Zach Charbonnet scored on a pair of short runs as the Seattle Seahawks defeated the visiting Houston Texans 27-19 on Monday night.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba recorded his third straight 100-yard receiving game (eight catches, 123 yards) and scored on a pass from Sam Darnold as the Seahawks (5-2) moved into a first-place tie with the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West.
CJ Stroud threw a 4-yard pass to running back Woody Marks with 2:04 remaining to give the Texans (2-4) their lone offensive touchdown, but Seattle were able to run out the clock.
The Seahawks built a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.
Charbonnet scored on a 1-yard run with 7:28 left in the period, and Smith-Njigba tallied on an 11-yard strike from Darnold on the last play of the quarter.
The Seahawks had a pair of chances to extend their lead late in the second quarter. The first was thwarted when receiver Cooper Kupp threw an interception and the second when Jason Myers' 53-yard field-goal attempt was blocked by Denico Autry.
Houston's Ka'imi Fairbairn connected on 36- and 46-yard field goals in the final 2:18 of the half to make it 14-6.
Ernest Jones IV picked off Stroud on the opening possession of the second half, and Myers kicked a 26-yarder to extend the lead to 17-6.
Will Anderson Jr.'s strip sack of Darnold and fumble recovery in the end zone pulled the Texans within 17-12 with 7:24 left in the third. The Texans tried a two-point conversion, but Stroud's pass for tight end Dalton Schultz in the back right corner of the end zone fell incomplete.
Myers' 47-yarder with 5:15 left in the third made it 20-12.
Charbonnet scored untouched from 2 yards out with 54 seconds left in the third to put Seattle up 27-12.
Elsewhere, Jahmyr Gibbs piled up 218 total yards and two touchdowns, including a 78-yard scoring run, as the host Detroit Lions downed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 24-9.
Gibbs rushed for 136 yards on 17 carries and caught three passes for 82 yards. Jared Goff passed for 241 yards and a touchdown, while Amon-Ra St. Brown caught six passes for 86 yards and a touchdown for the Lions (5-2).
Baker Mayfield passed for 228 yards and a touchdown for the Buccaneers (5-2). Cade Otton caught seven passes for 65 yards.
Detroit wasted little time establishing control, as they scored on the opening possession. A 27-yard pass from Goff to St. Brown completed the 69-yard drive.
That was the only scoring during the opening quarter. Gibbs ended the drought with 5:51 remaining in the half when he burst through a hole and raced down the right sideline on his 78-yard run.
There was plenty of activity late in the half. Detroit's Jake Bates missed a field goal attempt and both quarterbacks traded interceptions. The latter, Jamel Dean's pick-off of a Goff attempt, set up Chase McLaughlin's 53-yard field goal to end the half.
The Bucs pulled within five points with an 11-play, 67-yard drive to open the second half. Tez Johnson's 22-yard reception finished off the drive, but Mayfield's two-point conversion pass failed, leaving the score at 14-9.
Gibbs sparked the next Detroit scoring drive. He had a 15-yard run and a 28-yard reception before scoring on a 5-yard run with 4:39 remaining in the third quarter.
The Bucs came up short on fourth down in their own territory early in the fourth and the Lions cashed in on Bates' 58-yard field goal to make it 24-9.
