LANDOVER, Md.—Before Sam Darnold and the Seahawks offense could go about carving up the Commanders defense on Sunday, Seattle's defense had to take care of business to start the game, putting the ball in Darnold's hand.

And the defense was definitely ready to do its part, especially when the Commanders won the opening toss and decided to take the ball rather than the more common choice of deferring to the second half.

In other words, the Commanders wanted the Seahawks defense on the field to start the game, and the Seahawks defense took that personally.

"I take that personal every time," said defensive end Leonard Williams. "In general, our defense wants to take the field first, just to set the tone. We respect our offense, obviously we think they're amazing, but at the same time, we wa

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