What AJ Barner said about his game-clinching catch for the Seattle Seahawks

AJ Barner is quickly emerging as a dependable option for Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks, and the second-year tight end showed why once again on Sunday.

With less than three minutes left in the game, the Seahawks got the ball back and looked to run out the clock while nursing an eight-point lead. They pretty much accomplished that goal on the very first play of the drive, with Darnold finding a wide-open Barner behind the defense for a 61-yard gain down to the red zone. After one more first down via penalty, Darnold kneeled down three times to seal a 20-12 win, Seattle's ninth-straight on the road.

He made that look wayyy too easy. 🔥 @_ajbarner_ for 61 yards.

📺: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/VCEt8fCDPi
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) October 12, 2025

The 61-yard reception was by far the longest of Barner's young career, handily beating out the 23-yard reception he had earlier this year against the New Orleans Saints.

After the game, Barner shared his mindset before and during the play.

"Go make a play, go win," Barner told reporters. "I was excited about it, and I just felt like it was a good opportunity to close it out.

"When I saw the ball there, I was just like, 'let me just run under this.' I tried to get in the end zone, but people knocked my 40 time coming out [of college] and I wasn't the fastest, but didn't seem to matter too much on that play."

Oct 12, 2025; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Seattle Seahawks tight end AJ Barner (88) runs off the field after the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images | Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

Darnold also shared his perspective of the play, praising not only Barner, but the entire offense for executing it to perfection.

"We've got a ton of plays in our back pocket," Darnold said. "There's a ton of plays we can go to, but that's a play that AJ does a really good job at. Really all of our guys do a really great job of those routes. Got our defense a couple of times in training camp as well on that. It was a great job by not only AJ, but the offensive line and the other tight end, it might have been Sauby [TE Eric Saubert] over there on the defensive end just holding him up a little bit so I could get that one off."

Through six games, Barner has 17 receptions for 205 yards and a team-high four touchdowns. The former Michigan standout showed potential last year as a rookie, so much so that the Seahawks parted ways with veteran Noah Fant to make him the No. 1 tight end. So far, it's looking like they made the correct decision.

More Seahawks on SI stories