Seattle Seahawks Bounce Back, Squeak Past Washington Commanders

The Seattle Seahawks earned a hard-fought win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday.

The Seattle Seahawks have felt the force of the NFL's DMV-area teams on both ends of the country over the past week.

But after Week 9's blowout loss to the Baltimore Ravens, the Seahawks overcame a back-and-forth battle with the Washington Commanders (4-6) at Lumen Field on Sunday, using a game-winning 43-yard field goal from Jason Myers at the horn to secure a 29-26 win.

Seattle (6-3) recovered from some first-half inconsistencies on offense before coming alive at the right time in the second half. Geno Smith finished 31 of 47 passing for 369 yards passing and two touchdowns. He found DK Metcalf for a 27-yard gain with 24 seconds left that allowed the Seahawks to spike the ball and bring out Myers, who nailed all five of his field goals on the day.

Metcalf finished with a team-high 98 yards on seven catches. Tyler Lockett had a big second half and scored a fourth-quarter touchdown with 3:45 to play that gave Seattle the temporary 26-19 lead before Washington tied it again. He finished with eight grabs for 92 yards.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) looks to pass against Washington Commanders defensive end Efe Obada (97) during the first quarter at Lumen Field / © Joe Nicholson, USA TODAY

But arguably the biggest play of the day for the Seahawks offense came from running back Kenneth Walker III. He had a solid day on the ground with 19 carries for 63 yards, yet it was his 64-yard catch-and-run touchdown in the third quarter that have the Seahawks life at a critical stage in the game.

The roles were reversed for the Seahawks offense and defense from the first to the second half. While Seattle's offense was stagnant coming out of the gate, the defense kept things close despite allowing a pesky Commanders offense to find the end zone on the fourth play of the game.

That changed in the second half, as it was instead the Seahawks defense that crumbled late, which forced the ball into Smith's hands to win the game in the clutch. Commanders quarterback Sam Howell, who finished 29 of 44 passing for 312 yards and three touchdowns, had an impressive day.

His 51-yard passing touchdown at the start of the game to running back Brian Robinso Jr. gave Washington a quick 6-0 lead. The Commanders wouldn't find the end zone again until the fourth quarter when Howell connected with Antonio Gibson and Dyami Brown for touchdowns of 19 and 35 yards respectively to tie the game at 26-26 with 52 seconds to go.

The valiant effort by the second-year quarterback should be recognized, but Washington's inability to stop the Seattle passing attack on the game's final drive proved to be the difference.

The Seahawks will visit the Los Angeles Rams in Week 11.