LANDOVER, Md. — Even the patrons inside Shirley Povich Press Box at Northwest Stadium could hardly contain their excitement, or their disbelief.
Washington Commanders backup linebacker Kain Medrano picked off Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold with 3 minutes, 57 seconds remaining in regulation and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown, putting the finishing touch on the hosts’ first victory of the season.
While the vast majority of the 64,027 fans on hand for Washington’s home opener burst into a frenzy, the press box’s public-address announcer provided a friendly reminder amid the whooping and hollering: no cheering is permitted among working members of the press. Considering the circumstances, though, the outpouring of emotion wasn’t shocking.
The defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks, winners of a franchise-record 12 consecutive games and heavy favorites on Sunday, were upset 33-31, thanks in no small part to Darnold’s second interception of the afternoon.
“Bad decision,” Darnold said. “The end did a good job of not letting me escape to the outside, and had to make a quick decision. … Should’ve dirted it at his feet.”
Darnold twice said he saw Medrano but still elected to throw the pass toward tight end AJ Barner. It was one of a handful of questionable moments for Darnold in his first appearance since Seattle’s starting quarterback injured his glute five plays into the NFL season.
Washington starter Jayden Daniels was sidelined with an elbow injury, and Seattle’s upper hand in the game seemingly only increased when it became clear that Darnold, not backup Drew Lock, would get the nod opposite Commanders backup Marcus Mariota.
Instead, with the Seahawks trailing nearly all afternoon, Darnold attempted his most passes (45) in a game since Dec. 1, 2019. Playing for the New York Jets seven years ago, Darnold threw 48 passes in a lopsided loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. On Sunday, Darnold was 31-of-45 for 379 yards, four touchdown passes and two interceptions.
Seattle had little luck running the ball — the Seahawks averaged a meager 2.4 yards per carry on 18 attempts, and rookie Jadarian Price fumbled for the second time in as many games.
“I made a mistake early on,” Price said. “So, just got to deal with the consequences that come with that.”
Thanks to Price’s first-quarter faux pas, which allowed Washington to take a 7-0 lead, Seattle played from behind nearly all game. There was no gradual ramp-up, no conservative game plan for Darnold, who threw the ball on 71.8 percent of Seattle’s offensive plays.
While Darnold threw his most touchdown passes (four) in a game since setting a career high with five during the 2024 season, both of his interceptions ultimately turned into Commanders touchdowns.
After Seattle’s defense forced a three-and-out to open the second half, Darnold gave the ball right back to Washington when a pass intended for reigning Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba was deflected at the line of scrimmage and wound up in the hands of rookie linebacker Sonny Styles.
“You got to tip your cap to those guys,” Darnold said. “They played a really good game defensively. All around, they played a really good game.”
Darnold’s performance, meanwhile, was a microcosm of Seattle’s, according to coach Mike Macdonald.
“I thought we threw the ball relatively well,” Macdonald said. “But we got to take care of the ball as an offense.”
As well as Darnold fared in leading the Seahawks to their second Super Bowl title in franchise history last season, he led all quarterbacks in turnovers with 14 interceptions and six lost fumbles.
What made backup Drew Lock so effective in relief of Darnold the last two weeks was that he played turnover-free football while completing 72.9 percent of his attempts with four touchdown passes, all of which went to Smith-Njigba. The star wideout caught two more touchdown passes from Darnold on Sunday while veteran wide receiver Cooper Kupp and reserve tight end Eric Saubert each added a touchdown. But Darnold’s mistakes hurt.
“But, man, to come back and do what he did — I mean, you got to realize this was his first game of the year,” Kupp said. “He played five plays (in Week 1). And so I thought he did a great job. It just seemed like the command was there. Made some great throws, scrambling in the pocket, extending plays.”
To Kupp’s point, perhaps the most encouraging development for the Seahawks was that Darnold looked healthy and moved laterally with ease. After the game, Darnold said he felt great, physically.
As much of a moral victory as it was for Darnold to play without limitations, though, his inability to avoid costly mistakes proved ruinous.
“Obviously not the outcome that we wanted,” Darnold said. “Too many turnovers. Didn’t execute enough in the red zone. I feel like we just got to be better.”
Darnold and Price weren’t alone in leaving room for improvement. The Seahawks yielded their most points in a game since their 38-37 overtime victory against the Los Angeles Rams last Dec. 18.
Seattle’s secondary was quite banged up, of course, with starting safeties Julian Love (calf) and Ty Okada (hamstring) both out with injuries. Reserve safeties Rodney Thomas II and AJ Finley started instead.
Meanwhile, Mariota threw three touchdown passes against Seattle’s defensive backs and played nearly mistake-free football.
“When he’s in there, and when he’s been in there,” Washington wide receiver Terry McLaurin said of Mariota, “we believe wholeheartedly he could give us a chance to win a football game.”
The Seahawks expressed a similar level of confidence in Lock throughout the time Darnold was sidelined. Evidenced by Sunday’s showing, Darnold is now operating at full capacity and no longer hamstrung by his glute injury.
In his return, Darnold epitomized Seattle’s team-wide performance on a day that could very well be an aberration: flawed, yet with plenty to be optimistic about.
“The takeaways are tough,” Macdonald said. “But, again, we’ll look at them and see why (he) made those decisions and what we can do to make better decisions. But I think on the whole, he kept us in the game.”