Mariota beating Seattle is nothing new. He is now 3-0 lifetime as a starter against the Seahawks, with the other 2 wins coming with Tennessee and Atlanta. He didn't have an easy day behind a line missing Sam Cosmi, and Leonard Williams got to him for a sack. But he didn't give the ball away the way Darnold did, and he hit Rachaad White for a 6-yard touchdown that gave Washington a lead. White had left with a shoulder injury and came back in the third quarter.
Most of the game came down to the turnovers. Seattle's 3 giveaways turned into 21 Washington points, so a Commanders offense that was supposed to be limited never had to go the full length of the field very often. It's the kind of game a 0-2 team missing Frankie Luvu, Chig Okonkwo and Nick Cross can steal, and the Commanders stole it.
The line score shows how it went. Washington scored first and led 7-0 after 1 quarter. The next 2 quarters were even at 10 apiece and then 7 apiece, so Seattle never caught up. The fourth quarter was a 14-9 Seattle edge, and the Seahawks' late score only got them within 2. After a scoreless opening quarter, Seattle ran out of time.
The preview said the rain and wind might keep this low-scoring. It started in light rain, but the teams combined for 64 points. The thin Seattle secondary also came up. With Julian Love and Ty Okada inactive and Nick Emmanwori back from a hamstring, Washington put up 33. The box score search did not break out Jaxon Smith-Njigba's line after his 155-yard, 3-touchdown game at Arizona, so the result here can't show whether he got loose again.
Washington picked up more injuries. Leo Chenal, who came off the report without a designation this week, left with a neck injury and did not return, which took another linebacker away from a defense already playing without Luvu. Now Washington is 1-2, and Seattle goes to 2-1 with its first loss, one it gave away more than Washington earned.