Before their bye week, Head Coach DeMeco Ryans' team made Baltimore the third city in the last two seasons where the Texans got their first-ever win in franchise history. Coming off the bye, Houston heads to the Pacific Northwest looking to make Seattle the fourth (along with New England, Dallas and, of course, Baltimore).
It won't be the easiest task in the world as the Seahawks may ultimately be the most complete team the Texans have faced to this point. WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba is arguably the best WR in the game at the moment. The defense returned DeMarcus Lawrence last week and the defensive front is outstanding. QB Sam Darnold continues his resurgence as a starting QB in this league. Man, it's an exceptional squad.
This is the last Seahawks game before a bye week and it's the Texans first game after the bye week. What that has told us over the years is, well, not much, I suppose, but it does add a little bit of intrigue to this matchup LATE on Monday night. With all of that in mind, let's get to know the Texans' foe for week 7 - the Seattle Seahawks.
Seattle Seahawks 2025 Schedule (4-2)
Week 1 - L San Francisco 49ers 17-13
Week 2 - W @ Pittsburgh Steelers 31-17
Week 3 - W New Orleans Saints 44-13
Week 4 - W @ Arizona Cardinals 23-20
Week 5 - L Tampa Bay Buccaneers 38-35
Week 6 - W @ Jacksonville Jaguars 20-12
Week 7 - Houston Texans MNF
Week 8 - BYE WEEK
Week 9 - @ Washington Commanders
Week 10 - Arizona Cardinals
Week 11 - @ Los Angeles Rams
Week 12 - @ Tennessee Titans
Week 13 - Minnesota Vikings
Week 14 - @ Atlanta Falcons
Week 15 - Indianapolis Colts
Week 16 - Los Angeles Rams
Week 17 - @ Carolina Panthers
Week 18 - @ San Francisco 49ers
Seahawks OFFENSE (in 2025 regular season)
- QB - SAM DARNOLD
- RB - Kenneth Walker III
- WR - Jaxon Smith-Njigba
- WR - COOPER KUPP
- WR - TORY HORTON
- TE - A.J. Barner
- LT - Charles Cross
- LG - GREY ZABEL
- C - Jalen Sundell
- RG - Anthony Bradford
- RT - Abe Lucas
Key Offensive Non-Starters
- RB - Zach Charbonnet
- WR - Jake Bobo
- TE - ELIJAH ARROYO
- FB - Brady Russell
- TE - Eric Saubert
- WR - Dareke Young
Italics - Rookie
ALL CAPS - New to team in 2025
Keys to Winning v. the Seahawks Offense
- 4th time is another charm - When he takes his first snap on Monday night, Seahawks QB Sam Darnold will become one of three NFL QBs to start four times with four different teams against the Texans. He's improved each and every start with the four teams and is playing his best football in the Pacific Northwest. Last year in week three, he was the perfect maestro of the Minnesota Vikings offense, but he's really tapped into his true self in Seattle. Why? The deep ball. Darnold is as skilled a thrower I ever studied in the NFL Draft, but he's never really been used as a deep ball dime dropper in his first seven years. But, in Seattle, they've needed those deep shots and Darnold has provided. Against the Jaguars last week, Darnold hauled off and flung one 50 yards in the air, landing it perfectly on Jaxon Smith-Njigba who had just a step on the Jaguars defensive back. Touchdown. The Seattle offense has plenty of layers but it's Darnold becoming Darnold, i.e throwing deep accurately and productively, that scares me the most.
- Better than Advertised - Even though I was fairly certain that Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba was going to be an excellent NFL WR, I didn't think he'd be THIS good, THIS fast. He's leading the league in total receiving yards, yards per game and yards per target, even though he has 12 receptions fewer than league leader Puka Nacua. JSN didn't play his final season at Ohio State due to an injury, so there was some mystery as to his overall development, but there is mystery no longer. He runs outstanding routes, freeing himself up with YARDS to spare. He is excellent AFTER the catch, but, most importantly, he's truly tapped into his ability to create explosives down the field. He roasted new Jaguars CB Greg Newsome II on Newsome II's first play of the game on a simple post route down the field. The Texans do have a pair of CBs that love the challenge of slowing JSN down, but the Seahawks star will still get his targets as Darnold loves to look his way.
- Bring the Noise - The Seahawks haven't been able to run the ball effectively this year and the Texans must keep that pressure on the Seahawks passing game by eliminating or stunting on that run game. The pass rush against Darnold in Jacksonville was non-existent, if I'm being honest. Now, the Texans won't let Darnold sit in the pocket and dictate to them; DC Matt Burke will not allow Darnold to get comfortable. But, if the Seahawks are running the ball well, then the pass rush loses a little bit of aggressiveness and the play action becomes the staunch weapon that it has been for Seattle this year. So, it's easy, in theory, for the Texans. Shut down the run. Mute the play action opps. Make Darnold's life miserable with that fierce pass rush.
Seahawks DEFENSE (in 2025 regular season)
- Rushing Yards Allowed Per game - 79.0 ypg (2nd in the NFL)
- Passing Yards Allowed Per game - 235.5 ypg (24th)
- Total offense Allowed per game - 314.5 ypg (13th)
- Turnovers generated - 7 (7 INT, 0 Fumble recoveries - Seahawks are -1 in TO margin in 2025)
Expected Seahawks starting defense for Week 7
- OLB - DEMARCUS LAWRENCE
- DE - Leonard Williams
- NT - Byron Murphy II
- DT - Jarran Reed
- OLB - Boye Mafe or Uchenna Nwosu
- LB - Tyrice Knight or Drake Thomas
- LB - Ernest Jones IV
- CB - Josh Jobe
- S - Julian Love
- S - Coby Bryant
- Nickel - Devon Witherspoon or NICK EMMANWORI
- CB - Riq Woolen
Key Defensive Non-Starters
- OLB - Mike Morris
- DT - Brandon Pili
- S - Ty Okada
- S - D'ANTHONY BELL
- DB - DERION KENDRICK
Keys to Winning v. the Seahawks Defense
- Leo the Seahawk - Number one in the Harris 100 for the 2015 NFL Draft was former USC DL Leonard Williams. At the time, I was convinced that Williams was a weapon in even or odd fronts. He could dominate inside with quickness and outside with power, sort of like the 2015 NFL DPOY. Yes, I saw Williams as a poor man's JJ Watt, but earlier in his career, Williams was good but not Watt-level. No one is ever going to get to Watt level, but Williams has been as dominant as ever playing out in Seattle. To slow Williams and limit his impact, the Texans must first recognize where Williams lines up on each play. Then, they have to frustrate him with multiple blocking schemes to slow him down and mute his power. He used said power extremely well against the Jaguars, allowing him to live in the Jaguars backfield. Consequently, he did it from different spots up and down the line of scrimmage. Block Seattle's 99 or he'll impact the game like Houston's 99.
- Spoon fed or not? - The Seahawks have been relatively healthy except for one key position - the secondary. Devon Witherspoon, Julian Love and Riq Woolen all missed last week's game at Jacksonville and there's no telling if they'll be ready for this game. In that game, the Jaguars had a number of different opportunities to make some plays through the air, but QB Trevor Lawrence missed throws, the Jaguars WR dropped passes or Lawrence held it too long to get a pass off. The Texans did a great job against Baltimore getting the ball off quickly, accurately and into the hands of this receiving group. That worked handsomely against a banged up Ravens secondary. Regardless as to whether the Seahawks defensive backs are still banged up, the Texans have to follow a similar game plan. The Texans found success in the passing game, avoiding key potholes. They must do it again, no matter who is lining up in the secondary.
- Mystery Man - It felt as if Seahawks LB Ernest Jones IV played for about nine teams over the past two years, but he seems to have found a home playing in Seattle. He fits Mike MacDonald's scheme seemingly perfectly, runs extremely well, is intelligent as can be and finishes his tackles. That said, I still would like to see the Texans challenge him in the passing game. It's incredibly hard to get a hat on him in the run game because of the stout Seahawks defensive front, but if they can isolate him in coverage on the Texans running backs, that might be a way to have success on Monday night. Jones IV is going to be a problem for the Texans front for many reasons so the Texans must put that pressure on him, any way that they can.
