{"id":299287,"date":"2025-10-13T06:54:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T06:54:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/299287\/"},"modified":"2025-10-13T06:54:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T06:54:16","slug":"sam-darnold-jaxon-smith-njigba-spark-yet-another-seahawks-road-victory-we-travel-heavy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/299287\/","title":{"rendered":"Sam Darnold, Jaxon Smith-Njigba spark yet another Seahawks road victory: \u2018We travel heavy\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 By now, you know what a Seattle Seahawks win on the road looks like. It has become commonplace for a Mike Macdonald-led team to emerge victorious away from home. Seattle\u2019s 20-12 triumph<\/a> over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday was the latest display.<\/p>\n

So, here\u2019s what it sounded like.<\/p>\n

As quarterback Sam Darnold went under center for victory formation from the Jaguars\u2019 4-yard line, EverBank Stadium was so quiet that you could practically hear the Sharpie in receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba\u2019s hand scribbling across the memorabilia he signed for a Seahawks fan seated behind Seattle\u2019s sideline.<\/p>\n

Outside the visiting locker room, a \u201cSEA-HAWKS\u201d chant could be heard coming from the tunnel lined with family and friends of the players who either made the trip or live in the area.<\/p>\n

Inside the locker room, there were soundbites declaring Seattle\u2019s $100 million quarterback and its 23-year-old receiver the best in the business at their respective positions.<\/p>\n

Tight end AJ Barner had a succinct description of Sam Darnold, whose 295-yard day included a 61-yard heave to his No. 1 TE<\/a> on the final drive to ice the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cMVP.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seattle cornerback Shaquill Griffin was similarly complimentary when describing Smith-Njigba, who had eight catches for 161 yards.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s the man,\u201d Griffin said inside another noisy visiting locker room. \u201cThe real WR1.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to argue with either assessment after watching Darnold and Smith-Njigba do to the Jaguars what they\u2019ve done to every other team on the schedule this season. Darnold is completing 70.8 percent of his passes while leading one of the NFL\u2019s most explosive offenses. He\u2019s letting it fly without jeopardizing ball security<\/a>, and his ability to strike that balance is one of the primary reasons Seattle didn\u2019t have turnovers against the league leader in takeaways and improved to 4-2 on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Darnold had six explosive passes (16 or more yards). Four of those went to Smith-Njigba, who caught a 61-yard bomb for a touchdown in the second quarter over cornerback Greg Newsome. It was the first defensive snap as a Jaguar for Newsome, acquired this week in a trade<\/a> with the Cleveland Browns. Smith-Njigba picked up on it immediately.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if we knew, but I knew,\u201d Smith-Njigba said of Newsome entering the game. \u201cIt was good to take advantage of that look and execute.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Jaguars (4-2) joined the list of teams that have tried and failed to have an answer for Smith-Njigba. Whether against zone or man coverage, intermediate or deep, the league\u2019s leading receiver knows how to get open \u2014 and Darnold knows how to find him. He\u2019s atop the NFL leaderboard with 696 receiving yards. The Los Angeles Rams\u2019 Puka Nacua is second with 616, and the Dallas Cowboys\u2019 George Pickens (525) is the only other player over 500. Smith-Njigba also leads the league \u2014 by a wide margin \u2014 in yards per route run at 4.49, a testament to his efficiency.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody can stop him,\u201d Seattle cornerback Josh Jobe said.<\/p>\n

Smith-Njigba said it \u201cfeels good\u201d to hear his teammates have the same level of confidence in him that he has himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely have it in myself to go out there and to dominate,\u201d Smith-Njigba said.<\/p>\n

Darnold\u2019s final deep shot was a play-action pass to Barner, who beat safety Andrew Wingard in man coverage and moved Seattle to the Jags\u2019 12-yard line with 2:39 remaining. Three runs by back Zach Charbonnet forced Jacksonville to use all of its timeouts. Then Jacksonville committed a penalty on Jason Myers\u2019 successful 27-yard field goal, leading to three kneel-downs that ended the game.<\/p>\n

\n

AJ Barner in open space for 61 yards!<\/p>\n

SEAvsJAX on FOX\/FOX Onehttps:\/\/t.co\/HkKw7uXVnt<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/JLe1knRY7E<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 NFL (@NFL) October 12, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Barner catch put Seattle in chip-shot field goal range and encapsulated Seattle\u2019s offense through six games. The Seahawks have a top-10 offense by EPA per play because of Darnold\u2019s efficiency and deep-ball accuracy. And he\u2019s pulling that off in spite of a mostly dormant run game<\/a>, which accounted for only 58 yards on 22 attempts Sunday. Darnold\u2019s dropback EPA per play of 0.27 is better than Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen\u2019s output from his MVP campaign last season.<\/p>\n

Darnold\u2019s $33 million annual contract pays him like a game manager, but he\u2019s performing like a game-changer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just great to see,\u201d outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu said of Darnold, his college teammate at USC. \u201cJax is an explosive player, and I played with Sam in college, so I know what he can do. I knew when those guys got together and hooked up, it would be like magic. That\u2019s what everybody is being able to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nwosu was one of five Seahawks to record at least a half-sack on Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence. The veteran pass rusher accounted for 1.5 of Seattle\u2019s season-high seven quarterback takedowns. Outside linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence returned to the lineup after missing Week 5 with a quad injury and led the way with two sacks. Defensive tackle Byron Murphy II also had two. Inside linebacker Drake Thomas recorded one, and defensive tackle Leonard Williams split a sack with Nwosu. Seattle had a total of 17 quarterback hits on Lawrence.<\/p>\n

The pass rush that was mostly absent when surrendering 38 points last week<\/a> to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers showed up on Sunday and held Jacksonville to 12 points on 11 possessions. Jacksonville had three possessions in the fourth quarter while trailing 20-12. All three ended in punts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s how we do what we do,\u201d Jobe said of Seattle\u2019s bounce back from the Week 5 performance. \u201cLike coach says, \u2018Play fast, play physical and hit the motherf\u2014ers in the mouth.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Griffin, a St. Petersburg, Fla., native who signed with the Jaguars in 2021 after four seasons in Seattle, made his first start in place of cornerback Riq Woolen (concussion), one of three Pro Bowl defensive backs on the inactive list<\/a>. Seattle was also without cornerback Devon Witherspoon (knee) and safety Julian Love (hamstring). They were replaced by rookie Nick Emmanwori and Ty Okada.<\/p>\n

Early in the game, it appeared the communication issues in the short-handed secondary from last week had traveled with the team to Jacksonville. Lawrence converted on third-and-11 and third-and-16 in the first quarter, then connected with a wide-open Brian Thomas Jr. for a touchdown to give the Jaguars a 6-0 lead. Griffin and Emmanwori each covered a bubble screen and left Thomas run free up the sideline for a 21-yard score. Griffin chalked the play up to a miscommunication, which he said they quickly corrected.<\/p>\n

Jacksonville scored only once after that.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could tell we got it fixed,\u201d Griffin said.<\/p>\n

One of the keys, Griffin said, was more man coverage, particularly in obvious passing situations like third down. In the final three frames, Lawrence was 5 of 8 on third down with more sacks (three) than completions that moved the chains (two). The Jaguars were 1-of-7 on third down in the second half.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main thing was putting body on body,\u201d Griffin said, referring to an uptick in man coverage. \u201cWe went tighter on coverages, knowing the D-line was going to go out there and eat the way they did. Going into the fourth quarter, we just had to be in the right spots and make the checks we needed to make. I feel like every time they got us, we weren\u2019t on the same page. We corrected that going into the second half, and it worked out.\u201d<\/p>\n

When their pass rush and coverage work in tandem like this, the Seahawks have one of the league\u2019s best defenses, regardless of the lineup on the back end. Jacksonville\u2019s running backs combined for 43 yards on 15 attempts (2.8 yards per rush). Thomas had 90 receiving yards on eight receptions; no one else had more than 29 yards. The Seahawks are still not whole up front \u2014 outside linebacker Derick Hall missed the game with an oblique injury \u2014 but the return of DeMarcus Lawrence was a much-needed lift for that unit. He hadn\u2019t registered a sack in a Seattle uniform before this game but had moments when he looked unblockable when flying at Trevor Lawrence.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe brings so much energy to the team, to the D-line,\u201d Murphy said of Lawrence. \u201cWe love D-Law. He\u2019s a hell of a player, as you could see today. He balled out. It was great having him back.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Seahawks are 10-1 on the road under Macdonald. They play connected, complementary football in a way that just hasn\u2019t shown up at Lumen Field. The players have yet to come up with a good answer as to why that is, but they\u2019ll try to figure it out in Week 7 against the Houston Texans (2-3) on \u201cMonday Night Football.\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, it wouldn\u2019t be a Seahawks road win with at least one more soundbite, specifically about the fans. Griffin has a unique perspective in that regard. He\u2019s a Florida native who was drafted by Seattle, then spent two years playing for the franchise that\u2019s a short road trip away from his hometown. He was embraced by the Florida-based 12s when he arrived here in 2021, and he again felt their presence on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe travel heavy,\u201d Griffin said. \u201cWe knew they were gonna be out there. It sounded like we took over the stands going into the fourth quarter. All the 12s, all we could do is hear them yelling.\u201d<\/p>\n