Commanders 33, Seahawks 31: Medrano Ends the Streak

September 27, 2026 - Landover - Leo Chenal left on a cart with a neck injury. Two quarters later, the linebacker who replaced the noise was Kain Medrano, under a Sam Darnold pass to AJ Barner, 50 yards of green in front of him. He scored. The Washington Commanders beat the Seattle Seahawks 33-31 at Northwest Stadium and snapped a 12-game Seattle winning streak that included last season's Super Bowl run.

Washington is 1-2. Seattle is 2-1. It was the first Seattle loss since November, per AP. Jayden Daniels sat with the elbow. Marcus Mariota threw three touchdowns in the rain. Dan Quinn's turnover wall had been empty for two weeks. Three takeaways led to 20 Commanders points.

Sam Darnold completed 31 of 45 for 379 yards and four scores in his first full game of the season. Two second-half interceptions decided it. Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught 10 for 128 and two touchdowns. Seattle outgained Washington 437-258 and had 28 first downs to 17. The Commanders still ran the last clock.

Price's fumble, then a goal-line wall

Sonny Styles punched the ball from Jadarian Price. Amik Robertson recovered. Mariota hit Rachaad White from 6. 7-0. Price finished 5 carries for 15 and lost the fumble.

Seattle marched 90 yards. Darnold found Smith-Njigba from a yard in the second quarter. 7-7. Mariota answered. A screen to Jaylin Lane gained 21. Treylon Burks scored. 14-7.

Darnold threw three straight incompletions from the 2, the last a drop by Barner. That stand held 14-7. Seattle still got a field goal before the break after a tackle on Cooper Kupp. Mariota moved Drew Stevens into range. The 57-yarder beat the half. 17-10.

McLaurin from 30, Medrano from 50

Tim Settle tipped Darnold to open the third. Styles intercepted it at the Seattle 43. Three plays later Mariota hit Terry McLaurin from 30, Washington's first 20-plus play allowed by Seattle this season, per the Seahawks. 24-10. McLaurin finished 6 for 77 and that score.

Darnold found Eric Saubert from 13. 24-17. Smith-Njigba's second touchdown, 11 yards with 11:53 left, tied it at 24. Stevens made another field goal. 27-24.

On second-and-15, Medrano read Barner, took it 50, and ran through Darnold's tackle attempt. 33-24, 3:57 left. Seattle still went 68 yards in 66 seconds. Kupp scored from 7. 33-31.

Washington had one third-down conversion before the last drive. White gained 19 on third-and-9. Mariota dove for the first down on third-and-7. Quinn said there was very little chance Mariota was giving that one off. The Super Bowl champions did not get the ball back.

The Seahawks listed Washington at 2-for-12 on third down except for those two closing runs. Seattle rushed 18 times for 44 yards, its second-lowest total under Mike Macdonald. Darnold's 379 was a career high, and the first time he had 350 yards and four passing scores in one game. He still told the club he could not turn it over that way.

Through two weeks Seattle had not allowed a 20-yard play. Lane's 21-yarder broke it. McLaurin's 30-yard score was the longest play this defense had given up all year. The Commanders still averaged 4.0 yards per play. Three takeaways did the math the other way. Odafe Oweh had said during the week the takeaways would come if the front kept disrupting. Daronte Jones got that tape.

Mariota went 19 of 31 for 183, three scores, no picks, and 5 rushes for 11. The Commanders forced four punts. Leonard Williams had a sack and two tackles for loss. Styles finished with a pick, a forced fumble, and two pass breakups. AP reported Chenal's neck injury. The club did not update a return in the recap. Quinn said 1-2 and 0-3 do not look great on paper and feel a lot different.

Washington plays Indianapolis in London in Week 4. Seattle hosts the Chargers on Oct. 4. A 1-2 home opener against the defending champions will travel better than 0-3 would have. Mariota said they need several more days like it. McLaurin said he and Mariota have a third-year rapport and the room believes he can win when Daniels cannot. The streak is over. The next test is whether Washington can do it without a pick-six as the loudest play. Twelve wins in a row ended on a backup quarterback, a 57-yard kick, and a linebacker showing off receiver skills, as Medrano put it.

AthX Engine after a 12-game streak died

AthX Engine NFL scoring already has the Week 3 lines in. Darnold's 379 yards and four scores land at 51.57, the top total in this game even with two picks. Smith-Njigba is 50.12. Williams is 43.00. Mariota is 35.39. Styles is 34.50. Medrano's pick-six is 32.50. Washington's team line is 71.75.

Fantasy points measure the box. Price is what traders will pay after a backup quarterback and three takeaways beat the defending champions. They move together. They are not the same number.

Track Mariota, Daniels, McLaurin, Darnold, Smith-Njigba, and both clubs on the marketplace.

*Sources: Commanders.com, Seahawks.com, AP recap (CBS), ESPN Week 3 scoreboard. AthX Engine Week 3 lines scored from nflverse weekly stats (CC-BY 4.0). Information only; not financial advice.*