Seattle Seahawks’ defense dominates Houston Texans in win

SEATTLE — Not everything was bad for Seattle sports fans on Monday night.

While the Mariners fell just short of making their first World Series appearance, the Seahawks took care of business at Lumen Field, beating the Houston Texans 27-19. The Seahawks’ defense held Houston to 254 yards and sacked C.J. Stroud three times, helping them overcome four turnovers. Meanwhile, Seattle wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught a touchdown pass while running back Zach Charbonnet ran for two more scores.

Here are the most important things to know from Monday’s matchup for both teams:

Moments before kickoff, the Seahawks had franchise legends Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas raise the ceremonial 12 flag at Lumen Field. Then Seattle’s defense turned in a performance that would make the Legion of Boom proud.

The Seahawks harassed Stroud, sacking him three times, intercepting him once and holding him to under a 50% completion rate (23-for-49). Their loaded pass rush and typically strong run defense were enough to keep Houston’s offense out of the end zone until late in the fourth quarter despite Seattle again playing short-handed in the secondary, with Devon Witherspoon and Julian Love both inactive.

Seattle’s offense got another huge game from Smith-Njigba, who caught eight passes for 123 yards and a touchdown, but it turned the ball over four times and converted only twice out of 14 times on third down.

This night belonged to the defense, whose dominance helped Seattle improve to 5-2 heading into the bye. While the Seahawks are off the rest of the week, they might not be idle with the Nov. 4 trade deadline approaching and a potential trade candidate in cornerback Riq Woolen, who isn’t part of their long-term plans. The Seahawks are expecting Witherspoon (and Love) back after the bye, which could give them more freedom to move Woolen and, depending on what they get in return, potentially improve what already is one of the best defenses in the NFL.

What to make of the QB performance: Sam Darnold has done an excellent job this season of avoiding sacks and negative plays in general, but he didn’t do that Monday night. With the Seahawks backed up near their own goal line in the third quarter, he tried to retreat in the end zone with the pocket collapsing in front of him, leading to a strip sack by Will Anderson Jr. that the Houston edge rusher recovered in the end zone. Darnold was sacked another time and threw an interception in the fourth quarter, making it an atypical performance for a quarterback who had entered the contest ranked third in Total QBR. Darnold completed 17 of 31 passes for 213 yards and a scoring strike to Smith-Njigba.

Trend to watch: If it wasn’t clear already, it should be now: Uchenna Nwosu is back to his old self. His sack of Stroud in the first quarter was his sixth in as many games this season. The veteran edge rusher missed the opener while coming back from offseason knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus he suffered in last season’s finale — one of several injuries that have plagued him in recent campaigns. All the time he has missed forced the 28-year-old to take a pay cut over the offseason to return to Seattle, creating plenty of uncertainty over his future with the Seahawks beyond 2025. But that’s becoming less of a question.

Stat to know: Smith-Njigba became the first player in Seahawks history with at least 100 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown in three straight games, according to ESPN Research. That’s just one stat that illustrates the incredible start he has had to the season — the kind of tear that is putting him in the conversation for best receivers in football. He entered Monday night leading the NFL in receiving by a wide margin with 696 yards, and he extended that lead with another 123 yards against Houston. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, his 11-yard touchdown catch had a completion probability of 28%, the least likely scoring pass for the Seahawks so far this season. — Brady Henderson

Next game: at Washington Commanders (Nov. 2, 8:20 p.m. ET)

The Texans’ disappointing offensive showing was best symbolized by an anemic goal-line possession in the fourth quarter.

Down 27-12 with 5:21 remaining, Houston lined up on the Seahawks’ 3-yard line while dealing with a deafening, flag-waving Lumen Stadium crowd. The Texans’ offense did nothing to silence the fans: The series of plays — a 2-yard run, an incompletion, another incompletion, a false start then yet another incompletion — resulted in a turnover on downs, ruining their best shot to come back to win a game in which they forced four Seattle turnovers.

When the game was on the line, Houston folded. The outing featured another slog for Houston’s offense, which could generate only 13 points and 254 total yards. Stroud was sacked three times and threw an interception — along with one touchdown pass. Houston’s run game was invisible, totaling just 56 yards. It was a disappointing showing coming off a bye, which followed a 44-point showing against the Ravens two weeks ago.

Biggest hole in the game plan: All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. versus Smith-Njigba, the NFL’s leading receiver, was a marquee matchup. Smith-Njigba finished with eight catches for 123 yards and a touchdown, with Stingley allowing 49 yards and the score. But Stingley never matched up against him in press coverage, the cornerback’s strong suit. Heading into Monday’s game, opponents had completed only 36% of their passes against Stingley in press coverage, according to Next Gen Stats. And last season, Stingley allowed a passer rating of 14.0 when playing press, the best in the NFL. Maybe Stingley, who had a fourth-quarter interception, could have slowed Smith-Njigba down if he were allowed to play press coverage.

QB performance: Stroud didn’t pick up where he left off before the bye, when he threw four touchdown passes in a 44-10 win over the Baltimore Ravens. In Seattle, Stroud passed for 229 yards and threw an interception while only leading his offensive group to 13 points. It wasn’t all his fault; there were multiple plays when there were free rushers, leading to a sack or throwaways. On Stroud’s interception, there was a free rusher at his feet, leading to the errant throw. Overall, Stroud’s numbers weren’t good, but the players around him didn’t help enough.

Turning point: The Texans were trailing by eight points late in the third quarter as their offense faced a third-and-1 at their own 41-yard line. Running back Woody Marks got stuffed for no gain. Then on fourth-and-1, they called a similar run play in which Marks got stuffed again, resulting in a turnover on downs. The Seahawks scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive to go up 27-12, which gave them enough of a cushion to win. — DJ Bien-Aime

Next game: vs. San Francisco 49ers (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)