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Mike Macdonald can set the NFL record for a head coach's best start on the road.
A win at Washington on Sunday puts him at 17-2 through his first 19 road games, alone at the top of NFL history. Sam Darnold is also back at quarterback for Seattle. Washington will be without Jayden Daniels, out with an elbow injury.
Macdonald's shot at NFL history
Mike Macdonald is 16-2 in his first 18 regular season road games as Seattle's head coach. That ties George Seifert, who went 16-2 in his first 18 road games with the 49ers from 1989 to 1991, for the best start on the road by any coach in the NFL since 1922.
Sunday at Washington is Macdonald's 19th road game. A win makes him 17-2 and puts him alone at the top. Through 19 road games, the best anyone else has done is 16-3, a mark shared by Seifert and by Allie Sherman with the Giants from 1961 to 1963. A loss would leave Macdonald at 16-3, tied with them instead of ahead.
| Date | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 15, 2024 | New England Patriots | 23-20 | W |
| Sep 30, 2024 | Detroit Lions | 29-42 | L |
| Oct 20, 2024 | Atlanta Falcons | 34-14 | W |
| Nov 17, 2024 | San Francisco 49ers | 20-17 | W |
| Dec 1, 2024 | New York Jets | 26-21 | W |
| Dec 8, 2024 | Arizona Cardinals | 30-18 | W |
| Dec 26, 2024 | Chicago Bears | 6-3 | W |
| Jan 5, 2025 | Los Angeles Rams | 30-25 | W |
| Sep 14, 2025 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 31-17 | W |
| Sep 25, 2025 | Arizona Cardinals | 23-20 | W |
| Oct 12, 2025 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 20-12 | W |
| Nov 2, 2025 | Washington Commanders | 38-14 | W |
| Nov 16, 2025 | Los Angeles Rams | 19-21 | L |
| Nov 23, 2025 | Tennessee Titans | 30-24 | W |
| Dec 7, 2025 | Atlanta Falcons | 37-9 | W |
| Dec 28, 2025 | Carolina Panthers | 27-10 | W |
| Jan 3, 2026 | San Francisco 49ers | 13-3 | W |
| Sep 20, 2026 | Arizona Cardinals | 31-7 | W |
schedules
Seattle is 2-0 this season.
| Team | Division | W | L | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SF | West | 2 | 0 | 62 | 20 |
| SEA | West | 2 | 0 | 44 | 17 |
| LA | West | 1 | 1 | 35 | 33 |
| ARI | West | 1 | 1 | 33 | 45 |
nflverse
Darnold is back
Sam Darnold is back at quarterback for Seattle on Sunday. He started the season opener, then left early. Drew Lock replaced him in that game, then started Week 2, and Seattle won both.
Washington will be without its own starter. Jayden Daniels is out for Sunday with an elbow injury. He has played 78.4% of Washington's offensive snaps this season.
Marcus Mariota relieved Daniels last week and went 11 for 16 for 111 yards and a touchdown.
| Player | Week | Att | Comp | Yds | TD | INT | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J.Daniels | 1 | 34 | 18 | 164 | 2 | 0 | +4.85 |
| J.Daniels | 2 | 17 | 11 | 96 | 1 | 0 | +0.18 |
| M.Mariota | 2 | 16 | 11 | 111 | 1 | 0 | +6.73 |
nflverse play-by-play
How Drew Lock did filling in
Darnold started the opener and left early. Drew Lock relieved him that game, then started Week 2. Seattle won both.
Lock went 16 for 22 for 187 yards and a touchdown in relief in Week 1, then 19 for 26 for 235 yards and 3 touchdowns in his Week 2 start. He did not throw an interception, and he totaled +6.4 EPA and +16.1 EPA in those two games.
Lock ranks 4th in the league in EPA per dropback through two weeks, among qualifying passers.
| Player | Week | Att | Comp | Yds | TD | INT | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D.Lock | 1 | 22 | 16 | 187 | 1 | 0 | +6.45 |
| S.Darnold | 1 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 0 | −2.08 |
| D.Lock | 2 | 26 | 19 | 235 | 3 | 0 | +16.09 |
nflverse play-by-play
| Player | Team | Dropbacks | EPA | EPA per dropback | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J.Dart | NYG | 36 | +20.80 | +0.58 | 1 |
| B.Purdy | SF | 56 | +28.16 | +0.50 | 2 |
| J.Allen | BUF | 64 | +30.53 | +0.48 | 3 |
| D.Lock | SEA | 50 | +22.53 | +0.45 | 4 |
| D.Prescott | DAL | 67 | +25.48 | +0.38 | 5 |
nflverse play-by-play
Who's out
Both teams' full injury reports for Sunday.
| Team | Status | Player | Pos | Injury |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEA | Out | Julian Love | S | Calf |
| SEA | Out | Ty Okada | S | Hamstring |
| SEA | Questionable | Brandon Pili | DT | Concussion |
| WAS | Out | Chig Okonkwo | TE | Hamstring |
| WAS | Out | Frankie Luvu | LB | Groin |
| WAS | Out | Jayden Daniels | QB | Elbow |
| WAS | Out | Nick Cross | S | Illness |
| WAS | Out | Sam Cosmi | G | Concussion |
nflverse injury report. Pulled 2026-09-26 23:42 UTC
Snap shares this season for everyone on that list. A high share means the player has been a regular before this injury.
| Player | Team | Pos | Snaps | Snap share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julian Love | SEA | SAF | 112 | 98.2% |
| Brandon Pili | SEA | DT | 6 | 5.3% |
| Sam Cosmi | WAS | OT | 131 | 97.8% |
| Nick Cross | WAS | SAF | 106 | 99.1% |
| Jayden Daniels | WAS | QB | 105 | 78.4% |
| Chig Okonkwo | WAS | TE | 38 | 28.4% |
| Frankie Luvu | WAS | LB | 28 | 26.2% |
Sumer snap counts. A player out with no row here hasn't played a snap this season.
Washington's line loses a guard
Guard Sam Cosmi is out with a concussion. He had played 97.8% of Washington's offensive snaps this season.
Washington's offense has allowed pressure on 43.8% of dropbacks this season, above the league's 39.2%, though it has given up only 1 sack in 80 tries. Seattle's defense pressures at close to the league rate, 38.4%, with 5 sacks in 73 dropbacks, and it holds opponents to -0.15 expected points added per dropback.
| Who | Dropbacks | Pressure rate | Sacks | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NFL | 2,232 | 39.2% | 145 | +0.04 |
| SEA defense | 73 | 38.4% | 5 | −0.15 |
| WAS offense | 80 | 43.8% | 1 | +0.10 |
Sumer charting
The number
Kickoff is at 10 a.m. Pacific. Seattle opened as a 3.5 point favorite and is now favored by 7.5. The total opened at 46.5 and has come down to 40.5.
| Game | Kickoff | Favorite | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle Seahawks at Washington Commanders | Sun 10:00 AM PT | SEA -7.5 | 40.5 |
nflverse schedules
| Game | Opened | Now | Total opened | Total now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle Seahawks at Washington Commanders | SEA -3.5 | SEA -7.5 | 46.5 | 40.5 |
ESPN scoreboard. Pulled 2026-09-26 23:42 UTC. Wednesday is our own snapshot, taken on the Wednesday run.
Five things to watch Sunday
Two games is a small sample. Here is what the numbers show so far.
1Seattle completed all 17 of its play action passes through two weeks, for 194 yards and the best EPA per dropback on those plays in the league. Does it carry over now that Darnold has the job back?
| Team | Completions | Attempts | Yards | EPA per dropback | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEA | 17 | 17 | 194 | +0.90 | 1 |
| LA | 4 | 5 | 58 | +0.78 | 2 |
| LV | 11 | 15 | 145 | +0.53 | 3 |
| DEN | 10 | 14 | 122 | +0.50 | 4 |
| CAR | 10 | 17 | 214 | +0.43 | 5 |
FTN charting joined to nflverse plays
FTN charting joined to nflverse plays
2Seattle lines up under center more than most teams, third most in the league at 57.0%. From there it has passed 17 times at the league's best EPA per dropback, +0.94. It runs from there far more, 48 times, at -0.09 EPA per run, 13th in the league, right in the middle. What does Sunday look like with Darnold back?
| Team | Under-center rate | EPA per dropback | EPA per run | Run rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEA | 57.0% | +0.94 | −0.09 | 13 |
| SF | 60.4% | +0.69 | +0.00 | 8 |
| CAR | 34.7% | +0.50 | −0.20 | 25 |
| NYG | 42.5% | +0.43 | −0.10 | 18 |
| LA | 53.6% | +0.40 | −0.15 | 22 |
nflverse play-by-play
3Seattle has the league's lowest 11 personnel rate this season, 32.2%. Out of 11 personnel, it passes 75.7% of the time. Out of 12 personnel, it passes 40.7% of the time. The grouping still leans pass from 11 and run from 12. Does Washington play it that way?
| Team | 11-personnel rate | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| TB | 84.2% | 1 |
| PHI | 76.0% | 2 |
| HOU | 74.8% | 3 |
| LV | 35.4% | 30 |
| SF | 32.7% | 31 |
| SEA | 32.2% | 32 |
Sumer charting, corrected personnel label
| Grouping | Seattle pass rate | Seattle plays | League pass rate | League plays |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 75.7% | 37 | 68.5% | 2,305 |
| 12 | 40.7% | 27 | 42.6% | 890 |
Sumer charting, corrected personnel label
4Seattle already lines up in 11 personnel less than anyone in the league. It also throws to a tight end on just 10.0% of its targets this season, the lowest rate in the league. When does that change?
| Team | TE target share | Targets | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| NYG | 37.7% | 61 | 1 |
| ARI | 36.5% | 63 | 2 |
| MIN | 32.6% | 43 | 3 |
| WAS | 14.1% | 64 | 30 |
| MIA | 14.0% | 50 | 31 |
| SEA | 10.0% | 50 | 32 |
nflverse plays joined to player_mapping on gsis id
5Rashid Shaheed's top tracked speed is 19.31 miles per hour in Week 1 and 19.29 in Week 2, more than two miles per hour under his 2025 peak of 21.44 against the Giants. He topped 21 miles per hour only three times last year. Top speed depends on whether a play asks a receiver to run flat out. Does he get back to 21 this season?
| Date | Season | Game type | Opponent | Top speed (mph) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 28, 2025 | 2025 | REG | BUF | 21.21 |
| Oct 5, 2025 | 2025 | REG | NYG | 21.44 |
| Feb 8, 2026 | 2025 | SB | NE | 21.23 |
| Sep 9, 2026 | 2026 | REG | NE | 19.31 |
| Sep 20, 2026 | 2026 | REG | ARI | 19.29 |
Sumer player tracking
Who moved under center, and is it working?
26 of the league's 32 teams are lining up under center more often in 2026 than they did all of last season. Washington made one of the five biggest jumps of anyone.
Washington ran plays from under center 12.2% of the time in 2025. This year that rate is up to 31.9% so far. It has not paid off yet. Washington is averaging -0.18 EPA per play from under center this season, against +0.18 EPA per play from shotgun.
nflverse play-by-play
Across the league, teams are averaging -0.03 EPA per play from under center this season, against +0.04 EPA per play from shotgun. Shotgun is still the better formation on average, even with more teams working under center.
| Group | Plays | EPA per play |
|---|---|---|
| Washington under center | 43 | −0.18 |
| Washington shotgun | 92 | +0.18 |
| League under center | 1,649 | −0.03 |
| League shotgun | 2,314 | +0.04 |
nflverse play-by-play
Washington's blitz habit
Washington blitzes on 43.5% of dropbacks, above the league's 30.1%. When it blitzes, opponents average -0.22 expected points added. When it does not, they average +0.66. The blitz is doing most of the work for this defense.
Seattle's offense faces blitzes on 35.2% of dropbacks, also above average. Pressure jumps to 73.7% when a blitz comes, but Seattle still averages +0.33 expected points added on those plays, close to its +0.41 average when defenses don't blitz.
| Blitz rate | EPA, no blitz | EPA, blitz | Pressure, blitz | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NFL | 30.1% | +0.05 | −0.04 | 46.0% |
| SEA offense | 35.2% | +0.41 | +0.33 | 73.7% |
| WAS defense | 43.5% | +0.66 | −0.22 | 43.3% |
Sumer charting. EPA from the offense's side, so for a defense lower is better.
Seattle's run defense meets Washington's ground game
Seattle allows -0.43 expected points added per rush, 2nd in the league. Washington's own rushing offense ranks 10th in rush EPA.
| Team | Rush EPA | rk | vs run | rk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEA | −0.184 | 22 | −0.426 | 2 |
| WAS | −0.065 | 10 | −0.206 | 11 |
nflverse play-by-play. On defense, lower is better, so rank 1 is the stingiest.
