Week 9 Preview - Seattle Seahawks at Washington Commanders

By: Sam Myer 10/30/2025

The Washington Commanders will host the Seattle Seahawks in week nine on Sunday Night Football in what is shaping up to be a must-win game for Washington. The Commanders fell to 3-5 on Monday night against Kansas City and their playoff window is rapidly closing. Unfortunately for Dan Quinn and Jayden Daniels, their schedule isn’t giving them any breathing room as the Seahawks are currently one of the hottest teams in the NFL. Sam Darnold has Seattle tied for the lead in the NFC West with a 5-2 record and are coming off their bye week. Their defense has been dominant throughout the first two months, and third-year wide receiver Jaxson Smith-Njigba leads the NFL in receiving yards. Washington will have their hands full with this Seattle roster and must hope that quarterback Jayden Daniels will be active.

Injuries have been a major issue for the Commanders and Terry McLaurin has already been ruled out for their matchup with the Seahawks. Additionally, Laremy Tunsil did not practice on Wednesday due to the hamstring injury he suffered Monday night in Kansas City. If Tunsil is unable to suit up, Washington will be forced to turn Brandon Coleman who played left tackle for the majority of the season in 2024. Luckily for the Commanders, Deebo Samuel and Jayden Daniels practiced in full on Wednesday meaning they should both be likely to play on Sunday barring any setbacks. On the defensive side of the ball, the injury bug seems to be giving them a bit of a break heading into week nine as Johnny Newton was the only player who did not practice (outside of rest days). There was concern that Javon Kinlaw may not be available after he exited the Chiefs game due to a shoulder injury. Instead, he logged a full practice on Wednesday, setting him up to be active against the Seahawks. Lastly, kicker Matt Gay did not practice on Wednesday after missing the last game with a back injury. Washington could possibly be required to call upon Matthew Wright, who did not attempt any field goals last week.

Despite some slightly better injury luck heading into their matchup against Seattle, the Commanders will have their hands full on both sides of the ball. Once again, Washington crosses paths with a team heading in the complete opposite direction as them as Seattle has been excellent on offense and defense through the first two months of the season. On offense, Sam Darnold is playing as a fringe top 10 quarterback and Jaxson Smith-Njigba has entered the top tier of wide receivers in the NFL as he currently leads the NFL in receiving yards. Additionally, their running back tandem of Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet have been a solid 1-2 punch with their combination of speed and power. On defense, the Seahawks have dominated, especially in the passing game. Their defensive line has 23 sacks and has 8 interceptions through the first seven games. Linebacker Ernest Jones is playing at an all-pro level with three interceptions and 59 tackles so far this season. This will likely prove to be problematic for Deebo Samuel and Zach Ertz who prefer to operate within the middle of the defense.

As for Washington’s offense, they’ll need to get back to running the ball with efficiency in order to better set up their passing game. It’s something the Commanders have struggled to do during their three-game losing streak Bill Croskey-Merritt has been held to just 120 scrimmage yards in that span. For context, Bill had 150 scrimmage yards in week 5 alone against the Chargers. Hopefully, Washington can return to the rushing dominance they experienced through the first five weeks of the season. If not, they could be in serious trouble considering that Seattle has one of the best passing defenses in the league.

On the defensive side of the ball for the Commanders, they’ll need to dominate the line of scrimmage if they don’t want to be gutted by Sam Darnold and the Seahawks passing attack. Setting the edge and shutting down the run game will be key to putting them in long down and distance situations on 2^nd and 3^rd down. Additionally, if Washington can shut down the run game, they’ll then need to put pressure on Darnold to force him into uncomfortable throws. The Commanders will need big performances from Jacob Martin, Daron Payne, and Javon Kinlaw to slow down the Seahawks.

In the debut of the Washinton’s Super Bowl Era uniforms, the Commanders will need to play a full four quarters in order to come out with victory against Seattle in their 90s throwback uniforms. It is yet another week of Washington needing to overcome significant injury absences on both sides of the ball, but this week they should have their star quarterback Jayden Daniels back behind center. Daniels’ presence gives the Commanders every opportunity to win against Seattle, but they’ll need to play their best game of the season to do so.