SUMMERFIELD, Md. (Interstat) — Marcus Mariota threw three touchdown passes, and Washington’s defense turned a late interception into the decisive score as the Commanders held off the Seattle Seahawks 33-31 on Sunday at Northwest Stadium. Washington improved to 1-2, while Seattle fell to 2-1. The National Football League game drew an attendance of 64,027. Seattle entered after wins over New England and Arizona, while Washington had dropped its first two games. The Commanders led early, weathered a Seattle rally and survived a wild fourth quarter that featured a defensive touchdown and a missed extra point.

Sam Darnold led Seattle with 31 completions on 45 attempts for 379 yards and four touchdowns, and he ran once for 5 yards. Marcus Mariota was Washington’s top star, completing 19 of 31 passes for 183 yards and three touchdowns while running five times for 11 yards. Dyami Brown did not record a statistic. Washington linebacker Joshua Josephs had five tackles. Linebacker Kain Medrano had five tackles, one interception and one touchdown. Linebacker Sonny Styles added five tackles and one interception. Safety Quan Martin recorded five tackles. Cornerback Amik Robertson had six tackles. Safety Jeremy Reaves made seven tackles. Defensive tackle Tim Settle and tight end Ben Sinnott each had one tackle. Linebacker Odafe Oweh finished with five tackles.

Washington’s supporting offense included tight end Colson Yankoff with one reception for 2 yards, tight end John Bates with one reception for 9 yards, wide receiver Treylon Burks with two receptions for 13 yards and a touchdown, wide receiver Antonio Williams with two receptions for 15 yards, wide receiver Jaylin Lane with one reception for 21 yards, and wide receiver Terry McLaurin with six receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown. On defense, safety Percy Butler had four tackles, cornerback Rasul Douglas three, linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson three, linebacker Leo Chenal three, linebacker Ale Kaho three, cornerback Mike Sainristil two, defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw two, and Shy Tuttle, Dorance Armstrong, Daron Payne, Charles Omenihu and Tyler Owens one apiece. Wide receiver Luke McCaffrey returned three kickoffs for 90 yards. Kicker Drew Stevens made both of his field goals. Punter Tress Way punted seven times for 343 yards.

Seattle’s defensive effort was paced by linebacker Drake Thomas with nine tackles, linebacker Ernest Jones IV with eight, defensive tackles Byron Murphy II and Jarran Reed with seven each, cornerback Devon Witherspoon with six and cornerback Josh Jobe with six. Wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba had 10 receptions for 128 yards and two touchdowns, and he completed his only pass for 14 yards. Running back Jadarian Price ran five times for 15 yards and caught one pass for 7 yards. Running back Emanuel Wilson ran nine times for 14 yards. Running back George Holani ran three times for 10 yards, caught five passes for 48 yards and made one tackle. Tight end AJ Barner caught five passes for 69 yards. Wide receiver Tory Horton caught three passes for 48 yards and returned one kickoff for 29 yards. Wide receiver Cooper Kupp caught four passes for 46 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Brady Russell caught one pass for 20 yards and had three tackles. Wide receiver Rashid Shaheed caught two passes for 14 yards, returned two kickoffs for 63 yards and three punts for 29 yards. Tight end Eric Saubert caught one pass for 13 yards and a touchdown. Washington wide receiver Stefon Diggs caught four passes for 33 yards.

The game’s most important sequence came in the fourth quarter. Washington had moved ahead 24-10 in the third quarter when Mariota connected with McLaurin for a 30-yard touchdown. Seattle answered when Darnold found Smith-Njigba for an 11-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 24. Stevens then kicked a 36-yard field goal to put Washington back in front. With 3:57 remaining, Darnold’s short middle pass intended for Barner was intercepted by Medrano at the 50. Medrano returned it 50 yards for a touchdown. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Washington was enforced between downs. Stevens missed the extra point wide left, leaving Washington with a 33-24 lead. Seattle responded at 2:51 when Darnold hit Kupp for a 7-yard touchdown, and Myers made the extra point to cut the margin to 33-31. The Seahawks could not score again.

Earlier, Mariota opened the scoring in the first quarter with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Rachaad White, and Stevens made the extra point. Washington had a 48-yard touchdown run by Jacory Croskey-Merritt nullified by an illegal formation penalty. Seattle tied the game in the second quarter when Darnold found Smith-Njigba for a 1-yard touchdown and Myers added the extra point. Mariota then hit Burks for an 11-yard touchdown. Myers made a 57-yard field goal for Seattle, and Stevens answered with a 57-yard field goal for Washington before halftime. Mariota later connected with McLaurin for 30 yards, and Darnold found Saubert for a 12-yard pass to the Washington 1 before Seattle eventually pulled even on Smith-Njigba’s second touchdown catch and Myers’ extra point.

Washington’s defense also received contributions from Medrano, whose interception return proved to be the difference, and from a group that included Joshua Josephs, Sonny Styles, Quan Martin, Amik Robertson and Jeremy Reaves. Seattle’s Darnold kept the Seahawks in contention with four touchdown passes, including two to Smith-Njigba and one each to Saubert and Kupp. Mariota’s three touchdown passes and Stevens’ two field goals helped Washington build and protect its lead. The Commanders’ late stand after Seattle’s final touchdown allowed them to close out the one-possession win. Seattle is set to host the Los Angeles Chargers in its next game. Washington is set to host Indianapolis in its next game.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Washington 29, Seattle 23. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Seattle with a 89.8 percent probability to win. Washington had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -7.5. The total score of 64 went under the over/under line of 40.5.