Commanders Top Seahawks 33-31 as Mariota Throws Three TD Passes

Backup quarterback Marcus Mariota threw three touchdown passes as Washington beat Seattle 33-31, giving the defending Super Bowl champions their first loss of the season.

The Seattle Seahawks suffered their first loss of the season on Sunday, falling 33-31 to the Washington Commanders. The defeat also ended a 12-game winning streak that stood as a franchise record, and it came while Seattle holds its reign as Super Bowl champion.

Washington turned to 32-year-old backup Marcus Mariota with the team on a two-game slide and franchise quarterback Jayden Daniels dealing with another injury. Mariota answered with 183 yards and three touchdown passes to engineer the upset. Sam Darnold returned from injury to start for Seattle and finished with 379 passing yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.

Washington struck first by pouncing on a fumble from Seattle rookie Jadarian Price, and Mariota capped the next series with a touchdown pass to Rachaad White. Darnold responded by finding Jackson Smith-Njigba for a score, but Mariota connected with Treylon Burks to put the Commanders back in front. After another Seattle giveaway, Mariota's 30-yard touchdown to Terry McLaurin stretched the lead to 14 points.

Seattle clawed back to 24-24 on a 13-yard touchdown catch by backup tight end Eric Saubert and a second scoring grab from Smith-Njigba. A Commanders field goal restored a narrow edge, and Kain Medrano, a backup linebacker who also plays special teams, then intercepted Darnold and raced 50 yards for a touchdown to make it 33-24. Darnold's late touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp cut the margin to two, but Washington closed it out.

A Sunday packed with tight games also produced a 31-24 Detroit Lions win over the New York Jets, with Jahmyr Gibbs rushing for three touchdowns. New York tied it 24-24 when Garrett Wilson made a fourth-down catch from Geno Smith that video review ruled a touchdown, and the two-point conversion followed. Gibbs's third score put Detroit back in front, and the comeback stalled when Wilson departed with an injury and Smith was sacked on fourth down.

DeShaun Watson made his home season debut for Cleveland and directed a 21-18 win over the Carolina Panthers. Watson, booed by his own fans in the offseason and in the final year of a five-year, $230 million contract marked by injuries and off-field controversy, threw two touchdown passes. His go-ahead 14-yard strike to Harold Fannin Jr. came with under two minutes remaining.

Aaron Rodgers threw touchdown passes of 38 yards to Roman Wilson and 23 yards to Ben Skowronek as the Pittsburgh Steelers edged the Cincinnati Bengals 30-27. Cincinnati moved ahead in the fourth quarter before two Pittsburgh field goals and a late turnover settled it. The Indianapolis Colts needed a 53-yard field goal with 21 seconds left to beat the Houston Texans 19-17.

The Buffalo Bills beat the winless Los Angeles Chargers 24-16 despite five turnovers in a rough outing for quarterback Josh Allen. Rushing touchdowns from Allen and James Cook III created late separation. The Kansas City Chiefs were comfortable 24-10 winners over the Miami Dolphins.

The Jacksonville Jaguars thrashed the New England Patriots 35-6, a heavy defeat for the team that lost last season's Super Bowl. The Tennessee Titans remained winless at 0-3 after quarterback Cam Ward was intercepted on a drive that could have won it, allowing the New York Giants to escape 12-7.