Seahawks defense rebounds, leads way in road win vs. Jaguars

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Seahawks’ shootout loss to Tampa Bay last Sunday raised an ominous question : Was the defeat an outlier or a sign of some cracks in the foundation Mike Macdonald has been building in his second season?

The answer the Seahawks delivered maybe wasn’t quite as emphatic as it appeared it would be for much of the game, as they briefly left the door open for another fourth-quarter collapse.

But this time the defense stood firm, holding off the Jags three times in the fourth quarter when the hosts had the ball and a chance to forge a tie.

“We kept rebounding and kept fighting,” Macdonald said.

The offense, after playing sluggishly much of the second half, delivered the knockout punch with a 61-yard pass from Sam Darnold to tight end AJ Barner with just under three minutes left that let the Seahawks run the clock out.

“Our defense had been playing well all game so we owed it to them to do that,” Barner said.

The result was a 20-12 win over a Jags team that came into the game 4-1 following a comeback win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night.

While the offense faltered some late, Darnold finished with another sterling passing line going 15 of 27 for 295 yards and two touchdowns.

That included eight completions to Jaxon Smith-Njigba for 162 yards, including a 61-yard touchdown that was the longest of his career. He was 18 yards shy of the career high set last year against the Rams.

The Seahawks became the first team this season not to lose a turnover against the Jags, who came into the game with a plus-eight turnover differential, the best in the NFL.

“Thought our ball security was tremendous,” said Macdonald, who’d seen turnovers in the final minutes prove pivotal in Seattle’s only two losses this year.

The defense gave up two TDs, one on an early communication error and another when Jaguars receiver Tim Patrick simply made a better throw play on a ball than cornerback Josh Jobe.

But otherwise, this was the defense Macdonald likes to see.

The Seahawks had a season-high seven sacks, including two by DeMarcus Lawrence –- back after sitting out the 38-35 loss to Tampa Bay – and two by tackle Byron Murphy II, continuing his second-year ascendance.

While the Jags missed a point-after attempt and a field goal, the Seahawks used a 53-yard field goal by Jason Myers with 10 seconds left in the first half to key a 20-0 run that gave them a lead it never gave up.

“Great team win,” Macdonald said.

The win improved the Seahawks’ record to 4-2 and tied, for the moment, for second in the NFC West with the Rams, who won at Baltimore 17-3. The 4-1 49ers play at Tampa Bay later in the day.

The Seahawks led 13-6 at halftime after rallying from an early 6-0 deficit.

Smith-Njigba had five receptions for 117 yards at the break as Darnold hit on 8 of 14 passes for 140 yards.

The Seahawks fell behind 6-0 in the second quarter when a blown coverage led to an easy 21-yard touchdown pass from Trevor Lawrence to Brian Thomas Jr. Shaquill Griffin and safety Nick Emmanwori each moved up to guard a receiver in the flat, leaving Thomas wide open down the sideline.

Griffin said he and Emmanwori thought the Seahawks were on a zone when the actual call was for man coverage.

“Just miscommunication getting the call,” Griffin said. “The main thing is we stuck together and got it fixed.”

The Seahawks countered with a 66-yard drive for a Myers 24-yard field goal that made it 6-3. The drive was tinged in disappointment as the Seahawks had a first-and-goal at the 10 and ran it three straight times with Zach Charbonnet, including a 2-yard loss on a draw play from the 4.

The Seahawks got a stop on the next drive when Leonard Williams sacked Lawrence on third down.

The Seahawks needed just one play to take the lead with 8:34 to play in the second quarter when Darnold hit Smith-Njigba for a 61-yard touchdown pass. Smith-Njigba was lined up in the left slot on Jags cornerback Greg Newsome II – acquired by Jacksonville in a trade earlier in the week –- and ran straight down the hash marks and got behind him to reel in a perfect pass from Darnold. It was the first snap Newsome, a first-round pick of the Browns in 2021, played for the Jags.

“I don’t know if we knew,” Smith-Njigba said of targeting Newsome. “But I knew. I knew. It was good to take advantage of that look and execute.”

After the Jaguars missed a field goal, and the Seahawks moved into position for a 53-yard field goal by Jason Myers to put them up 13-6 at the break.

The Seahawks got the ball first to start the second half – the Jags won the coin toss but elected to receive to start the game – and took the kickoff and moved 77 yards in eight plays to take a 20-6 lead on an 11-yard pass from Darnold to Cooper Kupp with 10:14 left in the third quarter.

The TD, which came on a third-and-3 play, was the first of Kupp’s Seahawks career and was set up by his 29-yard reception three plays earlier

“Convert a third down, shoot that was a long time,” said Kupp, who said he couldn’t remember going six games into a season before scoring at any point in his career. “So I’ll take it.”

That gave the Seahawks 20 points in the span of 15:24 of game-clock time.

The Jags got back in it when Lawrence hit Tim Patrick with a 26-yard touchdown with 13:00 remaining to cut the lead to 20-12. Lawrence scrambled and lofted a pass over the head of Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe, who appeared to make a late jump on the ball, to cap a 14-play, 82-yard drive in which the Jags converted two fourth downs.

The Jags lined up for two and the Seahawks were called for having 13 players on the field. They had their heavy defensive line on the field and stopped a run from the 1 by Bhayshul Tuten to keep an eight-point lead.

The score brought back memories of the Seahawks blowing a 14-point lead at Arizona two weeks ago and a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter last week.

The Seahawks took over at their own 35 and couldn’t move it with Darnold getting Jacksonville’s first sack of the game by Arik Armstead for a 9-yard loss on third and 2.

The Jags took over at their own 12 with 10:49 remaining.

The Seahawks caught a break when Thomas couldn’t catch a pass when he had to leap for the ball over the middle for what would have been a sizable gain on third and 5.

The Seahawks again couldn’t move it, and the Jaguars got the ball back at their own 21 with 7:37 to play.

The Jags again couldn’t move it and again punted.

The Seahawks also couldn’t move it and again punted, giving the Jags one last chance with the ball, taking over at their own 36 with 4:03 remaining. A dropped pass on second down led to a third-and-long and another Seahawks sack – the seventh of the game –- and yet another punt.

This time, on first down, Darold hit Barner for 61 yards, allowing the Seahawks to run out the clock.