Seahawks at Commanders game day guide: Week 3 in Landover

By Kyle Alm. Published 2026-09-23, updated 2026-09-27.

Final: Commanders 33, Seahawks 31. Seattle turned it over three times and Washington scored 20 points off them, the last a 50-yard interception return by linebacker Kain Medrano with 3:57 left. Sam Darnold threw for 379 yards and four touchdowns in his return, Seattle ran for 44 yards in the rain, and the twelve-game winning streak is over. The recap has what decided it; the guide below is as it stood on game day.

Seattle goes east on a twelve-game winning streak, a franchise record counting last season’s playoff run, to play a team that is 0-2 and has lost its quarterback. Jayden Daniels dislocated his left elbow in Dallas on Sunday, the same elbow he dislocated against Seattle last November, and Marcus Mariota starts Washington’s home opener. On Seattle’s side, Sam Darnold is back after missing Week 2, but both starting safeties are out. It is a 10 a.m. Pacific kickoff, which makes this a breakfast game in Seattle, and it is raining in Landover.

The basics

How to watch

FOX has the early window, so the game is on your local FOX affiliate over the air in Seattle and on every live-TV streaming service that carries FOX. NFL+ streams it on phones and tablets. It is a regional broadcast, so fans outside the markets FOX assigns it to need NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV. The Seahawks app streams the game on phones for fans in the Seattle market and in Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Australia and New Zealand, and carries the local radio call.

The line

As of Sunday morning, September 27, DraftKings has Seattle favored by 8.5, with the total at 40.5 and a moneyline of Seattle -410, Washington +320, and ESPN, VegasInsider and the Action Network show 8.5 across the major books. One odds site was still showing 6.5 at 7:30 a.m. Pacific, so check the number where you bet it.

This is the opposite of last week. The Arizona line fell six and a half points on Seattle’s quarterback news. This one has doubled on Washington’s. The spring lookahead had Seattle by 3.5 with a total of 46.5. DraftKings reopened at 4.5 after Week 2, moved to 7 by Tuesday on Daniels’ elbow, Mariota named the starter and Darnold’s planned return to practice, and reached 8.5 once Darnold was cleared on Friday. Both starting safeties being out did not stop it. The total is down six points from the lookahead, with a backup quarterback on one side and, on the other, a Seattle defense that has allowed 17 points in two games. ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Seattle a 68.6 percent chance to win.

As with every game, a note: Washington state allows sports betting only in person at tribal casinos, and Maryland has allowed online betting for anyone physically in the state since November 2022. We carry no sportsbook advertising, and the numbers are here because fans ask, not as advice.

Where to watch in Seattle

Kickoff at 10 on a Sunday morning thins out the list, because a lot of bars do not open that early. Two Bar Alliance locations open in time. Buckley’s in Belltown opens at 9 a.m. on Sundays and takes reservations, and Fremont Dock opens at 9:30 with NFL Sunday Ticket. The Queen Anne Buckley’s also opens at 9, though it is not on the Alliance list. Rhein Haus on Capitol Hill, which is not in the Alliance, opens at 9 on football Sundays with a breakfast menu of waffles, wurst and eggs, and biscuits and gravy. Thomas Street Warehouse in South Lake Union, an Alliance bar, does not open until 11, after kickoff. Before you go anywhere else on the list below, check that it opens by 10.

The radio pregame starts at 7 a.m. on Seattle Sports 710 and KIRO 97.3 if you want the whole morning. Seattle has made the early road start a strength: the team went 3-0 in 10 a.m. Pacific kickoffs in Mike Macdonald’s first season, and this is the first of two this year. The other is Week 17 at Carolina.

If you are going to Landover

It is Washington’s home opener, and the club is making an entrance. The team is debuting “The Show,” an 18-minute pregame open narrated by Jon Bernthal, with the marching band, a full-field flag, a special-operations flyover and a game-ball delivery. It ends with a new ritual, Spike the Spear, in which a Washington legend or local celebrity spikes a spear to start the game. The club is asking fans to be in their seats 30 minutes before kickoff. Halftime is a tribute to Sonny Jurgensen and Monte Coleman, with Ring of Fame members taking part. Billy Kilmer and Art Monk are the honorary captains, and Washington’s offense wears a No. 9 helmet sticker for Jurgensen and its defense a No. 51 for Coleman. Washington wears its burgundy jerseys.

Parking is bought in advance. Every lot except one is presold, so buy your pass before you leave. The exception is the Gray Lot, which sells day-of for cash only and can sell out two to three hours before kickoff. Tailgating is allowed in every lot except H-Burgundy and the staff lots, and it has to end at kickoff; anyone without a ticket still in the lots after that is treated as trespassing. Grills are fine, but put them out before you go in, use the ash dumpsters, and never put a hot grill under a vehicle.

Metro and rideshare. The nearest station is Morgan Boulevard on the Blue and Silver lines, about a mile and a 20-minute walk, with no shuttle from the station. Rideshare drop-off and pickup moved this season to the Red Zone Lot, at 8001 Sheriff Road. Exit at Gate A, and do not request a pickup at the stadium after the game; walk to the lot.

Bags and weather. The clear-bag rule is the same as at Lumen Field: one clear bag up to 12 by 6 by 12 inches, a one-gallon clear freezer bag, or a small clutch up to 4.5 by 6.5. The forecast turned since Wednesday. The National Weather Service has rain likely from 1 to 4 p.m., 62 or 63 degrees, and a northwest wind around 17 mph with gusts to 32, with an 80 percent chance of rain for the day. Dress for a wet tailgate and an open stadium, and expect the wind to show up in the kicking game.

Seattle fans in DC. Red Bear Brewing Co., at 209 M St NE in NoMa near the Red Line, is where Seattle fans in the District gather. It runs watch parties for the Seahawks, Mariners, Kraken, Huskies and Storm, pours $6 West Coast-style pints during Seattle games, and lists a Seahawks vs Commanders watch party from 1 to 4 p.m. It is the room for anyone in town without a ticket.

Enjoy Landover while it lasts. Washington has a new stadium coming at the old RFK site in the District, targeted to open in spring 2030. Last November’s 38-14 win was the first of back-to-back Seattle visits to this building, the first time Washington has hosted Seattle in consecutive seasons since 2020 and 2021.

Seahawks news going in

• Seattle 31, Arizona 7. Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught nine passes for 155 yards and three touchdowns, the first three-touchdown game of his career. The first was an 82-yarder on Seattle’s second snap, his career long. Drew Lock went 19 of 26 for 235 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in his first start since 2023. Macdonald: “Really proud of Drew… He did a tremendous job.” Leonard Williams on Smith-Njigba: “Man, this guy’s a wizard.”
• The run game closed it out. Emanuel Wilson carried 21 times for 92 yards, Seattle ran 40 times for 162, and the last touchdown came at the end of a 16-play, 70-yard drive that used 10 minutes and 14 seconds before AJ Barner scored from a yard out. Seattle had the ball for 36:33. Macdonald: “The offensive line got a game ball today… That’s Seahawk football.”
• The defense. Arizona’s leading rusher had 29 yards, so the streak without a 100-yard rusher is now 28 straight regular-season games. Williams and Jarran Reed had the sacks and Julian Love had the interception. Seattle has allowed 17 points in two games and has beaten Arizona ten straight times. Our Week 2 recap has the full account.
• Inactives. Seattle’s inactives are safeties Julian Love and Ty Okada, nose tackle Brandon Pili, cornerback Avery Smith, linebacker Connor O’Toole, and Jalen Milroe, who dresses as the emergency third quarterback behind Darnold and Drew Lock. Maxen Hook and Velus Jones Jr. are active, so Hook is in line for his NFL debut, and defensive lineman Mike Morris is active for the first time this season with Pili out. Rodney Thomas II starts for the third straight week, and Finley makes his first career start.
• Darnold starts. He was limited Wednesday and full Thursday and Friday, his first practices since he hurt his glute on the opening drive of the season, and he has no designation. Macdonald on Friday: “Sam’s going to play… he’s done a great job.” Darnold on Thursday: “I don’t want to jinx anything.”
• Both starting safeties are out. Julian Love hurt his calf in Thursday’s practice and is out, and Ty Okada misses a third straight game with his hamstring. AJ Finley starts next to Rodney Thomas II, whom Seattle signed to the active roster Wednesday, and on Saturday the team elevated safety Maxen Hook from the practice squad, along with running back Velus Jones Jr. Nick Emmanwori practiced fully all week and has no designation. Macdonald on Love: “I don’t know how long it’s going to be.”
• The rest of the report. Nose tackle Brandon Pili (concussion, neck) is questionable after limited practices Thursday and Friday. Rookie running back Jadarian Price, listed with a chest injury, practiced fully Friday and is “ready to go.” Cooper Kupp (back) was limited Friday and has no designation. Right guard Anthony Bradford went on injured reserve Wednesday with his knee and hip, so Christian Haynes and rookie Beau Stephens keep rotating there. The full table is below and on the injury report.
• Charbonnet is next week. Zach Charbonnet did not practice this week; on Friday Macdonald said “next week is a possibility for him to start practicing.” Players on the physically unable to perform list have to miss the first four games, so the 49ers game on October 11 is the earliest he can play.

Commanders news going in

• 0-2, both on the road. Washington lost 24-22 at Philadelphia in the opener. Rookie Antonio Williams caught a touchdown with about a minute left, the tying two-point try, a shovel pass to John Bates, was stopped by Moro Ojomo, and Philadelphia recovered the onside kick. Then Washington lost 37-20 at Dallas, where Dak Prescott went 26 of 31 for 279 yards and four touchdowns.
• Daniels is out, and Mariota starts. Daniels dislocated his left elbow on the last play of the first half at Dallas. It is the same elbow he dislocated in last November’s loss to Seattle. He is seeing specialists this week, and Dan Quinn has given no timeline: “Let’s take all the time we can to get it right.” Mariota went 11 of 16 for 111 yards and a touchdown in relief, and he is 2-0 against Seattle, with Tennessee in 2017 and Atlanta in 2022.
• Stefon Diggs is the target. Diggs, signed in the offseason, has a team-leading three touchdown catches, one from each quarterback on Sunday. Terry McLaurin has four catches in two games.
• Washington’s inactives. The five ruled out Friday plus outside linebacker Javontae Jean-Baptiste.
• Five ruled out. Washington’s final report rules out Daniels, guard Sam Cosmi (concussion, throat), safety Nick Cross (illness; he spent last Sunday night in a Dallas hospital), linebacker Frankie Luvu (groin) and tight end Chig Okonkwo (hamstring), and nobody is questionable. Defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw (back, shoulder) did not practice Wednesday but was full Friday and plays. Left tackle Laremy Tunsil remains on injured reserve with a triceps injury.
• New play-callers, a familiar head coach. Both coordinators are new to the job: David Blough on offense and Daronte Jones on defense. Quinn is the one Seattle knows. He was the Seahawks’ defensive coordinator for the 2013 title team and in 2014, and their defensive line coach in 2009 and 2010. Seattle’s defensive coordinator, Aden Durde, worked for Quinn in Atlanta and Dallas.
• The pass rush is new. Washington signed edge rusher Odafe Oweh and drafted linebacker Sonny Styles seventh overall, and both had a sack in the opener. Washington finished 5-12 last season.

The short version

FOX at 10 a.m. Pacific, with Davis and Olsen on the call. Darnold is back, Mariota starts for Washington, and Seattle plays without both starting safeties. Seattle is favored by 8.5 with a total of 40.5, up from 3.5 in the spring. Pili is inactive, Finley and Thomas start at safety, and it is going to rain. In Seattle, Buckley’s opens at 9, Rhein Haus at 9 and Fremont Dock at 9:30, so pick yours the night before. In Landover, buy parking in advance or take the Blue or Silver line to Morgan Boulevard, be in your seat by 12:30 for the pregame show, and in DC, Red Bear in NoMa has the watch party.

Related: 2026 roster · coaching staff · injury report and roster moves

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