Turns out the defending Super Bowl champions have weaknesses after all.
asserted
champions → turn → weaknesses
After the Seahawks’ 2-0 start to the season, the Washington Commanders exposed some flaws in a 33-31 victory Sunday.
asserted
Commanders → expose → victory
The road loss snapped a 12-game Seattle winning streak.
asserted
loss → snap → streak
While there were issues on both sides of the ball, perhaps the most glaring shortcoming was the turnovers, which led to 21 Commanders points.
asserted
which → be → points
Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold returned from a glute injury and threw a pair of interceptions, including a pick-6 with 3:57 left.
asserted
Darnold → return → 3:57
It was the first pick-6 Darnold had given up in five years.
asserted
Darnold → give → years
Rookie Jadarian Price also fumbled early in the first quarter and Washington recovered.
asserted
Washington → fumble → quarter
Darnold’s interceptions spoiled what would otherwise have been a stellar return.
asserted
what → spoil → ?
He completed 31 of 45 passes for 379 yards and four touchdowns.
asserted
He → complete → yards
“I mean, the takeaways are tough, but again, we’ll look at them and see why we made those decisions and see what we can do to make better decisions.
asserted
we → mean → decisions
But I think on the whole, I mean, he kept us in the game,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said.
asserted
Macdonald → think → game
Darnold was injured on the Seahawks’ first series of their season opener against the Patriots.
asserted
Darnold → injure → Patriots
Backup Drew Lock took over and helped Seattle to a 13-10 victory.
asserted
Lock → take → victory
Lock then started in a 31-7 win at Arizona.
asserted
Lock → start → Arizona
The team announced on Friday that Darnold would play against the Commanders.
asserted
Darnold → announce → Commanders
He said he felt fine heading into the game.
asserted
he → say → game
“I think obviously I can’t turn the ball over the way that I did.
asserted
I → think → ball
We can’t turn the ball over as an offense and you know be inefficient and expect to win games,” Darnold said after the game.
asserted
Darnold → turn → game
He also took responsibility for the pick-6.
asserted
He → take → pick-6
“Yeah, just bad decision,” he said.
asserted
he → say → ?
Meanwhile, Seattle’s vaunted defense failed to force any turnovers.
asserted
defense → fail → turnovers
After looking at the tape, Macdonald had mixed emotions about the team’s performance, but was optimistic everything was fixable.
“It’s an excitement about the type of team that we can have and that we aspire to be.
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we → look → that
And it’s also a sense of urgency and a bit of a kick in the gut that we’re not there yet.
asserted
we → ’ → gut
We have room to grow,” he said.
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he → have → room
“The exciting thing is, it’s early in the season and we have an opportunity to go make it right.”
asserted
it → ’ → opportunity
What’s working
Receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba has picked up where he left off last season, when he set team records and was the AP Offensive Player of the Year.
asserted
he → work → Year
Against the Commanders, he caught 10 passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns.
asserted
he → catch → yards
He tops the league with 405 receiving yards this season and six touchdowns, two in each of the Seahawks’ first three games.
asserted
He → top → games
Oh, and against the Commanders, he also completed a pass for 14 yards.
asserted
he → complete → yards
What needs help
The run game, which had just 44 yards against the Commanders, and just 19 in the second half.
asserted
which → need → half
Clearly, the Seahawks miss Kenneth Walker III, but the good news is that Zach Charbonnet could return to practice next week — although he’s still on the physically unable to perform list.
uncertain
he → miss → list
The earliest he’d be likely to return is Week 5.
asserted
he → return → ?
Macdonald did not have an update on Monday.
asserted
Macdonald → have → Monday
Tight end AJ Barner caught five passes for 69 yards for his best game this season.
asserted
Barner → catch → game
Barner and the rest of Seattle’s tight end corps had been fairly quiet in the team’s first two games but the group broke out against the Commanders, with seven catches for 105 yards combined.
asserted
group → break → yards
Rookie Jadarian Price lost another fumble, his second in as many games.
asserted
Price → lose → games
He finished with just five carries for 15 yards against the Commanders.
asserted
He → finish → Commanders
He also caught a pass for seven yards.
asserted
He → catch → yards
“With JD, he understands what’s going on, he needs to take care of the ball,” Macdonald said.
asserted
Macdonald → understand → ball
“There’s some things fundamentally where we can focus on and we’re going to continue to give him the ball, we trust him.
asserted
we → ’ → him
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
