Seahawks-Saints final score
Final stats, highlights, and what happened in the Seahawks game on Sunday
Klint Kubiak was not with the Saints long enough for Week 3 to be a “revenge game” for the offensive coordinator, but certainly he hasn’t forgotten the fact that he was a coaching star in New Orleans at this time last year. And a scapegoat when the Saints fired the entire coaching staff and hired a different “offensive guru” to be their new head coach instead of him after a slew of injuries ruined his 45.5 points per game offense in the first two games.
So you’d think that the Seahawks absolutely pasting the Saints 44-13 on Sunday would mean that Kubiak got his revenge. No…apparently Kubiak was nice enough to let special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh do the punching for him, as good friends do.
I haven’t seen someone go from scapegoat to hero as fast as Jay Harbaugh since Will Smith won Best Actor for King Richard, which as we all know immediately redeemed him for the slap and his career has never been better.
Tory Horton punt return TD
Longest punt return in Seahawks history:
Special Teams highlights:
Jason Myers went 3-3 on field goals (long 56) and 5-5 extra points
Tory Horton franchise record punt return
Horton=talented yes, blocking on the return=even better
Chazz Surratt shoutout for the blocking
Blocked punt by D’Anthony Bell sets up easy touchdown drive
Dareke Young 60-yard kickoff return
Michael Dickson didn’t punt in the first three quarters
What was your favorite play of the day?
D’Anthony Bell blocked punt:
Despite this being Seattle’s most dominant win in years, the third-most points that the Seahawks have ever scored in a half (38), their halftime offensive stats were dwarfed by the Saints and practically nothing stood out in a positive way on either side of the ball: The Seahawks had the football for less than 8 minutes of the first half.
This is the type of game that coaches dream of with Thursday Night Football on deck, as Mike Macdonald was able to call in Drew Lock for the entire fourth quarter.
The Seahawks improve to 2-1 and have won their last two games by a combined score of 75-30. A Rams loss that was fueled by special teams mistakes by L.A. dropped them to 2-1 and Seattle could be playing for first place in the NFC West by the end of this week.
Key Stats
Sam Darnold, 14/18, 218 yards, 2 TD
Kenneth Walker, 16 carries, 38 yards, 2 TD
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, 5 catches, 96 yards, 1 TD
Tory Horton, 32 yards, 1 TD + punt return TD
Cooper Kupp, 31 yards
Byron Murphy II, 1 sack
Derion Kendrick, 1 INT, 3 PD
Darnold’s season numbers now improve to 70.2% completion percentage, 4 TD/1 INT, 8.95 Y/A.
Walker has 3 rushing touchdowns on the season, Jaxon Smith-Njigba has 323 reciving yards, Horton has two touchdowns. Murphy now has 2.5 sacks in three games:
JSN is averaging 108 receiving yards per game, including 96 yards per game when he has flu-like symptoms.
I said before the game that the Seahawks couldn’t underestimate the Saints, but fans would have every right to be concerned if Seattle had anything less than a convincing win at home against a New Orleans team that should be in the running for the number one pick next year.
The Seahawks didn’t underestimate the Saints. They just sent in Jay Harbaugh to send the message.
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Sorry about that, Darnold didn’t have a pick like the post originally said
Three games into this and the Seahawks, so far, have been playing like a contender should play.
When facing other contenders, they may win or lose, but the other team feels it and walks away battered and bruised because of it. The 49ers were worse off after playing the Seahawks than before. Mission accomplished.
When playing teams that are middle of the pack, you beat them soundly and expose their weaknesses. Highlight why your team is a contender and they are not. Example: 31-17 vs the Steelers. Pittsburgh walked away from that game with more questions than answers and fell because of it.
When playing bad teams, you roflstomp them then put the backups in to make the game appear like it was closer than it really was. Seattle could have beaten the Saints 60-6 today if they wanted to. 44-13 was a mercy killing.
A couple notes:
When the game was still 41-6, there was a comment made in the chat about the Seahawks being 0-3 on third down. I think they ended being 0-4 on third down when the starters came out. Don't be down on this. They had like 16 first downs at the time and had scored 41 points. 3rd down success rate only matters if the team isn't successful on 1st and 2nd down, so it is really a tertiary stat. Recall the 2013 Seahawks were only like 17th in the league with a ~37.5% success rate. Not great, right? They were also 30th in the league in 3rd down attempts. Context is important.
I've been on this train for a couple weeks now. The 2025 Seahawks special teams unit is no joke. These guys are really on it and have been a major factor in all three games so far. Giving the defense long fields to defend; giving the offense short fields to score points; ST scores, ST turnovers, blocked field goals; everything you could want a ST unit to do, they are doing. I think there is a legit argument that the Seahawks ST is elite and is the top unit in the NFL right now.
Great game. I had fun in the chat. On to the Cards. Begaw!