Seahawks PFF grades: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ernest Jones shine in Week 4 win

Seattle's star wide receiver and middle linebacker posted the highest grades for the team this week at Pro Football Focus.

Sep 25, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) runs against the Arizona Cardinals in the third quarter at State Farm Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Another week, another win for the Seattle Seahawks, who carry a 3-1 record into their mini-bye. Thursday night's close-call victory over the Arizona Cardinals was a major win for a franchise that looks to be a serious NFC contender for the first time since the 2015 campaign.

Seattle's formula for victory is pretty straight-forward. They play elite defense at all three levels (at least for most of the game), get just enough out of their run game and rely on the extremely-potent duo of Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba to do the rest and carry them to a win.

So far it's working out pretty well. Let's review the Pro Football Focus grades for Seattle this week.

JSN shines on offense

Technically, Jake Bobo earned the highest grade for the Seahawks offense this week (89.3 overall) but as he only played 10 snaps we're giving the gold medal on this side of the ball to Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Shut down for virtually the entire game, JSN came to life just when Seattle need it most and came through with few clutch catches, finishing the game with 79 yards on just four receptions. For his efforts he earned an 85.9 overall grade. His 90.6 for the season ranks second to Puka Nacua.

Sam Darnold solid again

Sam Darnold wasn't quite as perfect as he was last week against the Saints, but he was more than good enough to finish the Cardinals off with a game-winning drive. Darnold posted 242 passing yards, one touchdown and 24 rushing yards in the win. PFF wound up giving him a 73.6 overall grade, third-best on offense behind JSN and Bobo. Running back Zach Charbonnet (72.8) and right tackle Abe Lucas (72.0) rounded out the top five grades on offense.

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) meets Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) after the Seahawks' 23-20 win at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sept. 25, 2025. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jalen Sundell, Anthony Bradford near bottom

The lowest grades on offense went to TE/FBs Eric Saubert and Brady Russell in limited action. Among starters, center Jalen Sundell (56.9 overall) and right guard Anthony Bradford (59.3 overall) were the lowest-graded players on this side of the ball. To be fair, they had their hands full trying to contain Arizona's returning ageless giant Calais Campbell.

Ernest Jones leads defense

Middle linebacker Ernest Jones was the brightest standout in an exceptional game for the defensive front-seven. Jones racked up eight total tackles, half a sack and an interception, earning a team-best 87.1 overall grade on defense this week. Despite giving up a couple of big plays late, Devon Witherspoon earned the second-best grade on defense at 78.1 overall.

Rough night for DBs

Outside of Spoon and Julian Love, the rest of Seattle's secondary had a pretty rough game. Most of the Seahawks defensive backs wound up at or near the bottom of PFF's grades on this side of the ball. That includes cornerback Josh Jobe (49.1 overall), "cornerback" Riq Woolen (49.4 overall) and free safety Coby Bryant, who wound up with Seattle's worst defensive grade (39.5 overall) despite notching another interception against Kyler Murray.

Sep 21, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks safety Coby Bryant (8) warms up before the game against the New Orleans Saints at Lumen Field. | Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

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