Seahawks’ defense shines as Sam Darnold leads offense over Texans in home victory

The Seattle Seahawks defended their home turf on “Monday Night Football,” dominating the Houston Texans on the way to a 27-19 victory. 

Seattle improved to 5-2 on the season, while the Texans, fresh off a bye week, fall to 2-4. 

Sam Darnold and the Seahawks’ offense got off to a roaring start in the first quarter, scoring two touchdowns on their first three drives as Zach Charbonnet and Jaxon Smith-Njigba found pay dirt once again this season. 

Meanwhile, C.J. Stroud and the Texans’ offense couldn’t get a single thing going all night against this dynamic Seahawks defense. The first four drives for Stroud ended in punts, with no more than five plays ran in any of them. 

Surprisingly, both teams went into halftime with a one-score game, as the Texans were able to convert on two field goals before the second quarter clock hit zero to make it 14-6. 

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Then, in the second half, disaster struck for the Seahawks when Darnold was strip-sacked by Will Anderson Jr. in the end zone and the ball was recovered by the Texans for a much-needed touchdown. The two-point try was unsuccessful, but at 17-12, the game was within reach if Houston could figure something out on defense. 

However, Darnold led the Seahawks to another field goal in the third quarter, and Stroud turned the ball over on downs, which led to this game getting out of hand. 

The fourth-down try was on Houston’s own 41-yard line, and Darnold flipped the field with a 19-yard pass to Smith-Njigba to get in the red zone. A few plays later, Charbonnet added another short run for a score to make it 27-12. 

The Texans’ defense kept trying to keep their team in the game, including their fourth turnover of the game as Derek Stingley Jr. intercepted Darnold. But, even when the Texans were at Seattle’s 3-yard line, they were unable to score a touchdown as the Seahawks’ defense remained relentless. 

But Stroud was finally able to get a red zone trip that ended up with a touchdown, as he found running back Woody Marks to make it 27-19. It wasn’t enough time for Houston, though, as the Seahawks got the job done in the end. 

Looking at the box score, Smith-Njigba had yet another 100-plus-yard game, tallying eight catches for 123 yards with his touchdown to lead the game. And while Charbonnet scored the two touchdowns, Kenneth Walker III added 66 yards on 17 carries on his birthday. 

For the Texans, Nico Collins left the game early with a head injury, finishing with only four catches for 27 yards on 10 targets. It was tight end Dalton Schultz picking up the slack with nine catches for 98 yards.

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