Commanders Upset Seattle 33-31 Behind Marcus Mariota

Cancel the hearse. The funeral for the Washington Commanders’ 2026 season is not happening. Not today.

Marcus Mariota, filling in for starting quarterback Jayden Daniels, threw for three touchdowns, while the defense intercepted Seattle QB Sam Darnold twice, including a pick-six by linebacker Kain Medrano, as the Commanders held on for a 33-31 upset victory over the defending Super Bowl champions at Northwest Stadium on Sunday.

“When you start off with two division road games, that’s tough. It’s tough on you. And our guys didn’t blink. I thought we had a great week of practice. This is what this is about. Like, this is kind of the NFL. You get kind of knocked down at different points in the year. It really just shows a lot about the guys in the locker room, and to get to this, I know 1-2 is not where we want to be, but that was a huge win for us moving forward.”

Washington improves to 1-2 on the young season while Seattle falls to 2-1.

“It was important. I don’t want to undercut that,” head coach Dan Quinn said in his postgame press conference. “I liked the practice the team put together. But (we knew) it was going to take some resiliency. We knew this was going to be a slugfest.”

The Commanders came into the afternoon as heavy underdogs but took control of the game in the first quarter when Seahawks running back Jadarian Price fumbled on his own 21-yard line. Commanders linebacker Sonny Styles and cornerback Amik Robertson forced the turnover, and the ball was recovered by Tim Settle. Four plays later, Mariota (19 for 31, 183 yards, three touchdowns) found running back Rachaad White for a six-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

“We’ve got a big wall outside my office for takeaways, and for two weeks it has been empty, devastatingly empty,” Quinn said. “So to have some to get filled up on that was a big deal.”

Seattle would tie the game in the second quarter when Darnold found receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a one-yard touchdown to make the score 7-7.

Washington retook the lead, 14-7, with 6:47 left before halftime when Mariota found Treylon Burks in the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown, his first as a Commander.

“That was really like something through the week that we thought we would maybe get a chance at, and Trey did a good job,” Mariota said. “It’s not an easy route. He’s got to really cross the face with the safety, and the way that he was able to do that, protect the throw, hang onto it. It was an unbelievable play by him. Like I said, it was some of that game plan-wise our coaches thought we might have a shot at it, and it just ended up being the perfect look.”

Once again, the Commanders’ defense struggled, giving up 437 yards of total offense, but made some big plays when needed.

On Seattle’s next possession, Darnold drove the Seahawks down to the Washington 2-yard line with 1:55 left before halftime. Rather than settle for a field goal, the Seahawks went for it on fourth down, but Darnold’s throw to A.J. Barner was incomplete and the lead remained 14-7.

Ultimately, Seattle would make a late first-half field goal, but Mariota was able to move into position for rookie kicker Drew Stevens to kick one of his own from 57 yards to make the lead 17-10 at halftime.

The defense made its second big play early in the third quarter when defensive lineman Tim Settle tipped a Darnold pass intended for Smith-Njigba. Linebacker Sonny Styles caught it for his first career interception. Three plays later, Mariota hit Terry McLaurin for a 30-yard touchdown pass to increase the lead to 24-10.

The Seahawks responded immediately with an eight-play, 60-yard drive ending with tight end Eric Saubert catching a 13-yard pass from Darnold. Saubert fumbled at the goal line but recovered the ball for a touchdown to make the score 24-17.

Seattle would then open the fourth quarter with another touchdown drive and another Darnold-to-Smith-Njigba pass that tied the game at 24.

Washington retook the lead, 27-24, with a 36-yard Stevens field goal, but the momentum was clearly with Seattle.

Darnold pushed the ball to the Washington 44-yard line and dropped back to throw, looking for Barner, but Medrano stepped in front of him, intercepting the ball and racing 50 yards to the end zone to make the score 33-24.

“Really just being in the right place at the right time,” Medrano said. “We had a defense on, I’m just trying to find space to go get the quarterback in. Just kind of happened to run right underneath the check-down route and saw green grass and had to show off my wide receiver skills.”

In its excitement, the defense was called for an excessive celebration penalty, which contributed to Stevens missing the extra point.

Darnold responded quickly. He completed passes of 26, 18, 15 and 17 yards before finding Cooper Kupp for a seven-yard touchdown to make the score 33-31 and set up Seattle’s defense to make a stop and give the offense a chance to win the game.

Marcus Mariota had other ideas.

Faced with a third-and-nine play on their own 34-yard line, Washington handed the ball to Rachaad White, who ran 19 yards for a first down. Three plays later, Mariota ran nine yards on third-and-seven to seal the win.

The win could potentially change the trajectory of the season for Washington. The Commanders fly to London to play the Indianapolis Colts next Sunday and then come home for a game against the New York Giants, who are without quarterback Jackson Dart. Even more encouraging, Daniels could be back by the Giants game.

A season that seemed lost a few hours before kickoff changed dramatically Sunday.

Postgame Notes

Quinn said linebacker Leo Chenal was taken to the hospital after injuring his neck on a tackle in the second half. He was taken off the field on a stretcher but had feeling in his arms and legs.

Despite its struggles, the defense forced three turnovers against Seattle. They are the first team this season to do so and the first since the Los Angeles Rams in Week 16 of the 2025 season to accomplish the feat against the Seahawks.

Rookie linebacker Sonny Styles had five tackles and a quarterback hit, in addition to his interception.