Darnold stars with 4 TDs in win, boosts MVP odds

LANDOVER, Md. — At halftime of the Seattle Seahawks’ blowout win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday night at Northwest Stadium, Sam Darnold had four touchdown passes and zero incompletions, having connected on all 16 of his attempts.

He didn’t know it until someone told him — a no-no in football akin to talking about a no-hitter in baseball.

«Obviously, I can feel the flow of the game and understand that we’re doing really good on offense, but no I didn’t know that I hadn’t thrown an incompletion,» Darnold said after the 38-14 victory. «It was pretty cool. Someone at halftime said to me that I hadn’t thrown an incompletion, so I think he’s to blame for throwing an incompletion in the second half.»

By the time Darnold missed for the first time, the Seahawks were well on their way to a win that improved their record to 6-2 — and boosted their quarterback’s MVP odds in the process.

«Not going to say who it was,» Darnold said with a smile, refusing to give up the culprit.

Darnold finished 21-of-24 for 330 yards, four touchdowns and one interception before he was pulled in favor of Drew Lock with just over seven minutes left. That was good enough for a Total QBR of 97.8, the best in any game of his eight-year NFL career.

According to ESPN Research, there have been four instances of a player recording a QBR of 97 or higher in a game this season, and Darnold has three of them. The others are his performances against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5 (97.4) and the New Orleans Saints in Week 3 (97.3). Darnold’s three such games are tied with Tom Brady (2007), Tony Romo (2014) and Lamar Jackson (2019) for the most by a starting quarterback in a season since ESPN began tracking Total QBR in 2006.

«Sam’s execution right now, he’s just ridiculous,» coach Mike Macdonald said. «All the things we’ve talked about that he’s been doing, but decisive, making smart decisions, our receivers are doing a great job, I thought the protection was really good.»

The Seahawks were short-handed at receiver, with Cooper Kupp, Jake Bobo and Dareke Young inactive. It didn’t look like it, though, with Darnold throwing touchdown passes on each of Seattle’s first four possessions. He connected twice with rookie Tory Horton — who assumed Kupp’s role of No. 2 receiver — before hitting rookie tight end Elijah Arroyo and veteran receiver Cody White.

Darnold’s 87.5% completion rate was the second highest in a game in Seahawks history (minimum 10 attempts), behind only Russel Wilson’s 88.6% in a 2020. By completing his first 17 passes, Darnold tied the franchise record that Warren Moon set in 1998, which was also to begin the game.

«Believe me when I say it, I’m not surprised,» Macdonald said of Darnold’s completion streak. «We watch Sam every day and how he operates, and he’s the same guy every day, which is what you love about him. We’re chasing it. The guys are determined, and it’s fun to watch. When the team comes together, that’s the type of stuff you can do when you play the right way, you prepare the right way. Our coaches deserve a lot of credit. I thought [offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak] called a great game.»

Jaxon Smith-Njigba extended his NFL lead in receiving with 129 yards on eight catches, marking the sixth time in eight games he has topped triple digits.

Smith-Njigba was asked about the etiquette observed with a quarterback who’s off to a perfect start.

«We stay away from him a little bit and just let him do his thing,» he said. «I think somebody might’ve broke the news to him, but yeah, honestly, I didn’t know. We were just in such a flow and just out there dealing, so it was great to see that.»

According to ESPN Research, Darnold began the day with 60-to-1 odds to win MVP, per ESPN BET. Those odds improved to 18-to-1 by the end of the game.

With their win, the Seahawks are 4-0 on the road this season and 11-1 since the start of last season.

Seattle lost middle linebacker Ernest Jones IV to a knee injury and cornerback Josh Jobe to a concussion in the second quarter. Macdonald said of Jones’ injury, «It’s not season ending, but we’ll see how it goes.»