Wilson’s 21-carry afternoon adds substance to Seahawks’ 30–23 win

Emanuel Wilson carried the ball 21 times for Seattle, giving the Seahawks a sizable rushing workload to go with Sam Darnold’s two touchdown passes. Wilson finished with 81 yards and a score in a 30–23 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on October 4, in Week 4 of the 2026 NFL season.

His contribution is useful to the story because it adds something beyond the quarterback comparison. Darnold completed 13 of 22 passes for 168 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Wilson’s 21 rushing attempts nearly matched Seattle’s 22 pass attempts in Darnold’s line. Both forms of production belong in the account of this win.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught five passes for 76 yards. That put a substantial share of Darnold’s passing yardage in one receiving line, while Wilson’s 81 yards came through a much larger number of touches on the ground.

The Chargers’ Justin Herbert completed 19 of 31 passes for 189 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He had more completions and passing yards than Darnold, but one fewer touchdown pass and one more interception. Those differences give the yardage comparison necessary context.

Omarion Hampton ran for 45 yards and a touchdown on nine carries for Los Angeles. He averaged five yards per attempt; Wilson had 12 more attempts and 36 more yards. The two rushing lines show a distinction between production per carry and the amount of work each player handled.