Sports

The Seahawks have played well in the first half of Monday's nightcap with the Texans.

But Houston has been able to hang around, with a key special teams play setting the team up to get points just before halftime.

Still, Seattle leads 14-6 at the break.

The Seahawks scored each of their two touchdowns in the first quarter, with Zach Charbonnet running in a 1-yard score and Jaxon Smith-Njigba catching an 11-yard TD.

Then in the second quarter, the Seahawks were rolling but an ill-advised trick play helped get the Texans back in it.

On first-and-10 from the Houston 21, quarterback Sam Darnold flipped the ball in the backfield to receiver Cooper Kupp, who then cocked his arm in a throwing motion. But instead of the ball going to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Kupp’s pass was well off target and went right to safety Calen Bullock, who picked it off.

An 11-yard return to the Houston 23 gave the Texans the ball.

The club could only manage a field goal out of it, though, with Ka'imi Fairbairn putting it though the uprights for a successful 36-yard attempt.

The Texans then blocked a 53-yard field goal with 23 seconds left in the second quarter. Fairbairn converted on a 46-yard field goal as time expired to cut Seattle’s lead to eight points at the break.

The Seahawks could have had two defensive scores. On Houston’s first drive, quarterback C.J. Stroud drifted toward the end zone and barely was in the field of play when he was taken down for a sack at the 1-yard line. Then in the second quarter, Stroud was hit and threw a backward pass. Seattle recovered the ball, but it was fumbled just before the goal line and recovered in the end zone by Braxton Berrios for a touchback.

Houston finished the first half with 103 yards, reaching triple digits just before the break. Stroud is 11-of-18 for 106 yards.

On the other side, Darnold is 9-of-15 for 134 yards with a touchdown. Smith-Njigba has five receptions for 60 yards with a TD.

The Texans will have a chance to double up, as they’ll receive the second-half kickoff.

Micah Parsons entered Sunday's game with 55 career sacks in 69 career regular-season games. The Packers edge rusher had never had more than 2.5 sacks in a game.

He accomplished that against the Cardinals, sacking Jacoby Brissett three times.

"When it's time to win the game, something just switches," Parsons said, via Wes Hodkiewicz of the team website. "I don't think it was my best pass-rush game. I just think it's the first time [opponents] allowed me to rush this year. I mean if you look at the looks I've been getting, double tight ends, chips, full slides, and then also just other guys stepping up."

The Cardinals put left tackle Paris Johnson on an island with Parsons. It was a mistake.

Parsons' three sacks put him in elite company: Only 19 other Packers pass rushers have had three sacks in a game since they became an official stat in 1982. Parsons had six pressures, four in the fourth quarter, according to ESPN Research, and he leads the NFL with 15 fourth-quarter pressures.

“For me, I don’t rush with a plan,” Parsons said, via Matt Schneidman of TheAthletic.com. “I just rush to go. Like I told y’all, I just know go and I just know full speed and I don’t really say, this is what I’m gonna do. I just kinda attack him how he attacks me and I just was attacking today.”

Parsons would have had a fourth sack if not for officials calling a rare penalty for a hip-drop tackle after chasing down Brissett. He said he could have done nothing differently.

"That's just an effort play," Parsons said. "I'm rushing, that guy, he's about my size at quarterback and I just did what I thought. . . . I did not intentionally hip drop. I just pray I don't got the fine in my locker when I come in on Tuesday or Monday."

Jaxon Smith-Njigba has done it again.

The third-year receiver continued his torrid pace in 2025 with an 11-yard touchdown reception to end the first quarter, giving the Seahawks a 14-0 lead.

The Seahawks likely would’ve had to settle for a field goal on the drive if not for a bad penalty by linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair. On third-and-11 from the Houston 25, quarterback Sam Darnold scrambled to his left and was going out of bounds. But when he had already reached the white of the sideline, Al-Shaair tackled Darnold and drove him into the ground. The clear foul gave Seattle a free first down at the Houston 11.

On the next play, Darnold hit Smith-Njigba in the middle of the end zone for the score.

Smith-Njigba did his best Jimmy Graham impression, dunking the ball over the crossbar. Of course, that’s now a 15-yard penalty, which was enforced on the PAT try. But that was no matter for Jason Myers, who sent the ball through the uprights to give Seattle a 14-point lead.