An interception return for a touchdown from a fill-in linebacker and a clutch performance from a backup quarterback lifted the Commanders to an improbable and much-needed win Sunday, as Washington knocked off the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks 33-31 in its home opener.
The victory improves the Commanders’ record to 1-2 and allows them to avoid a dreaded 0-3 start — providing hope for the team’s longer-term prospects as it awaits the return of injured starting quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Linebacker Kain Medrano, filling in for Leo Chenal, who left the game with a neck injury, picked off Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold with just under four minutes left in the fourth quarter and returned it for a score, helping set the Commanders up for the win.
Quarterback Marcus Mariota, filling in for Daniels, threw for 183 yards and three touchdowns and sealed the victory with a 9-yard scramble on third and 7 on the team’s final drive. And Terry McLaurin, off to one of the slowest starts of career, finished with 77 yards on six catches, including his first touchdown of the season.
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But it was Medrano, a sixth-round pick from a season ago who had played zero defensive snaps before Sunday, and his defensive teammates who might have had the biggest impact on the outcome. The Commanders’ defense, which entered the game with zero turnovers through two weeks, forced three on the day — a recovered fumble by defensive tackle Tim Settle and an interception off a tipped pass by rookie linebacker Sonny Styles joining Medrano’s pick in helping lead Washington to the win.
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