The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Washington Commanders 38-14 on Sunday Night Football on NBC. Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold tied two franchise passing records while linking up with two rookies for three combined touchdowns. Seahawks tight end AJ Barner also converted a one-yard tush push for a touchdown. Unfortunately, the Commanders exited with four notable injuries. Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels suffered an apparent elbow dislocation, wide receiver/kick returner Luke McCaffrey suffered an apparent shoulder injury, and perimeter cornerbacks Marshon Lattimore (knee) and Trey Amos (hip) were hurt as well.
The Seahawks (6-2) host the Cardinals (2-5) in Week 10, while the Commanders (3-6) host the Lions (5-3).
SNF Fantasy Standouts
- Sam Darnold QB, Seahawks: 330 passing yards, four passing touchdowns and one interception. Darnold completed his first 17 pass attempts, while throwing for 290 yards and four touchdowns, tying former Seahawks quarterback Warren Moon’s “franchise records for most completions to begin a game and most consecutive completions in a game.” Seahawks backup quarterback Drew Lock entered the game with just over seven minutes left.
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba WR, Seahawks: Eight receptions and 129 yards on nine targets, one rush for 11 yards. Smith-Njigba entered Week 9 with a three-game streak, catching exactly eight passes while totaling at least 123 receiving yards. He extends both here despite being benched with more than seven minutes remaining.
- Tory Horton WR, Seahawks: Four receptions, 48 yards and two touchdowns on four targets. Horton served as the Seahawks’ No. 2 wide receiver with slot receiver Cooper Kupp (heel/hamstring) sidelined. The speedy rookie seized the moment, beating the Commanders’ perimeter cornerback Marshon Lattimore from four yards out on his first touchdown before later running right past the Commanders’ slot cornerback Mike Sainristil for his second.
SNF Fantasy Flops
- Deebo Samuel WR, Commanders: Five receptions and 41 yards on six targets, one rush for three yards. Samuel served as the Commanders’ No. 1 wide receiver against the Seahawks with wide receiver Terry McLaurin (quad) sidelined. Although Samuel paced the team in targets, his box score results fall short of expectations.
- Jacory Croskey-Merritt RB, Commanders: 38 rushing yards, one reception and three yards on one target. Croskey-Merritt technically occupies the Commanders’ top spot on the depth chart, but he continues to underperform while his run-centric touch counts suffer from trailing game scripts.
Usage Notes
- AJ Barner’s usage: Barner caught 3-of-4 targets for 24 yards and successfully scored a rushing touchdown via a tush push from the Commanders’ one-yard line. Barner notably logged one short-distance rushing attempt in Weeks 1, 2, 7 and 9, converting all four for a first down and/or a touchdown. Barner entered Week 9 with three TE1 finishes on the year. Although his continued situational rushing usage will occur unpredictably, it notably enhances his fantasy-scoring ceiling.
- Kenneth Walker’s situational snap share: The Seahawks totaled 10 third-down snaps and five snaps inside the Commanders’ five-yard line. He was on the field for four (40.0 percent) of the third downs and five (80.0 percent) of the snaps inside the five. Unfortunately, Walker failed to score a touchdown, rushing 11 times for 42 yards and catching just two passes for 19 yards on two targets.
- Elijah Arroyo’s usage: Arroyo slightly increased his snap share following the Seahawks’ Week 8 bye. Tonight against the Commanders, Arroyo played on 29.0 percent of snaps (22-of-76) while catching 2-of-2 targets for 29 yards and one touchdown and averaging 2.64 yards per route run (YPRR). In Weeks 6-7, Arroyo logged a 25.4 percent snap share (52-of-205) while catching 5-of-7 targets for 48 yards and averaging 1.60 YPRR. The increased per-route efficiency is a great sign, particularly post-bye, but he remains the No. 2 tight end behind Barner.
Injury Watch
- Jayden Daniels QB, Cardinals: Daniels dislocated his left elbow while being tackled by Seahawks linebacker Drake Thomas, who spun Daniels down to the ground at the Seahawks’ two-yard line. Daniels attempted to soften his fall by putting his left hand down on the ground during the tackle. Unfortunately, the rotational momentum applied to the joint caused it to collapse inward. He eventually walked off the field, aided by Commanders trainers, with his left, non-throwing arm in an air cast. Daniels totaled 157 passing yards, one interception, 51 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown before leaving. Backup quarterback Marcus Mariota is a logical waiver wire addition for quarterback-needy teams. He is a QB2 with QB1 upside thanks to his rushing ability.
Waiver Wire Radar
- Tory Horton WR, Seahawks: Horton’s 22 receiving snaps trailed only Smith-Njigba’s 26 this evening. Should Kupp be unable to play in Week 10 against the Cardinals, Horton can be started as a WR3.
One Big Stat
Seahawks rookie wide receiver Tory Horton (two) and rookie tight end Elijah Arroyo’s (one) three combined receiving touchdowns against the Commanders combine for the highest single-game rookie receiving touchdown sum scored by an NFL team this season.
Coming Monday at Rotoworld:
- Rotoworld Football Show: Week 9 Sunday Recap
- Sunday Aftermath article by Patrick Daugherty
- Week 10 Waiver Wire article by Kyle Dvorchak
- Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry LIVE at noon ET on YouTube
- Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Q&A with Patrick Daugherty & Kyle Dvorchak
