Not only did the Seattle Seahawks get embarrassed at home in Week 15 vs. the Green Bay Packers, they also might have lost their quarterback for an extended period of time.
Quarterback Geno Smith missed the final 21 minutes of the Seahawks’ 30-13 loss on “Sunday Night Football” after taking a low hit in the third quarter. Seattle declared him questionable to return with a knee injury, but backup Sam Howell played the remainder of the game in relief of the injured veteran.
Conversely, it was a great night for the Packers, particularly for their young talent.
Green Bay put up 369 yards of total offense, including 229 yards on 20-of-27 passing from quarterback Jordan Love. Third-year wide receiver Romeo Doubs caught two touchdown passes – one that showed off his leg strength and another that displayed his great hands. And rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper picked up his first career interception to go along with his third sack of the season.
Josh Jacobs, the Packers’ 26-six-year-old running back, also had 136 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown.
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Seattle dropped to 8-6 and into a tie with the Los Angeles Rams for first place in the NFC West with the loss. Since the Rams won the first clash between the two contenders, they now hold the first place spot via a head-to-head tiebreaker.
Meanwhile, the Packers’ win was their 10th of the season and keeps the pressure on the two teams ahead of them in the NFC North title race: the Detroit Lions, who have already clinched a playoff spot, and the Minnesota Vikings, who clinched a playoff spot with Green Bay’s win.
Here’s how it all happened in the latest edition of “Sunday Night Football”:
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Romeo Doubs scored his second touchdown of the night with five minutes left in the game. Quarterback Jordan Love launched the pass about 40 air yards to the back line of the end zone, and Doubs snagged the ball mere inches off of the ground to secure the catch.
It’s 30-13 Packers with 4:51 to go.
Edgerrin Cooper, the Packers’ second-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft, dropped back in coverage, read quarterback Sam Howell’s eyes and jumped to high-point the ball. The perfectly executed interception and return gave Green Bay the ball back at Seattle’s 27-yard line.
The interception was the latest notch in Cooper’s belt in what has been an excellent showing for him. With five minutes to play, the rookie is his team’s co-leader with five tackles on the night so far, including a sack. He also has two passes defensed, including the interception.
Seattle capitalized on its good field position after the fumble recovery when Zach Charbonnet rushed for a 24-yard touchdown. Backup center Jalen Sundell, in for the injured Olu Oluwatimi, made a key block, and Chabonnet broke away down the right sideline for the score.
It’s 23-13 Packers with 11:16 left in the game.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones dove to punch the ball out of Josh Jacobs’ arms, and Julian Love scooped it up near the sideline for a 6-yard fumble return.
Seattle starts a new drive on the Packers’ 45-yard line after the turnover.
A promising drive stalled inside the Seahawks’ 10-yard line as a third-and-5 false start penalty pushed the Packers back. Jordan Love connected with Christian Watson for a 9-yard gain to set up a fourth-and-1 at the Seahawks’ 5-yard line. However, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur opted to kick a field goal rather than gamble on the fourth-and-short situation.
Brandon McManus’ 23-yard field goal attempt was good and for the second time in the game, the Packers answered a Seahawks field goal with a field goal of their own.
After Geno Smith’s injury, Seattle only got two more plays in before its drive stalled on fourth down in Packers territory. Jason Myers converted on his second field goal attempt of the night, this one from 45 yards out, to trim Green Bay’s lead to 14 points.
It’s 20-6 Packers with 6:20 left in the third quarter.
Geno Smith took a low hit after throwing away a pass while under pressure. He remained on the ground holding his leg for a few extra moments and received some medical attention before heading to the sideline.
Sam Howell threw two pass attempts and completed one for minus-2 yards before the Seahawks’ drive ended.
Green Bay scored on all four of its first-half possessions, following up back-to-back touchdown drives with two straight field goal drives. A 21-yard field goal by kicker Brandon McManus closed out the final seconds of the first half.
Seattle will receive the second half kickoff.
One play after he nearly snagged an interception, Carrington Valentine made a play in the end zone to end the Seahawks’ red zone drive.
The Packers will take over at their own 14-yard line with 2:54 left in the first half.
Quay Walker, the Packers’ leading tackler this season, appeared to suffer a non-contact, lower-body injury late in the second quarter. He made his way off of the field under his own power, but was flanked by a couple of trainers.
The third-year linebacker was ruled out during halftime with an ankle injury.
Olu Oluwatimi was absent from Seattle’s offensive line to start its second drive of the second quarter, and the team designated him as doubtful with a knee injury.
Undrafted free agent rookie Jalen Sundell is in for the Seahawks at center.
Green Bay was unable to score a touchdown for a third straight drive, so it settles for a 39-yard field goal.
Brandon McManus nailed his first field goal attempt on Sunday night to give the Packers a 17-3 lead with 9:21 left in the half.
The Packers’ offense continues to dominate on the road. Their latest explosive play was a 36-yard heave from Jordan Love that Christian Watson pulled in with a toe drag to stay in bounds. Green Bay is in the red zone with under 10 minutes to play.
A couple of negative plays well inside Packers territory halted the Seahawks’ drive on Green Bay’s 30. Jason Myers knocked through his first field goal attempt of the night from 48 yards out to put Seattle on the board.
It’s now 14-3 Packers with just under 13 minutes left in the first half.
The first 15 minutes of the game were all Green Bay. More specifically, they were all Josh Jacobs.
Green Bay’s running back has 84 total yards — 46 rushing, 38 receiving — and a touchdown through his team’s first two possessions.
Seattle starts the second quarter with the ball on the Packers’ 32-yard line.
Romeo Doubs caught a pass from quarterback Jordan Love on the 6-yard line before he was nearly immediately wrapped up. However, the third-year receiver kept his legs moving and pulled two Seahawks defenders with him for the score.
The touchdown was the end of an 80-yard drive that included 40 more yards from scrimmage from running back Josh Jacobs. He’s up to 84 all-purpose yards in the game.
It’s 14-0 Packers with just under two minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper limited Seattle’s first offensive drive to four plays when he sacked quarterback Geno Smith for a 9-yard loss on third-and-4.
The Packers take back possession on their own 20-yard line with 6:43 left in the first quarter.
Josh Jacobs’ 1-yard rush put Green Bay on the board to cap off a 63-yard drive to open the game. The running back was responsible for 44 of the Packers’ 48 total yards on the drive — the remaining 15 coming on an unnecessary roughness penalty — on nine touches.
It’s 7-0 Packers with 9:19 to go in the first quarter.
The Packers and Seahawks are scheduled to kick off at 8:20 p.m. ET (5:20 p.m. PT), the customary start time for “Sunday Night Football.”
NBC is the broadcast home to the Seahawks vs. Packers “SNF” matchup. Mike Tirico will be on the play-by-play call, flanked by color commentator Cris Collinsworth. Melissa Stark will provide reports from the sideline.
Here’s how the USA TODAY Sports staff feels the Seahawks-Packers “Sunday Night Football” game will shake out:
For cord cutters looking for a live stream for the matchup, you can turn to Fubo. Fubo carries NBC, as well as CBS, FOX, NFL Network and the ESPN family of networks, meaning you can catch NFL action through the remainder of the season.
Two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander continues to be sidelined with a knee injury. He has played in just seven games this season.
Running back Kenneth Walker III (calf) continues to be out for the Seahawks, who will once again rely on Zach Charbonnet. Charbonnet had a career-high 134 yards and two touchdowns in last week’s win against the Arizona Cardinals.
The Packers are favorites to defeat the Seahawks, according to the BetMGM NFL odds. Not interested in this game? Check out expert picks and best bets for every NFL game this week.
Looking to make “SNF” more interesting? Here are some of the best bets for the matchup:
The Packers travel west to take on the Seahawks. The matchup will take place at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington.
Lumen Field — formerly known as Seahawks Stadium, Qwest Field and CenturyLink Field — has hosted three NFC championship games. The stadium also will host six games during the 2026 World Cup.
Lumen Field opened in 2002, and also serves as the home stadium of Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC of the NWSL.
➤ Ranking NFL’s stadiums from 1 to 30: Where does Seattle’s Lumen Field rate?
Game time temperatures in Seattle will be in the mid-40s, according to AccuWeather. There is a slight chance of rain at kickoff, with a stronger likelihood of precipitation late in the game.
Here’s how the NFC West stacks up entering the “SNF” matchup between the Seahawks and Packers:
Here’s how the NFC North lines up entering the “SNF” game between the Packers and Seahawks:
The NFL playoffs kick off on Jan. 11 with the league’s Super Wild Card Weekend, before concluding Feb. 9 with Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans.
The New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers are tied for the most Super Bowl wins with six.
The Packers have won four Super Bowls in five appearances, including the first two Super Bowls (then called the AFL–NFL World Championship Game) under legendary coach Vince Lombardi, for whom the Super Bowl championship trophy is named after. The Packers’ most recent Super Bowl win came during the 2010 season in Super Bowl XLV. In all, the Packers boast 13 NFL championships, the most of any franchise.
The Seahawks have one Super Bowl victory in three appearances, having prevailed over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.
NFL franchises with most Super Bowl wins:
➤ Super Bowl winners: All-time scores, results for NFL title game
Both teams will be looking to get their run games going early and often on what could be a rainy Sunday night in Seattle.
Even if the weather holds up, the Packers’ strong rushing offense – led by running back Josh Jacobs and reinforced by the mobility of quarterback Jordan Love – will likely have a better outlook than its passing offense.
Through 14 weeks, the Seahawks’ passing defense ranks ninth in EPA per dropback allowed (0.010) and 13th in success rate on dropbacks (45.3%). In contrast, Seattle’s rush defense drops to 16th in the NFL by EPA allowed (-0.085) and 22nd in rush success rate (41.0%).
Jacobs enters Week 15 off of two performances among his worst of the season in terms of rush yardage. However, he did score three touchdowns last week, tying a season high. He’ll be looking to return to form against a weaker rush defense.
In contrast, the Seahawks might try to lean more heavily on their passing game.
Second-year receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba is having a breakout season and enters Week 15 on a streak of five straight games with more than 70 receiving yards.
In addition, Green Bay ranks 32nd in the NFL with a 51.3% success rate allowed on opponents’ dropbacks, and Seattle quarterback Geno Smith will try to take advantage of that on Sunday night.
The Packers’ dropback marks in EPA allowed and success rate are both ranked around No. 10 in the NFL – they’re ninth and 11th, respectively. That suggests they’ll provide a more difficult challenge for Zach Charbonnet , even off of Charbonnet’s 134-yard day against the Cardinals last week.
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