Emanuel Wilson sparks Seahawks past Chargers 30-23, handing Los Angeles a fourth straight loss

SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks got their rebound win, but it was far from perfect.

Emanuel Wilson caught a touchdown pass and ran for another score as the Seahawks handed the Los Angeles Chargers a fourth straight loss to start the season with a 30-23 victory on Sunday.

Sam Darnold threw for 168 yards and two touchdowns for the defending Super Bowl champions, who are 3-1 after bouncing back from last week's 33-31 loss to the Washington Commanders.

But Darnold was also intercepted once and sacked three times. The Seahawks had 14 penalties for a franchise-record 150 yards and they let the Chargers get back in it after leading 27-6 in the third quarter.

“We're really grateful for where we're at right now and excited to move forward," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. "But we also understand that we have definitely a lot of room for improvement with our operation, how we take care of the football and obviously the penalties are something we need to address.”

Wilson rushed for 81 yards on 21 carries and caught three passes for 39 yards. The backup running back, a four-year pro in his first season with the Seahawks, was thrust into a greater role when rookie Jadarian Price was placed on injured reserve on Saturday after aggravating a chest injury during practice.

Justin Herbert threw for 189 yards a touchdown and two interceptions for the Chargers (0-4). He has been intercepted six times this season and sacked 12 times, including four for 35 yards on Sunday.

The only team to reach the playoffs after a four-loss start is the 1992 San Diego Chargers. That squad started 0-4, then beat Seattle 17-6 on Oct. 4 and went on to finish 11-5 and win AFC West.

Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said he has hope.

“What I saw from our players, that will, that never say die attitude that they have,” Harbaugh said. “I mean, it's throughout the team.”

The game was chaotic at the start with both teams giving up early turnovers. Seattle's Drake Thomas intercepted Herbert's attempted pass to Oronde Gadsden on the Chargers' opening play. Then on Seattle's first play from scrimmage, Darnold's pass intended for Wilson was intercepted by Tuli Tuipulotu, giving the ball back to the Chargers.

Los Angeles' drive ended with Cameron Dicker's 40-yard field goal. According to Sportradar, it was the first game since at least 1991 when both teams threw interceptions on their opening play from scrimmage.

Derius Davis muffed a punt return and it was recovered by Seattle's Connor O'Toole. On the next play, Darnold hit Wilson with a 23-yard touchdown pass to put Seattle up 7-3.

“Man, it was just like Moses parting the red sea,” Wilson said. “Everybody got in the blocks.”

Rashid Shaheed's 28-yard scoring run made it 13-3 midway through the second quarter. Jason Myers' extra point attempt went wide right, breaking a streak of 80 consecutive converted PAT dating to 2024.

Ernest Jones intercepted Herbert again on a pass intended for Ladd McConkey and returned it 20 yards. Wilson capped Seattle's next series with an 8-yard touchdown run.

The Chargers closed the gap with Dicker's 39-yard field goal before halftime that made it 20-6. Los Angeles finished the half with just 92 yards of total offense.

The Seahawks opened the second half with Darnold's 6-yard TD pass to Tory Horton, extending the lead to 27-6. The Chargers have allowed 24 or more points in each of their first four games.

The Chargers showed life with Herbert's 9-yard touchdown pass to Kimani Vidal. After a field goal by Seattle, Omarion Hampton ran for a 2-yard touchdown and Dicker added a 36-yarder to pull the Chargers within 30-23 with 2:14 to go.

Los Angeles got the ball back with 1:42 to go, but Herbert was sacked and fumbled, and Seattle recovered to end it.

It wasn't just the Seahawks that got hit with penalties, the Chargers had 16 penalties for 130 yards.

Darnold said he expects those mistakes to diminish with time.

“Obviously you don't want the penalties, but as we continue to play these games and continue to get this season going, I feel like our guys on both sides of the ball, special teams, too, we'll continue to get better," he said.

Chargers: CB Donte Jackson left in the first quarter with a hamstring injury. ... T Joe Alt left in the second quarter with a neck injury and didn't return. ... WR Ladd McConkey left at halftime after aggravating a foot injury.

Seahawks: DT Leonard Williams limped to the medical tent in the third quarter with an ankle injury, but returned on the Chargers' final series.

Chargers: Return home to face Denver next Sunday.

Seahawks: Host San Francisco next Sunday.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Seattle Seahawks linebacker Drake Thomas celebrates after a tackle during the second half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert reacts during the second half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Kevin Ng)

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (22) celebrates with teammate quarterback Sam Darnold (14) after scoring a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Seahawks running back Emanuel Wilson (23) runs up field during a touchdown reception in the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Kevin Ng)

VIENNA, Ga. (AP) — Law enforcement officials are still working to determine just what happened when a chaotic homecoming party spanning a four-block radius of a southern Georgia town erupted in gunfire early Sunday, leaving two people dead and nearly three dozen others injured.

Dooly County Sheriff Craig Peavy identified the two people killed as 21-year-old Jaquevion Jackson of Cordele and 23-year-old Macaleb Jackson of Hawkinsville, Georgia.

Some of the three dozen injured had gunshot wounds, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Chris Hosey said Sunday evening, but he could not provide a number.

“We’re still trying to work through that,” Hosey said during a news conference Sunday evening.

No arrests had been reported hours later, and authorities gave no possible motive for the gunfire.

The injured ranged in age from 14 to 51, and they were taken to several regional hospitals, Peavy said. Some were in critical condition Sunday evening and others were stable, he said.

More than 1,000 people had gathered at the site, and more than 50 shots were fired in at least two locations about a block apart in Vienna, Peavy told WMAZ-TV. Vienna is a small, rural community about 130 miles (about 210 kilometers) south of Atlanta.

Deputies were near the scene when the shooting began, Peavy said, and after they arrived more gunfire erupted about a block away.

“We don’t know if it’s coming at us or someone else,” he said. “You just have to keep doing what you’re doing and hope you don’t get hit by gunfire.”

The incident took place over homecoming weekend for Dooly County High School.

Ashley Gee, 30, who lives in nearby Turner County and came to Vienna for the party, described to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution a constant barrage of gunfire, imitating the sound of rapid-fire shots.

“Like a machine gun,” she said. “One person ran, and everybody started running.”

The AJC said the party drew in people from other surrounding counties in south Georgia following a local high school football team’s victory at a homecoming game Friday night.

The shooting was not at a school-sponsored event, said Sherrod Willaford, superintendent of the Dooly County School System.

“We recognize that its impact may reach many of our students, families, and staff,” he said in a statement. Schools will open Monday, he said, but additional safety measures have been put in place. He did not specify what they are.

Peavy said the festivities began Friday night, and that it had “gone well” with “respect from the community” that evening as deputies patrolled the event.

But the party Saturday night was a “different story,” he said.

“We’re still working through the investigation to see what went wrong. But at large parties with people from different places, not just your locals, sometimes problems come,” he said.

"Our deputies were just about on the scene when it happened. They were at the end of each, most directions of where the block party was being held. But it was so many people. And it was just hard to figure out what was going on,” he said.

Peavy said the shooting was “a learning experience,” for his law enforcement team.

“There's just hardly no way to know how to operate when something like that happens on the scene," he said. He later continued, “We thought we'd been involved with a lot of stuff. But sometimes it surprises, and it was overwhelming.”

Vienna is about a 50-mile (80-kilometer) drive south on the Interstate 75 corridor from the central Georgia city of Macon, where authorities say 12 teens were wounded by gunfire during a confrontation between people at a birthday party the previous weekend a city park.

Deputies in Vienna found two people dead at the scene and multiple others who had been shot, officials said. Police also did not specify how many of the injured had been shot. The victims were taken to several hospitals for treatment, the GBI said.

Dooly County Coroner Brett Walls said the two men were pronounced dead at the scene with fatal gunshot wounds. He said multiple other people were also shot, calling the scene “horrific.”

Walls told the AJC that multiple people were struck by bullets and roughly a dozen others were hurt while trying to flee.

“This doesn’t — it’s not supposed to — happen in a small town like that. It’s something you hear on the news in bigger cities,” Walls told the newspaper, adding hospitals were flooded with the injured. “And even in bigger cities, you don’t hear that kind of a number.”

Authorities have not said whether any suspects are in custody or being sought. No motive has been given for the shooting.

Vienna Mayor Eddie Daniels said the shooting was about a block from his house and he “saw a lot of blue lights.” Daniels said he hadn’t spoken with law enforcement officials yet and had no details about what had happened.

Daniels said the city hadn’t issued any kind of permit for the block party and he didn’t know if it was a homecoming party.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Lydia Bullard declined to answer questions about the shooting, saying it was an ongoing investigation.

Associated Press reporters Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, and Anthony Izaguirre in New York contributed to this report. Bauer reported from Madison, Wisconsin.

A water tower is seen as investigators work the scene of a mass shooting where at least two people died and 35 were injured when struck by bullets Sunday morning, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Vienna, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Authorities investigate the scene of a mass shooting where at least two people died and 35 were injured when struck by bullets Sunday morning, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Vienna, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

A vehicle drives in the scene of a mass shooting where at least two people died and 35 were injured when struck by bullets Sunday morning, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Vienna, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Authorities investigate the scene of a mass shooting where at least two people died and 35 were injured when struck by bullets Sunday morning, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Vienna, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Authorities, below to the right, investigate the scene of a mass shooting where at least two people died and 35 were injured when struck by bullets Sunday morning, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Vienna, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Authorities investigate the scene of a mass shooting where at least two people died and 35 were injured when struck by bullets Sunday morning, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Vienna, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)