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Takeaways from Seahawks' bounce-back Week 6 win vs. Jaguars

The Seattle Seahawks got contributions from its biggest stars in a 20-12 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Connor Benintendi|
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) celebrates as he crosses the goal line after catching a touchdown pass during the second quarter in an NFL football game at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla.
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) celebrates as he crosses the goal line after catching a touchdown pass during the second quarter in an NFL football game at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Seattle Seahawks

Getting another monster game from Jaxon Smith-Njigba and their pass rush, the Seattle Seahawks hung on to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 20-12 on Sunday, Oct. 12, at EverBank Stadium.

The Seahawks (4-2) won their ninth consecutive road game, bouncing back from a narrow loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5. Jacksonville (4-2), coming off a statement Monday night win over the Kansas City Chiefs, was stagnant offensively against an active Seattle defense.

It wasn’t quite the shootout of a week ago, but Seattle kept proving it’s one of the league’s best teams in 2025. Here’s what we learned from the Seahawks’ Week 6 win over the Jaguars.

Pass rush makes up for secondary’s early struggles

Trevor Lawrence entered the game having been sacked just six times in Jacksonville’s first five games. The Seahawks brought him down seven times on Sunday alone.

That was huge, particularly because the depleted Seahawks secondary struggled early. Multiple coverage miscommunications on Jacksonville’s first scoring drive gave the Jaguars an early lead, and it was looking like it could be a long day for the Seattle defense.

Instead, Lawrence was under duress the entire game, especially late. Four of the Seahawks’ seven sacks came in the second half, helping force three straight Jacksonville punts to conclude the game.

Seattle’s interior pass rush had been great through the first five games, but the edge rush was ineffective and carried by Uchenna Nwosu. However, in Week 6, the pressure came from everywhere.

Former first-round pick Byron Murphy II and veteran free-agent signing DeMarcus Lawrence led the group with two sacks each. Nwosu added 1.5, and inside linebacker Drake Thomas got the first of his career. Pro Bowler Leonard Williams wrapped it up with half a sack.

The Seahawks now have 20 sacks as a team this season, which could be enough to put them in the top 5 once the rest of the Week 6 games are wrapped up.

Smith-Njigba continues meteoric rise

With the rest of Week 6 pending, Smith-Njigba is officially the NFL’s leading receiver through the first third-and-change of the 2025 season. 

Smith-Njigba now has 12 catches of 20 or more yards, turning in the biggest play of his career with a 61-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter against the Jaguars. He totaled five catches for 117 yards and a touchdown in the first half alone.

There’s been no question about who Sam Darnold’s favorite target is so far this season. Cooper Kupp has been productive, but Smith-Njigba has been a clear-cut No. 1 option. He totaled eight catches for 162 yards in the game.

The departure of DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett was expected to boost Smith-Njigba’s production. But 100 or more yards in four of six games so far this season has vastly exceeded those expectations.

Smith-Njigba now has the most receiving yards by a Seahawks player through five games (696) in franchise history.

Klint Kubiak gets conservative after first third-quarter drive

The Seahawks opened the third quarter with a long 8-play, 77-yard drive that concluded with Cooper Kupp’s first Seattle touchdown reception. That pushed the Seahawks’ lead to 20-6 with plenty of time remaining to add more points.

Seattle’s offense slowed from there, primarily because the run game couldn’t get going. Kubiak stuck with that and the short passing game — unable to push the lead out further. 

Punting on four straight second-half drives, the Seahawks needed one final drive at the end to put it away. A 61-yard catch-and-run to tight end AJ Barner set that up, and the Seahawks were able to run out the clock inside the Jaguars’ 10-yard line.

Critical stretch up next

Seattle hosts the Houston Texans (2-3) for a late-night Monday Night Football game at 7 p.m. on Oct. 20. The Seahawks are 1-2 at home this season and 3-0 on the road. Even against sub-par teams, home games aren’t a guarantee for this team. They need to get a win there in primetime.

The three games after that are at the Washington Commanders (3-2), home against the Arizona Cardinals (2-4) and at the Los Angeles Rams (4-2). Those are all must-win NFC matchups, two of which are divisional contests.

More importantly, they’re all winnable with how the Seahawks are playing right now. Both of Seattle’s losses have been by a combined seven points, and those have been against very good teams. Every conference game is critical in the middle of the season.

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Connor Benintendi
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