Jaxon Smith-Njigba kept his sensational season going with a season-high 162 receiving yards, leading the Seattle Seahawks to a 20-12 win over the host Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday afternoon.
Smith-Njigba, who entered Sunday second in the league in receiving yards (534), recorded eight catches for his fourth 100-yard game of the season.
He caught Sam Darnold’s first five completions for his first 117 passing yards of the game, accounting for over half of the quarterback’s 295 passing yards and one of his two touchdowns.
Seattle (4-2) improved to 3-0 in road games this season — with nine straight road wins dating back to last season — while snapping Jacksonville’s three-game winning streak.
Trevor Lawrence completed 27 of 42 passes for 258 yards and two touchdowns. He was also sacked seven times, more than the six total sacks the Jaguars allowed in their first five games combined.
Jacksonville (4-2) opened the scoring on its third drive with a 21-yard pass from Lawrence to Brian Thomas Jr. It was Thomas’ first TD catch of the season after he had 10 as a rookie and paved the way for his team-high 90 receiving yards.
After the Seahawks were held without a first down on their first two series, they exploded for 20 points on their next five possessions.
A 24-yard Jason Myers field goal was followed by a 61-yard bomb from Darnold to Smith-Njigba on the first play of the following Seattle drive to make it 10-6.
A missed 50-yard field goal by Cam Little — who also missed the extra point on Jacksonville’s first touchdown — set the stage for Myers to nail a 53-yarder with 10 seconds left for a 13-6 halftime advantage.
Coming out of the half, the Seahawks marched 77 yards on eight plays, reaching pay dirt on an 11-yard pass to Cooper Kupp to make it 20-6 at the 10:14 mark.
Seattle’s third-ranked run defense stifled the Jaguars’ high-powered rushing attack. Jacksonville managed just 59 rushing yards on 3.1 yards per carry, well below its 137 yards per game average which ranked third in the NFL.
Jacksonville ended a scoring drought of over 33 minutes with a 26-yard touchdown from Lawrence to Tim Patrick, but a failed two-point conversion left it with a 20-12 deficit with 13 minutes left.
Jacksonville got the ball three times with a one-score deficit in the fourth quarter after that, but the offense was never able to cross midfield.
DeMarcus Lawrence and Byron Murphy II accounted for two sacks apiece.
–Field Level Media
