Game Preview, Week 9: Seattle Seahawks at Washington
November 1, 2025
by Steve Thomas
Well, last week’s game went . . . poorly . . . at least for the second half of the Chiefs game. The end result is that Washington is now on a three game losing streak and needs to turn things around on national television in the Sunday night game in week 9. Unfortunately, standing in the way of such a turnaround are the Seattle Seahawks, who feature a talented, fairly well-rounded offense and one of the league’s best run defenses. Washington needs to figure this dilemma out, though, because at this point the season is in danger of slipping away and a four game losing streak would just about send the fans into madness. Can they do it? I tend to doubt it, but almost everything is possible in an NFL game. Certainly, if Washington’s offense figures out how to get their 2024 mojo back, they can beat almost anyone. Long shot? Sure. Possible? Yes. Our game preview is below.
Game time & location: Sunday, November 2, 2025, 8:20 p.m. ET, Northwest Stadium, Raljon, Maryland; Gates open 5:20 p.m. ET; Red Zone parking lots open 3:20 p.m.; all other parking lots 4:20 p.m.
Television: NBC
Television announcers: Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth, Melissa Stark
TV broadcast map: Click here
DC-area radio: BIG-100 (WBIG FM)
Washington radio network: Click here
Seahawks radio network: Click here
Satellite radio: SiriusXM: 225 (Wash. broad.); 88 (Nat’l. broad.); internet: 831
Washington roster: Click here
Washington depth chart: Click here
Seahawks roster: Click here
Seahawks depth chart: Click here
All-time head-to-head record vs Seahawks: 13 – 7 (last 10: 4 – 6)
Last meeting: L, November 12, 2023, 26 – 29
Seahawks record: 5 – 2 (2nd place) / away: 3 – 0 / NFC: 2 – 2
Washington record: 3 – 5 (3rd place) / home: 2 – 1 / NFC: 1 – 4
Early odds: Seattle, -3
3 KEYS TO THE GAME
Keep Seattle’s run game in check
The Seahawks run game hasn’t been particularly successful from a yards per carry standpoint – they only average 3.7 yards per carry as a team, which is tied for 30th in the league. However, they are nevertheless a very run-heavy team, with 202 carries, which was 5th-most in the league after week 7 (prior to Seattle’s bye week). In addition, their leading rusher, Kenneth Walker III, has averaged 4.5 yards per carry in 95 carries. Their second running back, Zach Charbonnet, has been far less successful, averaging 2.8 yards per carry in 72 carries. He’s Seattle’s short-yardage back, and already has 5 touchdowns. It’s likely that Seattle will continue to follow this same playbook and use a run-heavy offense. Washington will need to control this portion of Seattle’s offense and not let them establish a productive, clock-killing gameplan.
Prevent big plays from the Seahawks’ receivers
Seattle has a couple of very talented receivers, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp. Also, Sam Darnold is having a Pro Bowl-caliber season – his quarterback rating of 109.2 was ranked 4th in the league prior to their bye, and he was leading the NFL in yards per completion. All of this spells danger for Washington’s questionable secondary. Washington needs to make a particular effort to limit the big plays – Seattle has scored a ton of points so far this season, 193, which was ranked 4th prior to their bye week.
Short, over the middle passing and screen plays
Offensively, I don’t think Washington is going to have much success against the Seahawks. They’ve given up just 3.3 yards per carry, which was tied with the Cleveland Browns for the best in the NFL after week 7. Washington’s running backs have had their moments here and there this season, but haven’t consistently produced at a high level. This most likely isn’t the week for them to have another good game. However, Washington still needs to control the clock against Seattle’s high-scoring offense. Given the talent in the Seahawks’ secondary, this likely means Washington will need a steady input of screen passes and short to midrange passes over the middle. This could likely be big game for Washington’s veteran tight end, Zach Ertz. Regardless, Washington needs to control the clock, or this game probably isn’t going to go well.
3 KEY MATCHUPS
Trey Amos and Marshon Lattimore versus Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Believe it or not, after week 7, prior to Seattle’s bye, Smith-Njigba was leading the NFL in both total receiving yards and yards per target, was tied for 4th in number of targets, and tied for 6th in receptions. He has just under three times the amount of receiving yards as Cooper Kupp, who is second on the Seahawks roster with 293 yards. Smith-Njigba is clearly a huge part of Seattle’s offense, and it’s going to fall primarily to Amos and Lattimore to provide tight coverage on him. At 6’0”, 197 pounds, he isn’t particularly big, and his 4.52 second 40 time isn’t unusually fast by NFL receiver standards. However, what he has is agility, and lots of it. Smith-Njigba is the most successful receiver Washington has faced so far this season, this one is going to be a very tough matchup for both Amos and Lattimore. I suspect that Washington’s coaching staff won’t.
Deebo Samuels versus Devon Witherspoon
Witherspoon, who was the fifth overall draft pick in 2023, has made the Pro Bowl in both of his NFL seasons. McLaurin is Washington’s #1 receiver and a two-time Pro Bowler in his own right, making this probably the highlight matchup of the game. McLaurin has obviously had an off-year so far this season, with injuries and mostly decreased performance, and he’s now out for this game. That leaves Deebo Samuel . The TV broadcast crew will most likely have extensive discussions about this matchup. Keep an eye out on how well McLaurin does against one of the NFL’s elite up and coming corners.
Laremy Tunsil versus Demarcus Lawrence
This matchup is more about the names of the two players involved than anything else. Lawrence, who is in his 12th season, has tortured Washington many times during his 11 yers in Dallas. He only has three sacks so far this season, but that doesn’t mean he can’t turn it on one more time and torture Washington’s quarterback again. Tunsil was obviously Washington’s feature acquisition this offseason, so this is the other high-profile matchup in the game. Watch out for how many times Lawrence ends up in Washington’s backfield. If it happens with regularity, it probably means that he got the better of Tunsil.
OFFICIAL INJURY REPORT (active roster only)
LP – limited practice FP – full practice DNP – did not practice
NIR – not injury related Q – questionable O – out
D – doubtful
| Washington | Seahawks |
| WR T. McLaurin, quad; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O | WR J. Bob, achilles; Wed: NL; Thurs: LP; Fri: DNP; game: O |
| TE C. Yankoff, hamstring; Wed: LP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O | G C. Haynes, pectoral; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP; game: O |
| TE J. Bates, ankle; Wed: NL; Thurs: FP; Fri: LP; game: Q | S J. Love, hamstring; Wed: DNP Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O |
| DT Z. Newton, ankle; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: LP; game: Q | TE E. Saubert, calf; Wed: DNP Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O |
| T L. Tunsil, hamstring; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q | WR D. Young, quad; Wed: DNP Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O |
| QB J. Daniels, hamstring; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | WR C. Kupp, heel/hamstring; Wed: FP; Thurs: LP; Fri: DNP; game: Q |
| K M. Gay, back; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP | DT J. Reed, wrist; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP; game: Q |
| DT J. Kinlaw, shoulder; Wed: FP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP | QB S. Darnold, chest; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP |
| LB B. Wagner, thumb; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | LB D. Hall. oblique; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP |
| FB R. Ouzts, ankle; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | |
| CB D. Witherspoon, knee; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP |
Steve’s Prediction
Sorry – Seahawks win this one 32 – 20.