Smith-Njigba, defense show out again for Seahawks in win over Texans

SEATTLE (AP) — Jaxon Smith-Njigba called it spontaneous. Sam Darnold was simply surprised.

The reserved Smith-Njigba, who has let his play speak for itself while leading the NFL in yards receiving this season, decided to celebrate his fourth touchdown catch of the season in style.

After corralling an 11-yard pass from Darnold in the end zone to give the Seattle Seahawks a 14-0 lead on the Houston Texans late in the first quarter , Smith-Njigba effortlessly and gracefully slam-dunked the football on the crossbar of the goalposts. He drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the process, but helped guide the Seahawks to a 27-19 win on Monday night.

“That was very spontaneous,” Smith-Njigba said. “Definitely saw a lot of my favorites do it (growing up), but that was really on the spot right there.”

Smith-Njigba caught eight passes for 123 yards receiving, good for his NFL-leading fifth 100-yard receiving game of the season. He became the second player in franchise history to record three straight 100-yard games, and his five 100-yard games this season are tied for the second-most in a year by any Seahawks player.

As stellar as Smith-Njigba has been in his third NFL season, what he’s put forth on the regular has become somewhat expected. From teammate and 2021 AP NFL Offensive Player of the year Cooper Kupp’s perspective, though, Smith-Njigba’s excellence should be appreciated.

“There’s nothing routine about what he’s been able to do productivity-wise,” Kupp said. “It’s very difficult. That’s difficult. Takes a lot of work to be able to do that. I think that’s the standard.”

Outside of Smith-Njigba’s success, the Seahawks didn’t get a whole lot going offensively against the No. 1 rated scoring defense in the NFL. Seattle did strike first, though, when running back Zach Charbonnet plunged in from one yard out on the Seahawks’ second drive of the game to give them a 7-0 lead.

They had excellent field position thanks to linebacker Uchenna Nwosu sacking C.J. Stroud for an 18-yard loss, which pinned the Texans at their own one-yard line. It was the third-longest sack in Seahawks franchise history by Nwosu, who missed Seattle’s first game of the season and was limited due to injuries in 2023 and 2024.

“It’s amazing to see him play like this right now,” defensive end Leonard Williams III said of Nwosu.

Charbonnet punched in his second touchdown of the game, a two-yard rush, late in the third quarter to give the Seahawks a 27-12 advantage.

Houston, meanwhile, scored its first touchdown of the game when Darnold was strip-sacked in his own end zone midway through the third quarter. Texans edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. recovered the fumble in the Seahawks’ end zone, but Houston failed to convert its two-point conversion attempt.

“At the end of the day,” Darnold said, “I got to get the ball out of my hands.”

The Texans’ only offensive touchdown came courtesy of a four-yard TD pass from Stroud to running back Woody Marks with only 2:04 remaining in regulation.

“Our defense kept us in the whole game,” Stroud said. “Got to help those guys out and score some points somehow, some way.”

Ka’imi Fairbairn added two field goals for the Texans, whose two-game win streak was snapped and dropped to 2-4 on the year. Jason Myers, meanwhile, converted two of three attempts for the Seahawks, who advanced to 5-2 on the season and moved into a tie atop the NFC West with the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams heading into their bye week

“I think we got our bye at the perfect time,” Williams said. “It’s almost midseason right now. I think we’re going into it feeling good about what we’ve accomplished so far.”

Jiving Jones

Linebacker Ernest Jones IV set a career-high with his third interception of the season, picking off Stroud on the Texans’ first drive of the third quarter. Jones dropped into coverage and slid in front of a pass intended for Houston’s leading receiver, Nico Collins, and returned it 28 yards.

“This one here caught me off guard a little bit,” Jones said. “I didn’t see it until the last moment; just glad I was able to come down with it.”

The Seahawks increased their lead to 17-6 on a 26-yard field goal by Myers after Jones’ interception.

Jones also had a game-high 11 total tackles, four solo tackles, one tackle for loss and one pass defended in the victory. He leads the Seahawks in interceptions, total tackles and solo tackles.

“He’s really important,” Williams said of Jones. “He’s pretty much the quarterback of the defense. He keeps everyone calm. He hypes everyone up.”

Houston, we have a protection problem

Stroud was sacked three times on Monday night, and hit another seven times by Seattle’s pass rush. Seven games into the season, the Texans’ offensive line has allowed Stroud to be sacked 18 times, a significantly better rate than the 2024 season

Last year, Stroud was sacked 52 times in 17 games. Despite the improvement, right tackle Tytus Howard recognized Monday’s showing was a step back for the Texans. Houston coach DeMeco Ryans added that Houston’s offensive line was sloppy in defeat.

“We were complacent today,” Howard said. “We didn’t come out with enough energy to start the game.”

Home, sweet home

Monday’s victory moved Seattle’s home record to 2-2. Last season, the Seahawks went 3-6 at Lumen Field, including four double-digit losses.

In 2024, the Seahawks finished the season with a 7-1 record away from home, which matched their best road record in franchise history. Seattle also went 7-1 away from Lumen Field in 2019.

Heading into the 2025 season, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald was optimistic the Seahawks would be able to more frequently make the most of their homefield advantage that the at-times deafening Lumen Field can turn into for the opposition.

“The 12s were on fire,” Macdonald said. “Great atmosphere. Our guys are fired up. Our home crowd was just tremendous.

Injuries

Seahawks: WR Dareke Young suffered a hip injury in the second half and did not return.

The Seahawks played without linebacker Derick Hall and two starting defensive backs: S Julian Love and CBs Devon Witherspoon.

Texans: Nico Collins was evaluated for a concussion in the second half and did not return. The Texans played without wide receiver Christian Kirk, running back Dameon Pierce and defensive end Darrell Taylor.

Up next

Texans: Hosts San Francisco next Sunday.

Seahawks: Bye week, followed by visiting Washington on Nov. 2.