Seattle Seahawks’ defense dominates Houston Texans in win

Seattle–It wasn’t all bad for Seattle sports fans on Monday night.

When mariners Just fell short of making his first World Series appearance seahawks Took care of business at Lumen Field houston texans 27-19The Seahawks defense held Houston to 254 yards passing and sacks. CJ Stroud Three times, they had to recover from four turnovers. Meanwhile, Seattle wide receiver Jackson Smith-Njigba Caught a touchdown pass while running back Zach Charbonnet Ran for two more scores.

Here are the most important things to know from Monday’s match for both teams:

Moments before kickoff, the Seahawks had franchise veterans work chancellor And earl thomas Ceremonial 12-flag hoisting at Lumen Field. Then Seattle’s defense put on a performance that would make the Legion of Boom proud.

The Seahawks harassed Stroud, sacking him three times, intercepting him once and holding him to less than a 50% completion rate (23-for-49). Despite Seattle again playing short-handed in the secondary, their loaded pass rush and generally strong run defense was enough to keep Houston’s offense out of the end zone until late in the fourth quarter. devon witherspoon And julian love Both inactive.

Seattle’s offense got another big game from Smith-Nzigba, who caught eight passes for 123 yards and a touchdown, but it turned the ball over four times and turned the ball over only two of 14 times on third downs.

This night belonged to the defense, whose dominance helped Seattle take a 5-2 lead. Although the Seahawks are off for the rest of the week, they can’t sit idle with the Nov. 4 trade deadline approaching and a potential trade candidate at cornerback. rick woolenWhich is not part of their long term plans. The Seahawks are hoping to have Witherspoon (and Love) return after the bye, which could give them more freedom to move Woolen and, depending on what they get in return, potentially improve what is already one of the best defenses in the NFL.

What is meant by QB performance: Sam Darnold He has generally done an excellent job of avoiding sacks and negative plays this season, but he didn’t on Monday night. As the Seahawks drove closer to their own goal line in the third quarter, he tried to retreat into the end zone while the pocket collapsed in front of him, causing him to suffer a strip sack. Will Anderson Jr. That the Houston edge rusher recovered in the end zone. Darnold was sacked for the second time and threw an interception in the fourth quarter, making it an unusual performance for a quarterback who entered the contest ranked third in total QBR. Darnold completed 17 of 31 passes for 213 yards and a scoring strike to Smith-Nzigba.

Viewing Trends: If it wasn’t already clear, it should be now: Uchenna Nwosu Has returned to its old form. Stroud’s shutout in the first quarter was his sixth in as many games this season. The veteran edge rusher missed the opener while returning from offseason knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus suffered in last season’s finals — one of several injuries that have troubled him in recent campaigns. The 28-year-old was forced to take a pay cut in the offseason to return to Seattle due to all the time he missed, creating considerable uncertainty over his future with the Seahawks after 2025. But this is becoming less of a question.

Statistics to know: According to ESPN Research, Smith-Njigba became the first player in Seahawks history with at least 100 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown in three straight games. That’s just one stat that reflects his incredible start to the season – the kind of tear that’s putting him in the conversation for best receiver in football. He entered Monday night with an NFL leading 696 yards passing, and against Houston he extended that lead with 123 yards. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, his 11-yard touchdown catch had a 28% completion probability, the lowest possible scoring pass so far for the Seahawks this season. — Brady Henderson

Next game: But Washington Commanders (Nov. 2, 8:20 p.m. ET)

The best symbol of the Texans’ disappointing offensive performance was a weak possession at the goal-line in the fourth quarter.

Trailing 27–12 with 5:21 remaining, Houston lined up at the Seahawks’ 3-yard line while being tackled by the deafening, flag-waving Lumen Stadium crowd. The Texans’ offense did nothing to quiet the fans: a series of plays – a 2-yard run, an incompletion, another incompletion, a false start and then another incompletion – that resulted in a turnover on downs, ruining their best shot at coming back to win a game in which they forced four Seattle turnovers.

With the game tied, Houston folded. The outing featured another strain for Houston’s offense, which generated only 13 points and 254 total yards. Stroud was sacked three times and threw one interception – along with a touchdown pass. Houston’s run game was invisible, totaling only 56 yards. It was a disappointing performance following a bye following a 44-point performance against the Ravens two weeks earlier.

Biggest hole in the game plan: All-Pro cornerback derek stingley jr The matchup against Smith-Njigba, the NFL’s leading receiver, was a big one. Smith-Njigba finished with eight catches for 123 yards and a touchdown, while Stingley allowed 49 yards and a score. But Stingley never matched him in press coverage, the cornerback’s strong suit. According to Next Gen Stats, before Monday’s game, opponents had completed only 36% of their passes against Stingley in press coverage. And last season, Stingley allowed a passer rating of 14.0 when playing press, which was best in the NFL. Maybe Stingley, who had an interception in the fourth quarter, could have slowed down Smith-Njigba if he was allowed to play press coverage.

QB Performance: Stroud was unable to pick up where he left off before the bye, when he threw four touchdown passes in a 44–10 victory. Baltimore RavensIn Seattle, Stroud passed for 229 yards and threw one interception, while holding his offensive line to only 13 points. It wasn’t all his fault; When there were free rushers, there were many plays that would lead to a sack or throwaway. On Stroud’s interception, he had a free runner on his feet, which led to a foul throw. Overall, Stroud’s numbers were not good, but the players around him did not help enough.

turn: The Texans trailed by eight points at the end of the third quarter as their offense faced a third-and-1 at their own 41-yard line. running back woody marks Filled without any benefit. Then on fourth-and-1, he called a similar run play in which Marks fumbled again, resulting in a turnover on downs. The Seahawks scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive to take a 27–12 lead, giving them enough to win. – DJ Bien-Aime

Next game: versus san francisco 49ers (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)