The Seattle Seahawks took care of business in Week 3 as they dominated the New Orleans Saints en route to a 44-13 blowout victory. Seattle was great in all three facets of the game as they took care of business against an opponent that could be the worst team in the league.
Seattle's defense did not allow a touchdown until the fourth quarter as they were up 44-6 heading into the final frame. Their special teams unit thrived as Tory Horton returned a punt for a touchdown, while the Seahawks also blocked a punt.
Meanwhile, the offense was dominant as Seattle did not punt until the fourth quarter -- at which point the starters were no longer in the game. Sam Darnold played a big role in that as he had his best game in a Seahawks uniform, throwing for 218 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions while completing 14 of his 18 pass attempts. The eighth-year quarterback received plenty of praise for his play.
Seahawks' Sam Darnold receives strong grade following elite Week 2 performance
The Seahawks did not need much from Sam Darnold as he dropped back to pass just 18 times in Week 3. Their big-time free agent addition had a strong performance, however, as he was accurate throughout the game and did what was needed to lead Seattle to a blowout victory.
Bleacher Report's Brent Sobleski gave Darnold an A for his performance in Week 3:
"With back-to-back impressive victories over the Pittsburgh Steelers and Saints, quarterback Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks look legit. The quarterback is doing what was expected of him after signing a big free-agent deal this fall. Against the Saints, the 28-year-old veteran completed 77.8 percent of his passes. He was on a heater in the first half with only one incompletion on 11 attempts while providing both of his touchdown passes. Of course, the Seahawks didn't have to do much in the second half after building a 38-6 halftime lead. Darnold was particularly effective pushing the ball downfield. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, he completed six of eight passes with 10 or more air yards. Interestingly, Tory Horton had more targets than Cooper Kupp. Watch as the rookie's role grows in the coming weeks."
Darnold looked like a bust over the first six seasons of his career as he threw just seven more touchdowns than interceptions, completed less than 60 percent of his passes, and won just 37.5% of his games started.
That changed in 2024 as he led the Minnesota Vikings to a 14-3 record while throwing for 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions while completing 66.2 percent of his passes.
He set career-highs in passing yards, touchdowns, and completion percentage. His breakout season led Seattle to give him a big deal in free agency; however, there were initially plenty of questions about how things would look.
Following the first three weeks of the season, it appears that the Seahawks quarterback's performance last year was not a fluke but rather a sign of a mid-career resurgence.