LANDOVER, Md. -- Sam Darnold's return from the glute injury that sidelined him for most of the Seattle Seahawks' first two games was shaping up to be memorable.
His third touchdown pass against the Washington Commanders on Sunday tied the game at 24 in the fourth quarter, capping Seattle's rally from a 14-point deficit and putting the defending Super Bowl champion in position to extend its franchise-record winning streak to 13 games.
Then Darnold made what he called "a bad decision" -- a throw over the middle that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. His second pick of the day and Seattle's third turnover against Washington was too much to overcome in a 33-31 loss at Northwest Stadium.
"Obviously, I can't turn the ball over the way that I did," said Darnold, who threw for a career-high 379 yards. "We can't turn the ball over as an offense and be inefficient and expect to win games. But ... you've got to tip your cap to the Commanders. They played a really good game. We're just going to continue to look at the film, look at it tomorrow, and I think it really starts with looking in the mirror and seeing how everyone can be better and improve."
Darnold threw another touchdown pass in the closing minutes, but the Seahawks couldn't get the stop they needed to get the ball back. That ended the NFL's longest winning streak since the Kansas City Chiefs won 15 straight over the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
With the Commanders missing quarterback Jayden Daniels and several other starters, the Seahawks closed as 8.5-point road favorites. This marked their largest upset loss in terms of point spread since the New York Giants beat Seattle in 2020 as 10.5-point underdogs, according to ESPN Research.
Turnovers and the absence of a run game were the story for the Seahawks (2-1) as they lost on the road for only the third time since Mike Macdonald became their coach in 2024.
Rookie running back Jadarian Price lost his second fumble in as many weeks in the first quarter, leading to the Commanders' first touchdown. Darnold was intercepted in the third quarter when his throw to Jaxon Smith-Njigba was deflected at the line of scrimmage and caught by linebacker Sonny Styles. That led to another Washington touchdown.
On the pick-six, Darnold was trying to hit tight end AJ Barner on a short, play-action throw over the middle, but backup linebacker Kain Medrano jumped in front of it and returned the interception 50 yards to the end zone.
"Just a bad decision," Darnold said. "The end did a good job of not letting me escape to the outside, and I had to make a quick decision, and I should have dirted it at his feet.
"I saw him. He made a really good play, but that's a ball I've got to throw away."
Two of Darnold's four touchdown passes were to Smith-Njigba, who has six receiving scores in three games. Per ESPN Research, he is the first player since Calvin Johnson in 2011 with six receiving touchdowns through the first three games of a season. The reigning AP Offensive Player of the Year finished with 10 catches for 128 yards. He also completed a pass for 14 yards on a trick play.
Darnold also threw touchdown passes to tight end Eric Saubert in the third quarter and to wide receiver Cooper Kupp in the fourth. The latter score pass capped a quick-strike drive that got the Seahawks to within two points after the pick-six.
Darnold finished 31-of-45, putting the offense on his shoulders on a day in which Seattle's tailbacks managed just 39 yards on 17 rushing attempts.
"Sam came back, and Sam was Sam," Smith-Njigba said. "Those few turnovers and tips happen, but I love having 14 back there, and I love the confidence and playmaking abilities. Like you saw today, it's something we have to have, and I'm happy to get him back."
Darnold surprised the Seahawks with how quickly he came back from the glute injury he suffered on the fifth play of the season opener. After watching from the sideline as backup Drew Lock quarterbacked the Seahawks to a 2-0 start, Darnold was limited Wednesday in his return to practice, then a full participant Thursday and Friday.
Darnold said postgame that he felt "great" -- though that was also the wording he used during the playoffs last year while playing through an oblique injury that he later admitted was more painful than he let on publicly. His mobility did not appear to be an issue Sunday as he escaped the pocket multiple times and gained 5 yards on his only run.
"I really tried to test it pregame in the pre-pre-warmup," he said, "and then obviously with the pads on, I tried to run around a little bit out there and felt good."
Darnold made his second straight Pro Bowl in 2025 despite leading all players with 20 turnovers during the regular season. As a team, the Seahawks' 28 giveaways were the second most in the NFL. They were able to overcome them in large part because their defense and special teams were so dominant, but that wasn't the case Sunday.
The Seahawks allowed only 258 yards against Washington, but they did not force a turnover against backup quarterback Marcus Mariota.
Darnold, meanwhile, was not sacked despite being blitzed on 23 of 46 dropbacks. Per ESPN Research, that was the second-most blitzes he has faced in a game in his career.
"I thought he made some tremendous plays on time, and then on extended plays," Macdonald said. "Thought he did a great job. The takeaways are tough, but again, we'll look at them and see why we made those decisions and see what we can do to make better decisions. But I think on the whole, he kept us in the game, I know that. We were in ... a down-two-score mode there and then we went right down the field."
The Seahawks return home to host the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 4.
"There's a lot of positives coming out of there," Macdonald said. "It's just operationally, how can we stay ahead of the sticks? How can we run the ball better? Things like that."
