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.
“Really, just being in the right place at the right time,” said Medrano, a sixth-round pick from a season ago who had played zero defensive snaps before Sunday. “I was trying to find space to go get the quarterback and just happened to run right underneath the checkdown route and saw green grass and had to show off my wide receiver skills.”
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Washington’s actual wide receivers did plenty to show off, themselves. 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 and the kind of pivotal-moment catches that made him a star.
And quarterback Marcus Mariota, filling in admirably for Daniels, threw for 183 yards and three touchdowns, sealing the victory with a 9-yard scramble on third-and-7 on the team’s final drive.
But it was Medrano 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, leading to 20 points.
Defensive tackle Tim Settle recovered a fumble and tipped a Darnold pass that led to an interception by rookie linebacker Sonny Styles, who also forced a fumble and broke up two passes. Cornerback Amik Robertson, tasked with covering Seattle All-Pro receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba for most of the day, broke up four passes and forced the fumble that Settle recovered.
The victory now puts Washington in position to get to .500 on the season next week when they head to London to play the 1-2 Colts.
“The 0-3 test and the 1-2 test both don’t sound great on paper, but they feel a lot different,” head coach Dan Quinn said. “We didn’t need belief, but we needed to execute it and give ourselves a real good shot at it. And it wasn’t perfect by any stretch — we had to overcome penalties and other things — but I think it does show some of the resolve.”
Game MVP: Marcus Mariota
Before you even say it, Medrano and his interception will be discussed below.
But for Mariota, this game was set up for him to lose. He was thrust into the starting role after Daniels dislocated his elbow last Sunday against the Cowboys, he was facing the defending champions and their top-rated defense, and a loss would put Washington into 0-3 purgatory.
Mariota had of course been in this position last season when he had to start eight games (2-6 record) in place of Daniels. But this time around he said this week leading up to the game that he would play within himself and not “put the cape on” to try and win the game on his own.
That being said, Mariota was much closer to Superman than he was Clark Kent on Sunday.
His three touchdown passes were the most he’s thrown in a game since Week 8 of the 2022 season while with the Falcons, and he didn’t commit a single turnover (although he nearly threw an interception to Seattle’s Uchenna Nwosu in the second quarter).
When he was under pressure he either took the safe route and threw the ball away or made the play that the Commanders needed. Facing a second-and-9 from Seattle’s 11-yard line, he dropped back, set his feet and fired a laser to Treylon Burks between two defenders for a touchdown. On Washington’s second drive of the second half, while holding a 17-10 lead, Mariota shifted slightly right in the pocket to evade a pass rusher and arced a 30-yard, back-shoulder bomb to McLaurin for another score.
Then on third-and-7 with 1:36 left in the fourth quarter, offensive coordinator David Blough dialed up a zone read option to ice the game. Washington had been two of 12 on third-down conversions at that point.
After the snap, Mariota placed the ball in running back Rachaad White’s chest, but when the Seattle defender angled for White, Mariota pulled the ball back and took off for a 9-yard scramble and first down.
“The more that adversity hits, the more that the circumstances kind of pin us against the wall, these guys find a way,” Mariota said after the game. “I’m grateful to be a part of it.”
Added Quinn on the play: “I thought there was very little chance Marcus was giving that one off. Been one of the very best that’s ever done in that space.”
Moment That Mattered
Do you even have to guess?
Facing a second-and-15 while down 27-24 with just over four minutes left in the game, Darnold turned and faked a handoff to running back Emanuel Wilson. But Washington edge rusher Odafe Oweh was right in Darnold’s grill when he turned back around, forcing Darnold to quickly toss the ball to tight end AJ Barner.
But what Darnold didn’t see was Medrano eyeing him the entire time. The linebacker, who played receiver in high school, had noticed Darnold kept checking down to his tight ends and running backs all afternoon, so he figured at some point he’d have an opening to make a play. When the ball was released, Medrano stepped in front of Barner, caught the ball in stride, and took it to the house to put Washington up 33-24.
“Honestly, score,” Medrano said when asked what was going on in his mind after he caught the interception. “Close game, gotta have a way to get some momentum back. And I think that’s what did it.”
Medrano wasn’t even supposed to be in the game. Starter Frankie Luvu (groin) missed his second game in a row, and his backup Leo Chenal was carted off the field near the end of the first half with a neck injury. Medrano had played 179 snaps on special teams since being drafted in 2025, but he hadn’t played a single snap on defense until Sunday.
But he said he’s prepared every week as if he’d get the chance to play.
“Just waiting for my time. Ups and downs, and trying to stay right in the middle and not get too up, too down,” Medrano said. “With last year: inactive, active, inactive, active. Just being the same person every day. You know, energy, effort, being the same guy in the building every day, and finally got my chance and had to make the most out of my opportunities.”
Locker Room Vibes
If the locker rooms sounded like a library the first two weeks, it sounded like a Chuck E. Cheese on Sunday. You could feel the weight lifted off the players’ shoulders after getting their first win of the season.
Maybe a little too much weight, actually.
“You gonna have some balls, you gonna have to be heavy, you gonna have to not give an F to to block us,” Settle passionately said when asked about limiting the Seahawks to 44 rushing yards on the day.
Elsewhere, players made jokes about the teammates selected to go to the postgame podium. “Yeah, Sonny,” one sarcastically yelled as Styles headed out the door. Edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson — and later Quinn — could only stare and smile at Medrano like a proud father.
“I’ve never been to the podium,” Medrano said as he walked the hallway. He later exited the locker room with two balls in hand: the game ball given to him by Quinn and the ball he intercepted off Darnold.
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