Zach Charbonnet scored on two short runs as the Seattle Seahawks beat 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) found themselves tied for first place with the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West.
CJ Stroud threw a 4-yard pass to running back Woody Marks with 2:04 left to give the Texans (2-4) their only offensive touchdown, but Seattle managed to run out the clock.
Stroud completed 23 of 49 passes 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 had nine catches for 98 yards.
Darnold finished 17 of 31 for 213 yards with a touchdown pass and an interception. Kenneth Walker III totaled 66 yards on 17 attempts and Charbonnet added 49 yards on 12 carries.
The Seahawks took 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 scored on an 11-yard strike from Darnold on the final play of the quarter.
The Seahawks had two 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 made field goals of 36 and 46 yards 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-yard kick to extend the lead to 17-6.
Will Anderson Jr.’s sack of Darnold and recovery of a fumble in the end zone brought the Texans within 17-12 with 7:24 left in the third. The Texans attempted a two-point conversion, but Stroud’s pass to 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 give Seattle a 27-12 lead.
–Field level media
