Stacy Rost: Seahawks create national buzz with primetime blowout

Mike Macdonald and the Seattle Seahawks were probably just fine floating under the radar in national conversations about NFC contenders, though even prior to Sunday night’s 38-14 drubbing of the Washington Commanders that felt like an oversight.

Seattle Seahawks win: Instant Reaction | Observations | Recap | Box Score

At 5-2, they were tied for first place in the NFC West with the Rams, their oft-favored divisional foe. They weren’t perfect (we can get to the run-game criticisms another time, something they’ll certainly need to iron out) but they looked like a playoff team. They were tied for fifth in points per game (27.6) and headlined by a a wide receiver leading the league in yards and on pace to break an NFL single-season record. Their defense was the league’s best against the run, and they were among the leaders in pressures, despite blitzing less than any other team. All of that was true before they dominated in primetime.

But that kind of performance under a spotlight?

That creates very real buzz.

And now, Macdonald’s Seahawks are loudly making a case.

#Seahawks fans who have said we don’t talk about your team enough … yeah, tonight is the end of that. What a first half. And it’s not even over yet. pic.twitter.com/1ml1rYPiD9

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) November 3, 2025

Seattle scored on each of its first five possessions, with the first four of those being touchdowns. Sam Darnold started the game with a career best 17 straight completions and finished the first half with a perfect passer rating. Jaxon Smith-Njigba surpassed 100 yards before the first half, his sixth 100-yard game of the season. His 129 yards on the day leaves him just 52 yards away from 1,000 receiving yards on the season … through just eight games.

The Seahawks’ win was commanding on its own, but the game felt over long before the final whistle. This was pure dominance from a team that needed to make a statement, and did it.

The Seattle Seahawks are a PROBLEM

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 3, 2025

Hawks are a wagon

— chris long (@JOEL9ONE) November 3, 2025

NBC is showing a 2013 seahawks game tonight. pretty cool

— Mike Sando (@SandoNFL) November 3, 2025

The Commanders have had horrid injury luck this season, with two starting defensive ends done for the year and a starting safety on injured reserve. But this is the NFL — teams don’t rack up nearly 40 points and over 400 yards of offense on accident, and Seattle’s 38 points were the second-most allowed by Washington this season. Smith-Njigba led all pass catchers league-wide in receiving yards today, and Darnold finished with the third-most passing yards behind Joe Flacco and Daniel Jones.

What’s next?

If making a statement was the first to-do item for Seattle this week, consider the following two additional priorities.

First, Seattle lost two defensive players during the game: cornerback Josh Jobe and linebacker Ernest Jones. While Jones didn’t re-enter the game, that may have been a precautionary measure. Still, a team already missing safety Julian Love (placed on IR earlier this weekend) can hardly afford to miss a key leader on defense.

Second, you’re not going to love this critique from former NFL tight end and current analyst Greg Olsen (especially after a big win!) but he’s also not wrong. And the sky’s the limit for Seattle if they can figure it out:

Can we all agree on one thing?

Seattle is not a good rushing team.

They are a heavy personnel passing team.

If defenses are striving to “stop the run” they are mistaken.

— Greg Olsen (@gregolsen88) November 3, 2025

The Seahawks’ rushing attempts (still pretty frequent) are at least keeping the threat of the run alive, and it’s hard to argue that’s not at least a factor in their explosive pass game. But ESPN’s Benjamin Solak already warned us that, eventually, an opposing defense is going to more successfully stifle the pass game, and the Seahawks will be forced to put their run game —their stated identity — to the test.

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• Seattle Seahawks reportedly ‘very aggressive’ as trade deadline approaches
• Report: Teams eyeing two Seattle Seahawks in trade talks
• Seattle Seahawks Roster Moves: Love, Saubert placed on IR

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