Seattle (5-2) at Washington (3-5)
Sunday, 8:20 p.m. EST, NBC
BetMGM NFL Odds: Seahawks by 3
Against the spread: Seahawks 5-2, Commanders 3-5
Series record: Commanders lead 13-10.
Last meeting: Seahawks beat Commanders 29-26 in Seattle on Nov. 12, 2023.
Last week: Seahawks were off; Commanders lost to Chiefs 28-7 on Monday night.
Seahawks offense: overall (11), rush (21), pass (8), scoring (T-5).
Seahawks defense: overall (10), rush (1), pass (23), scoring (7).
Commanders offense: overall (16), rush (T-3), pass (24), scoring (17).
Commanders defense: overall (27), rush (22), pass (26), scoring (22).
Turnover differential: Seahawks minus-4; Commanders minus-5.
RB Kenneth Walker III. After a slow start to the season for the Seahawks running game, the third-year back has started to turn a corner. Walker ran for 66 yards during the Seahawks’ win against the Texans on Oct. 20, marking the third time in four weeks he’d rushed for at least that many.
TE Zach Ertz. With WR Terry McLaurin (quadriceps) set to miss another game, the Commanders are again short-handed even if they get QB Jayden Daniels back from his hamstring injury. Ertz is second on the team with 27 catches and already has four touchdown receptions this season.
Seattle QB Sam Darnold vs. the Washington secondary. Dak Prescott picked the Commanders apart two weeks ago, and although Patrick Mahomes threw two interceptions against Washington, he too had little trouble moving the ball. Darnold isn't necessarily on their level, but the first question in this game is whether the Commanders can hold up defensively.
Seahawks: DE Demarcus Lawrence (quadriceps), LB Derick Hall (oblique) and CB Devon Witherspoon (knee) all participated in Wednesday’s practice. S Julian Love (hamstring) did not practice Wednesday, and his status for Sunday was “in jeopardy” according to coach Mike Macdonald.
Commanders: Daniels was a full participant in practice Wednesday and Thursday, but T Laremy Tunsil (hamstring) missed Wednesday's session and was limited Thursday.
Washington holds a significant lead in the series in the regular season, but the Seahawks have won all three playoff meetings by double digits. ... Eight of the past nine regular-season matchups have been decided by one score.
The Seahawks are seeking to win six of their first eight games for the first time since 2020. Seattle went 10-7 last season and hasn’t had a losing season since 2021 under Pete Carroll ... The Seahawks lost their lone matchup with an NFC East team last season, 29-20 to the New York Giants. ... Darnold’s 68.2 completion rate ranks 10th in the league. … Wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who led the Seahawks in yards receiving in 2024, leads in the NFL in that category this season. His 819 yards are 99 more than Ja’Marr Chase, who has played in one more game than Smith-Njigba. … LB Ernest Jones IV had a season-high 11 tackles in the Seahawks’ latest win. ... The Seahawks have eight interceptions as a team this season, tied for fourth in the NFL. The Bears lead the league with 11. … The Seahawks have 23 sacks, tied for fifth in the NFL, while the offense has allowed just nine. ... Seahawks K Jason Myers went 2 for 3 on field-goal attempts in Seattle’s latest game. Myers is 13 of 17 on the season. Last season, he missed four kicks total. ... Commanders LB Von Miller needs 2 1/2 sacks to tie Jared Allen for 12th on the career list. ... Washington's Bill Croskey-Merritt has rushed for 402 yards, fourth among NFL rookies this season. ... The Commanders lead the NFL in kickoff return average at 30.3 yards per attempt. ... Washington's Deebo Samuel is second in the NFL in yards after the catch since 2021, behind only Cincinnati's Chase. ... The Commanders have touchdowns on 75% of their red zone trips, second in the league behind Philadelphia. ... Originally drafted by Seattle, Commanders LB Bobby Wagner faces the Seahawks for the first time since 2022 when he was with the Rams. He has the most tackles (524) in prime time since entering the league in 2012 and is in fact the only player since 2000 with at least 500 tackles in prime-time games.
Expect Seattle receivers — Smith-Njigba in particular — to be popular among fantasy players given how Washington's coverage has struggled.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) scrambles in the first half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans Monday, Oct. 20, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
NEW YORK (AP) — Democratic incumbents are facing spirited challenges Tuesday in at least two of New York's congressional primaries, the latest proving ground in the high-stakes fight between the progressive left and the party establishment over the Democratic Party's future.
U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman and U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat are both seeking to stave off candidates backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist who's testing the limits of his growing political muscle in the state's first batch of elections since he took office in January.
Mamdani and his slate are promising to push the Democratic Party further left on key issues, the war in Gaza chief among them, even as establishment Democrats in Washington worry that their policies could alienate swing voters in midterm elections across the country this fall.
Goldman faces former city Comptroller Brad Lander while Espaillat, who chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, faces another Mamdani pick, Darializa Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist who once helped organize pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University. Mamdani is also backing his democratic socialist ally, state Assembly Member Claire Valdez, who along with the rest of the mayor's candidates has vowed to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“It’s not just a question of electing more Democrats. It’s a question of electing better Democrats, ” Mamdani said Tuesday. “When I look at these candidacies, I see in them a willingness to also put working people back at the heart of our politics.”
In Washington, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries downplayed the influence of the Mamdani-backed candidates should they prevail Tuesday, which would make them the overwhelming favorites to win congressional seats in November given New York City's strong Democratic makeup.
“We have agreed to strongly disagree,” Jeffries said of Mamdani on Capitol Hill. “There are 215 members of the House Democratic caucus. A handful of primaries that go in one direction or the other, in a given state or two, aren’t going to reshape who we are as House Democrats.”
Meanwhile, Democrat Jack Schlossberg, the 33-year-old grandson of former President John F. Kennedy, is hoping to write his own chapter in Camelot lore as he competes in a crowded field for a seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler. Mamdani has made no endorsement in that race.
The Kennedy scion is running in one of the country's wealthiest congressional districts — covering much of the center of Manhattan — but faces questions about his lack of work experience against more seasoned opponents.
The field includes state Assembly members Micah Lasher, a longtime government hand backed by Democratic leaders, and Alex Bores, whose proposals to regulate artificial intelligence have triggered tech industry blowback. Also running is George Conway, who helped start the anti-Trump group, The Lincoln Project, and has centered his candidacy on impeaching the president.
Mamdani, whose first six months in office have drawn praise from establishment Democrats and even President Donald Trump, has made a big push to promote three congressional candidates who are challenging Democrats supported by the party's leadership.
Two of Mamdani's congressional slate identify as democratic socialists, while Lander has often aligned himself with the movement. All three have repeatedly promised to “abolish ICE,” condemned the “genocide” in Israel and vowed to “tax the rich” if elected.
Mamdani's most polarizing pick is Avila Chevalier, 32, in her race against Espaillat, 71, who was the first Dominican American elected to Congress and represents a district in upper Manhattan and the Bronx.
Avila Chevalier has not held political office and casts herself as an outsider. Around an hour before polls closed, she was standing on a street corner in Harlem with controversial streamer Hasan Piker, chatting with voters in a final Election Day push.
On the next corner, a small truck displayed an ad attacking Avila Chevalier, highlighting a disparaging remark she made on social media about former Vice President Kamala Harris. Avila Chevalier had previously apologized for the post.
Espaillat’s allies have called Avila Chevalier unfit for office, pointing out a history of inflammatory and profane social media posts when she was in her 20s.
In East Harlem, 47-year-old voter Sara Hyler said she flip-flopped several times between Avila Chevalier and Espaillat in the lead up to Election Day, but eventually cast her ballot for Avila Chevalier after learning about AIPAC’s heavy support for the incumbent.
“It was the breaking point, my last straw,” she said of AIPAC’s donations to Espaillat.
Hyler said it was important to elect a new crop of progressive democrats who aren’t beholden to AIPAC and the Israeli government. “As much as I support Israel, I don’t think we should be paying for them,” Hyler said.
Lander, a fixture of the city's progressive Democrats, got the mayor's endorsement in a race against Goldman, a progressive former federal prosecutor who served as lead counsel for Trump’s first impeachment.
The war in Gaza has been a dividing line between the two candidates, both of whom are Jewish. Lander assailed Goldman for not being tough enough on Israel over its military action against Palestinians. Goldman has consistently criticized Israel's government and condemned settler violence but has stopped short of describing the conflict as a genocide, which Lander has done.
Still, Goldman has amped up his criticism of Israel's war posture in response to Landers' barbs and shifting voter sentiments, all while seeking to keep his campaign focused on the high cost of living and such issues as opposing Trump's agenda.
Mamdani has also backed Valdez over Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, in the race to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez in a district covering parts of Brooklyn and Queens. Reynoso was Velazquez's handpicked successor, but failed to earn the mayor's backing.
Yvette Sanchez, a 30-year-old preschool teacher who voted for Espaillat, said she was put off by Mamdani's attempts to unseat the incumbent in her district and stifle Velazquez’s preferred successor, arguing that the established candidates are supported by Black and Latino communities.
“Do you just think you can insert anyone you want or do you actually want to listen to us?” Sanchez, who supported Mamdani last year, said of the mayor.
In northern New York state, a Trump acolyte with no previous political experience is facing a conservative state lawmaker in the Republican primary for a seat soon to be vacated by U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik.
Anthony Constantino, head of the custom sticker company Sticker Mule, showcased his enthusiasm for the president by putting a massive “Vote For Trump” sign atop one of his company buildings. He also released a hip-hop album titled “Thank You President Trump," and commissioned a statue of Trump and gave it to the president in Florida. Trump has endorsed him.
Constantino's opponent, conservative state Assembly Member Robert Smullen, has strong support from local Republicans and has argued that Constantino's antics, which include regular bashing of the state GOP, make him unfit to serve in the House.
Associated Press writers Jake Offenhartz and Larry Neumeister in New York contributed.
A voter casts a ballot during New York’s primary election on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
A person campaigns for Democratic Congressional Candidate Jack Schlossberg during New York's primary election on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
A voter casts a ballot during New York’s primary election on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., takes part in the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, Sunday, June 14, 2026 in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Democratic congressional candidates, Claire Valdez, Brad Lander, and Darializa Avila Chevalier gesture on stage with Mayor Zohran Mamdani during a Get Out The Vote rally ahead of New York's primary election, Thursday, June 18, 2026, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
FILE - A voter completes their ballot at a voting site, in New York, Nov. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
