Rookie Tory Horton set a franchise record with a 95-yard punt return touchdown and added a receiving score in the Seattle Seahawks’ 44-13 win over the winless New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
Horton fielded the punt at his own 5-yard line and raced untouched to the end zone, giving Seattle an early 14-0 lead. The return was the longest in Seahawks history.
Chazz Surratt delivered the key block, knocking down Saints punter Kai Kroeger.
Horton later caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Sam Darnold to extend the advantage to 28-3.
“Once the ball’s in my hands, it’s reading blocks and going back to my youth self of just that little game of sharks and minnows,” Horton said. “That’s something that I kind of bring back.”
Horton, who caught his first career touchdown pass a week earlier in Pittsburgh, credited Surratt for clearing his path.
“I didn’t know he was going to take him out for me,” he said. “I just had a two-way go and I kind of slowed down a little bit, let him make that block, and after that it was the promised land.”
Seattle’s special teams set the tone early. A blocked punt positioned the Seahawks for the first of Kenneth Walker III’s two touchdowns, a 3-yard run that stretched the lead to 21-0 in the first quarter. Walker’s second score capped a 76-yard drive, and Jason Myers drilled a 56-yard field goal before halftime.
By the break, the Seahawks led 38-6 — their second-highest-scoring half in team history.
Darnold was highly efficient, completing 14 of 18 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns.
His passer rating of 154.2 ranks as the second best in franchise history, behind only Russell Wilson’s perfect rating in 2018 against Detroit.
Through three games with Seattle, Darnold has completed 70.3% of his throws with four touchdowns and two interceptions.
“I feel like we did a really good job executing,” Darnold said.
Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald added: “He’s just playing with great confidence. He’s playing decisive.”
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, battling illness throughout the week, still managed five receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown.
Macdonald compared it to Michael Jordan’s “Flu Game” in the 1997 NBA Finals.
“Came back from the dead, it’s pretty cool,” the coach said. Smith-Njigba now has 29 catches for 323 yards on the season.
On defense, cornerback Derion Kendrick — filling in for injured All-Pro Devon Witherspoon — grabbed his second interception in as many games and led Seattle with three passes defensed.
“He’s just got a knack for making plays,” Macdonald said.
For New Orleans, the struggles continued. Spencer Rattler didn’t throw a touchdown until the fourth quarter, a 13-yard pass to tight end Jack Stoll.
Rattler fell to 0-9 as a starter, and the Saints lost their seventh straight dating back to last season.
The Saints’ 38 first-half points allowed were their most since giving up the same number in the second half of a 62-7 loss to Atlanta in 1973.
They were also flagged 11 times, bringing their season total to 31 penalties.
“At this point, teams look at us as if we’re undisciplined,” defensive end Cameron Jordan said. “If you’re a top-three most penalized team, that’s just a moniker they give you. We have to be able to be better.”
Saints safety Justin Reid was evaluated for a concussion but returned to the game.
Seattle was without Witherspoon, safeties Julian Love and Nick Emmanwori, and running back Zach Charbonnet. Fullback Robbie Ouzts injured his ankle and did not return.
The Seahawks next face the Cardinals on Thursday in Phoenix.
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