Backup Quarterback Marcus Mariota Led Washington to a 33-31 Upset That Ended Seattle's 12-Game Winning Streak

Washington ended Seattle's 12-game winning streak with a 33-31 upset on Sunday, getting three touchdown passes from backup quarterback Marcus Mariota and a fourth-quarter pick-six from linebacker Kain Medrano to hold off a Seahawks team that had not lost since the previous November. The result was detailed in CBS Sports' box score coverage and in a report from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

A depleted Washington roster stepping up

Washington took the field missing an unusually long list of starters, including quarterback Jayden Daniels, left tackle Laremy Tunsil, who tore his triceps in August, right guard Sam Cosmi, tight end Chig Okonkwo, linebacker Frankie Luvu and safety Nick Cross, a run of absences that would test the depth of almost any NFL roster. In their place, Marcus Mariota completed 19 of 31 passes for 183 yards and three touchdowns, a composed performance that kept Washington in front of a Seahawks team many had expected to roll past a shorthanded opponent.

The defensive play that swung the game

With the score tight late in the fourth quarter, Kain Medrano intercepted a pass and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown, part of a run of three Seattle turnovers that handed Washington 21 points and effectively decided the outcome. Mariota also contributed a key run of his own late in the fourth quarter that helped seal the win, adding a rushing threat to a passing performance that had already kept Seattle's defence off balance for most of the afternoon.

Seattle's own quarterback story

Sam Darnold, who was injured in the first quarter of Seattle's season opener, made his return in this game and threw for 379 yards and four touchdowns on 31 of 45 passing, numbers that under most circumstances would be enough to win, but two interceptions and Seattle's broader turnover trouble undid a strong statistical day through the air. Terry McLaurin added six catches for 77 yards and a score for Washington, giving Mariota a reliable outlet as the Commanders built their winning margin.

Why the streak snapping matters

Seattle's 12-game winning streak dated back to the previous November, a run that had made the Seahawks one of the league's most consistent teams over that span and a natural favourite heading into this matchup against a Washington team missing so many key contributors. Ending a streak of that length against a shorthanded opponent is the kind of result that tends to be remembered less for the final score than for how unlikely it looked on paper before kickoff.

What it says about Washington's depth

Beating a team on a 12-game streak while missing your starting quarterback, starting left tackle, a starting guard, a starting tight end and two defensive starters is a stress test few rosters pass, and Washington's ability to do so behind a backup quarterback and a defence that forced three turnovers suggests a level of roster depth that had not been fully visible before this result. Seattle, for its part, will have to regroup after a game in which its offence produced enough yardage to win most weeks but was undone by the turnovers that gave Washington the points it needed.