Jaxon Smith-Njigba sets Seahawks record for yards receiving in single season

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Jaxon Smith-Njigba got another game ball Sunday, something the Seattle wide receiver probably hasn't gotten quite enough this season.

“Honestly he probably could get one every game,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. “What is this? Eight in a row, eight games with 100-plus? Yeah, he’s a tremendous football player.”

The third-year wide receiver keeps finding ways to outdo himself.

On Sunday, Smith-Njigba had a season-high 167 yards receiving along with two touchdowns, and the NFL leader in receiving yards also set the franchise single-season receiving mark in a 30-24 win over the Tennessee Titans.

“He’s doing an incredible job, brings it every day and he’s a great teammate, which is awesome,” Macdonald said. "So you’re really happy for him.”

Smith-Njigba knew coming into Sunday that he was close to DK Metcalf's franchise mark of 1,303 yards receiving in 2020 after eclipsing his own career best from 2024 through the first 10 games.

Now Smith-Njigba has the franchise record at 1,313 yards with six games to pad his totals for the Seahawks (8-3).

“It means a lot," Njigba-Smith said of his record. “This is a great organization, and great receivers have come through here. Honestly, I look at it as a team award, because, without Sam, without the protection, without Sheed (Rashid Shaheed) and Coop (Cooper Kupp), this doesn’t happen.”

The 20th pick overall out of Ohio State in 2023 also has room to move up the NFL's single-season charts and currently is on pace to challenge Calvin Johnson's mark of 1,964 in 2012 for Detroit.

“It’s unbelievable, man. Just the way that he’s been able to play this year,” Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold said of his favorite receiver. “Every single game. It’s tough to be that consistent, but it starts with his attitude and the prep that he puts in throughout the week.”

Smith-Njigba also moved into some exclusive NFL company with 86 yards receiving by halftime.

That gave him his 11th straight game with at least 75 yards receiving. He trails only Pro Football Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison (14 in 2002) and Kupp (13 in 2001) for most such games in a single season in NFL history.

Kupp said Njigba-Smith is productive even when the Seahawks aren't throwing the ball a bunch.

“Every opportunity he has to make a play, he’s doing it," Kupp said. “That’s hard to do in this league. Everyone knows the passing game is obviously going to be going through him and he just continues to make plays and it’s a pretty impressive to watch.”

Smith-Njigba also provided a big offensive spark with his first catch, a 63-yard TD catch on a pass from Darnold. That TD put Seattle ahead to stay after a 3-3 first quarter, and Smith-Njigba added a 13-yard TD catch following a 56-yard reception.

Titans interim coach Mike McCoy called Smith-Njigba one of the best in the business. He worked with Seattle offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak in Denver and has talked with him about how special the wide receiver is.

“You don’t see many guys like that make some of those conversions in tight great coverage,” McCoy said. “It’s like, where else do you want the defender to be? And here he is making those plays. But a very explosive player.”

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Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) celebrates his touchdown pass reception with quarterback Sam Darnold (14) during the second half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, left, catches a touchdown pass ahead of Tennessee Titans safety Amani Hooker (37) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)

Tennessee Titans safety Amani Hooker (37) tackles Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) catches a touchdown pass ahead of Tennessee Titans safety Amani Hooker (37) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)

MONTREAL (AP) — After receiving their first wake-up call of the playoffs, the Carolina Hurricanes have responded like the beasts of the East they have been all season.

Following a loss to open the Eastern Conference Final, the Hurricanes have won back-to-back games in overtime to take a 2-1 lead against Montreal in the best-of-seven series. They look like their old selves again, and it has them two games from reaching to the Stanley Cup Final.

“We’re feeling good about playing hockey again,” said winger Taylor Hall, who scored his fourth goal this postseason in Game 3 on Monday night. “Now the game is starting to slow down, and you’re making reads without even having to think about it.”

That spells trouble for the Canadiens, who registered just two shots on goal combined over the third period and OT. Carolina has outshot Montreal 64-26 over the past two games.

“They throw a lot to the net, so they’re going to outshoot you,” said Montreal's Cole Caufield, who scored 51 goals during the regular season. “I think everybody that plays them knows that, and you can’t look at it that way — that they kind of tilt the ice that much.”

Shot volume is something the Hurricanes have done consistently in the eight years since coach Rod Brind'Amour took over. What has changed in this series is preventing the young, skilled Canadiens from generating offense.

“You need everything working against a team like that,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “I don’t think you can just rely on the power play.”

Caufield chalked up his team's struggles to Carolina's pace and aggressive play. That the brand of hockey Brind'Amour wants to play.

“It’s putting the stress on them,” defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere said. “It’s a hard system for us to play sometimes because you’ve got to be on your toes. You’re always skating. But you can see it’s pretty effective, and it’s probably not the best to play against.”

It did not look at all right in Game 1 last week, which the Canadiens won 6-2 after getting off to a hot start, finding long breakout passes and staying patient in solving Carolina's relentless forecheck to hand the Hurricanes their first loss of the playoffs.

“It’s definitely a turning point for us: a little adversity,” Gostisbehere said. “Having two sweeps the first two rounds — not a lot of adversity in that sense. For us, it was a good kick in the teeth.”

The Hurricanes are now as close to the final as they've been during this run of success under Brind'Amour, which included getting swept twice and losing in five games in their three previous trips to the East final. This spring, they are 5-0 on the road and 5-0 in overtime thanks to a consistent approach.

“We try to play our game home and away,” first-line center Sebastian Aho said. “The game’s the same, I feel like. Obviously the environment is a little bit different, whether you’re home or away. But I feel like the game stays the same.”

Game 4 at Bell Centre in Montreal on Wednesday night is Carolina's first chance to move to the verge of making the final. The Canadiens feel like they have another level to get to, and they need to find it quickly.

"We didn’t expect this to be easy, and we’re OK with that," St. Louis said. “There’s not one thing. We have to put it all together. You’re at this stage right now, you have to put it all together. Execution’s part of that. Jam is part of that. There’s not one thing. We’ve just got to put it all together, and I know we can.”

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Carolina Hurricanes' Sebastian Aho (20) and Andrei Svechnikov (37) celebrate in front of Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen (31) after the winning goal by Aho in overtime of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens in Montreal, Monday, May 25, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

Carolina Hurricanes' Andrei Svechnikov celebrates his goal with teammates after an overtime period of Game 3 of the NHL Eastern Conference final Stanley Cup playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens, in Montreal, Monday, May 25, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP) CORRECTION: Corrected the scorer to Andrei Svechnikov

Carolina Hurricanes' Sebastian Aho (20) reacts after the teammate Andrei Svechnikov scored on Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes (75) as teammate Juraj Slafkovsky (20) looks on during an overtime period of Game 3 of the NHL Eastern Conference final Stanley Cup playoff series in Montreal, Monday, May 25, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP) CORRECTION: Corrected the scorer to Andrei Svechnikov