AJ Barner shares strong statement on Seahawks after dominating the Saints

The Seattle Seahawks delivered the most dominating win of Mike Macdonald's tenure in a 44-13 demolition of the New Orleans Saints Sunday at Lumen Field.

Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) celebrates a touchdown with tight end AJ Barner (88) against the Saints | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Week 1 for the Seattle Seahawks was bad. Week 2 was much better. And Week 3, it all came together to be almost perfect.

For one spectacular Sunday at Lumen Field, this is what it's supposed to look like. The 44-13 dismantling of the hapless New Orleans Saints was by dominance by the offense, defense and even the special teams which contributed a blocked punt and a 95-yard touchdown return by rookie Tory Horton.

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It was the most comprehensive victory of head coach Mike Macdonald's tenure and the Seahawks' biggest blowout since beating the New York Jets by 37 in 2020. Granted, the Saints are 0-3 and one of the worst teams in the NFL. Nonetheless, did Seattle show it can be one of the league's best?

“Just shows you what we’re capable of when we play complementary football,” tight end AJ Barner said. “Shoot, we can be one of the best teams in the league.”

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Echoed cornerback Riq Woolen, “We know how great of a team we are, but (Sunday) shows that once we get to executing and firing on all cylinders, we are the team that we say we are.”

The frenetic crowd even played its role, with the 12s' level contributing to five false starts by the Saints' offense.

The Seahawks are good enough to know they are one Sam Darnold fumble inside the San Francisco 49ers' 10-yard line of being 3-0. But they're also smart enough to know they can't rest on their laurels with a short week and a tough NFC West road trip to play the Arizona Cardinals Thursday night.

Seahawks receiver Tory Horton (15) catches a touchdown against the Saints at Lumen Field. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

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