Zach Charbonnet scored on a pair of short runs as the Seattle Seahawks defeated the visiting Houston Texans 27-19 on Monday night.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba recorded his third straight 100-yard receiving game (eight catches, 123 yards) and scored on a pass from Sam Darnold as the Seahawks (5-2) moved into a first-place tie with the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West.
C.J. Stroud threw a 4-yard pass to running back Woody Marks with 2:04 remaining to give the Texans (2-4) their lone offensive touchdown, but Seattle was able to run out the clock.
Stroud completed 23 of 49 passing for 229 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also led the Texans with 25 rushing yards on two attempts. Tight end Dalton Schultz made nine catches for 98 yards.
Darnold finished 17 of 31 for 213 yards with one TD pass and one interception. Kenneth Walker III rushed for 66 yards on 17 attempts, and Charbonnet added 49 yards on 12 carries.
The Seahawks built a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.
Charbonnet scored on a 1-yard run with 7:28 left in the period, and Smith-Njigba tallied on an 11-yard strike from Darnold on the last play of the quarter.
The Seahawks had a pair of chances to extend their lead late in the second quarter. The first was thwarted when receiver Cooper Kupp threw an interception and the second when Jason Myers’ 53-yard field-goal attempt was blocked by Denico Autry.
Houston’s Ka’imi Fairbairn connected on 36- and 46-yard field goals in the final 2:18 of the half to make it 14-6.
Ernest Jones IV picked off Stroud on the opening possession of the second half, and Myers kicked a 26-yarder to extend the lead to 17-6.
Will Anderson Jr.’s strip sack of Darnold and fumble recovery in the end zone pulled the Texans within 17-12 with 7:24 left in the third. The Texans tried a two-point conversion, but Stroud’s pass for tight end Dalton Schultz in the back right corner of the end zone fell incomplete.
Myers’ 47-yarder with 5:15 left in the third made it 20-12.
Charbonnet scored untouched from 2 yards out with 54 seconds left in the third to put Seattle up 27-12.
