Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. How did you watch Game 7 of the World Series? Was it while dressed as a fisherman at a party where hardly anyone else cared about baseball like I did?
In today’s SI:AM:
🏈 Seattle’s statement win
😞 Jayden Daniels’ latest injury
⚾ Baseball’s modern dynasty
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He’s been worth every penny
At roughly the halfway point of the NFL season, no clear Super Bowl favorite has emerged. Preseason favorites like the Ravens, Chiefs and Lions have not lived up to expectations, and surprise success stories like the Colts and Patriots still have to prove that their strong records are more than a product of their weak schedules. Among the crowded group of NFC contenders is a team that looks better with each passing week: the Seahawks.
Seattle cruised to its most impressive win of the season on Sunday night, beating the Commanders, 38–14, as quarterback Sam Darnold sliced and diced the Washington defense in what was the most efficient game of his career.
Darnold completed 21 of 24 passes for 330 yards with four touchdowns and an interception. He was literally unstoppable in the first half, completing all 16 of his pass attempts while throwing for four touchdowns as Seattle jumped out to a 31–7 halftime lead. His first incompletion of the night came on his second pass of the third quarter.
Darnold didn’t realize he was having a perfect passing night until someone told him at halftime and joked that he wouldn’t have thrown an incomplete pass if he hadn’t been jinxed.
“Someone at halftime said to me that I hadn't thrown an incompletion,” Darnold said. “So I think he's to blame for throwing an incompletion in the second half.”
Darnold’s 87.5% completion rate was his highest in any game of his career (minimum two pass attempts), surpassing his previous career high of 82.4% set in Week 5 against the Buccaneers. The game also marked just the fifth time in 81 career starts that Darnold threw at least four touchdown passes. (His career high is five, set in Week 14 of last season.)
With the win, the Seahawks improved to 6–2 on the season, tied with the Rams, Bucs and Eagles for the best record in the NFC. The biggest reason for their success is their retooled offense, spearheaded by Darnold, who signed a three-year, $100.5 million contract in March, days after Seattle traded away incumbent starter Geno Smith. The Seahawks also traded away Pro Bowl receiver DK Metcalf and released veteran Tyler Lockett and tight end Noah Fant. Darnold is doing just fine with the Seahawks’ new group of pass catchers, though. The top target is still Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who is in his third year in Seattle and fresh off a breakout season last year. He’s leading the NFL in receiving yards this season. Former Rams star Cooper Kupp is second on the team with 23 catches, followed by second-year tight end AJ Barner. Rookie fifth-round receiver Tory Horton had two touchdowns in Sunday’s game, and wideout Cody White had a 60-yard touchdown catch for his first score of his career.
What sets the Seahawks’ offense apart is its deep passing game. Darnold leads all quarterbacks this season in average yards per attempt and yards per completion, primarily because Seattle is pushing the ball down the field more aggressively and more effectively than any other team in the league. The Seahawks are averaging 9.0 intended air yards per pass attempt this season, slightly behind the Rams, who lead the league with 9.2. Seattle, though, is connecting on those deep pass attempts better than any other team, averaging 8.6 completed air yards per completion. The Rams are second at 7.5.
With Darnold picking up right where he left off after last year’s career-changing season with the Vikings and the defense continuing the improvement it made last season under defensive-minded head coach Mike Macdonald, the Seahawks have very few weaknesses. In an NFC where no team has looked infallible, Seattle is as strong a Super Bowl contender as anyone.
The best of Sports Illustrated
- Albert Breer explores how the Bills’ renewed focus showed in their win over the Chiefs and provides his takeaways from across the league, with thoughts on McCarthy’s progress and Cam Little’s record-setting kick.
- Conor Orr explains why neither Dan Quinn nor Jayden Daniels deserves blame for the QB’s late-game injury—and how the NFL’s culture of “playing through it” makes moments like this all too common.
- Orr also dives into why Chicago’s gutsy win over the Bengals signaled a new era under Ben Johnson—a coach unafraid to take chances and trust his young stars.
- The Dodgers capped off a six-year run of dominance with their third World Series title. Tom Verducci calls it the making of baseball’s modern dynasty.
- Pat Forde breaks down how Auburn’s 10–3 loss to Kentucky was the final blow in what became an undeniably disastrous Hugh Freeze era.
- Forde updates his College Football Playoff bracket after Week 10, with Vanderbilt and Miami tumbling out just before the committee’s first rankings drop.
- With the first CFP rankings set to drop Tuesday, Bryan Fischer breaks down what to watch—from crowded Power 4 races to a wide-open Group of 5 field that could shake up the playoff picture.
The top five…
… things I saw yesterday:
5. This beautiful cross-court pass by Luka Dončić.
4. A perfect rainbow touchdown pass by Drake Maye.
3. The Islanders’ two goals in a span of 29 seconds late in the third period to steal a win against the Blue Jackets. Matthew Schaefer had the first, followed by Simon Holmstrom. Schaefer, who turned 18 in September, was the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft. He had another goal earlier in the game, making him the youngest defenseman in NHL history with two goals in a game, breaking the record previously set by Bobby Orr.
2. A one-handed touchdown catch by Raiders tight end Brock Bowers.
1. Jaguars kicker Cam Little’s NFL record 68-yard field goal.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as SI:AM | Sam Darnold’s Lights-Out Game Shows Seahawks’ High Ceiling.