can’t turn the ball over the way that I did. We can’t turn the ball over as an offense and you know be inefficient and expect to win games,” Darnold said after the game.

He also took responsibility for the pick-6.

“Yeah, just bad decision,” he said.

Meanwhile, Seattle’s vaunted defense failed to force any turnovers.

After looking at the tape, Macdonald had mixed emotions about the team’s performance, but was optimistic everything was fixable.

“It’s an excitement about the type of team that we can have and that we aspire to be. And it’s also a sense of urgency and a bit of a kick in the gut that we’re not there yet. We have room to grow,” he said. “The exciting thing is, it’s early in the season and we have an opportunity to go make it right.”

What’s working

Receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba has picked up where he left off last season, when he set team records and was the AP Offensive Player of the Year. Against the Commanders, he caught 10 passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns. He tops the league with 405 receiving yards this season and six touchdowns, two in each of the Seahawks’ first three games. Oh, and against the Commanders, he also completed a pass for 14 yards.

What needs help

The run game, which had just 44 yards against the Commanders, and just 19 in the second half. Clearly, the Seahawks miss Kenneth Walker III, but the good news is that Zach Charbonnet could return to practice next week — although he’s still on the physically unable to perform list. The earliest he’d be likely to return is Week 5. Macdonald did not have an update on Monday.

Stock up

Tight end AJ Barner caught five passes for 69 yards for his best game this season. Barner and the rest of Seattle’s tight end corps had been fairly quiet in the team’s first two games but the group broke out against the Commanders, with seven catches for 105 yards combined.

Stock down

Rookie Jadarian Price lost another fumble, his second in as many games. He finished with just five carries for 15 yards against the Commanders. He also caught a pass for seven yards.

“With JD, he understands what’s going on, he needs to take care of the ball,” Macdonald said. “There’s some things fundamentally where we can focus on and we’re going to continue to give him the ball, we trust him. We know that he’s going to work hard to do his part as well.”

Injury report

Safety Julian Love, who has two interceptions this season, missed the game against the Commanders after his calf tightened up during practice last week. His status going forward is day-to-day. Fellow safety Ty Okada has missed the first three games with a hamstring injury.

Key number

12 — The winning streak that was snapped. The Seahawks hadn’t lost a game since Nov. 16.

Up next

The Seahawks return home Sunday after two road games to host the L.A. Chargers (0-3), who also lost Sunday, 24-16, to the Bills.

Seattle Seahawks news and more

• After turnover-filled loss, Seahawks focusing on ‘process’
• Brock Huard: Seahawks’ loss to Commanders ‘is going to sting’
• Back from torn ACL, Seattle Seahawks safety AJ Finley starts

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