The hype around the Seattle Seahawks has cooled a little bit after losing a heavyweight battle against the Rams in Week 11, but Seattle had a nice reset on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans. The Seahawks controlled most of the game before surviving a late comeback from Cam Ward and company to get a 30-24 win and get to 8-3.
The Seahawks got off to a bit of a slow start offensively compared to some of their previous games, but once Jaxon Smith-Njigba was unleashed, it was very difficult for the Titans to stop him. He got the first touchdown on the board early in the second quarter with a 63-yard touchdown from Sam Darnold to put Seattle up 10-3. Early in the third quarter, he added a second score with a 13-yard reception down in the high red zone.
After the game, Smith-Njigba revealed a good luck charm that could possibly become a more frequent appearance, via Seahawks beat writer John Boyle.
“Jaxon Smith-Njigba noted the Seahawks are 2-0 when he wears a cowboy hat on game day,” Boyle wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Said ‘you might see it again.'”
Smith-Njigba finished the day with eight catches on 10 targets for 167 yards and those two touchdowns. He is still leading the NFL in receiving yards by a mile and is on pace for 2,000 yards with six games to go. With his latest big day, Smith-Njigba reached 1,313 yards and broke DK Metcalf's franchise record for single-season receiving yards.
The Ohio State product has amassed those numbers with 80 catches on 107 targets with seven touchdowns on the season. He has emerged as one of the best players in football and is in a two-horse race for the Offensive Player of the Year award with Colts running back Jonathan Taylor.
The Seahawks are still trailing the Rams by one game in the NFC West and will need Smith-Njigba to continue to produce at this pace if they want to chase down Los Angeles and earn a home playoff game. However, even if they can't, the third-year star has ascended to the level where he can give his team a chance in any game.
