Seattle Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba scores one of his three touchdowns, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
After leading the entire NFL in receiving yards in 2025 (1,793), being named AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year, and helping the Seattle Seahawks to a victory in Super Bowl LX, star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba is picking up right where he left off.
The 24-year-old in his fourth season out of Ohio State recorded 122 yards and a touchdown on eight receptions in Seattle’s Week 1 win. Then on Sunday, he followed that performance with 155 yards and three touchdowns on nine receptions as the Seahawks blew out the Arizona Cardinals, 31-7, in Week 2.
It marked the first three-TD game of Smith-Njigba’s NFL career, and he’s once again leading the NFL in receiving yards (277) and tied for the lead in touchdowns (4).
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With starting QB Sam Darnold out with a glute tendon injury, Smith-Njigba made sure his team started its first divisional game the right way. He caught a bomb from backup Drew Lock on his first pass of the game for an 82-yard touchdown, the longest reception of JSN’s career.
Then, early in the fourth quarter, Smith-Njigba snagged his third touchdown of the day in the back of the end zone to put the game out of reach.
“It just was another day in the life of JSN,” right tackle Abraham Lucas told Seahawks.com.
Head coach Mike Macdonald agreed. “That’s what we expect from Jax,” he said. “That’s how good he is. That’s the type of player he is and it’s the kind of expectations he deserves.”
Smith-Njigba, however, preferred to credit others.
“It takes all of us. It takes the whole team,” the native Texan said in his postgame press conference. “… To God be the glory for this win.”
Smith-Njigba is well on his way to his third consecutive Pro Bowl selection and third consecutive 1,000-yard season in 2026-27, while the Seahawks may be on their way to another division title and a deep run in the playoffs. And throughout the extensive individual and team success JSN has enjoyed during his short NFL career, he has sought to remain grounded in his faith in Christ.
“When I get on the biggest stage, I can scream His name and praise the Lord in front of millions,” Smith-Njigba said last month on the Sports Spectrum Podcast; he’s also featured in the latest edition of Sports Spectrum Magazine. “Right now, I feel like that’s my calling to do.”
Although he grew up with faithful parents who brought him to church and introduced him to the Christian faith, a pivotal moment in his growth as a believer came in 2022 — his final year at Ohio State — when he was severely hampered by a hamstring injury.
“I think God throws a lot at you sometimes,” Smith-Njigba said of that time on the podcast. “The Bible says, ‘Do not lean on your own understanding’ (Proverbs 3:5). That really changed me. I’m really thankful for the hard times because it made me into the man I am today.”
In Seattle, God has continued to draw JSN closer to Himself through his regular attendance at chapel services and the Christian community he’s found in the locker room.
“It’s awesome to be in the same room and share the same stories and the same faith that we have in our God,” he said on the podcast. “… I feel [Jesus’] presence. I’m never alone. He’s always with me and, with that, I feel at peace.”
Even on the biggest stage at Super Bowl LX, Smith-Njigba continued to point others to the One who loved him and gave Himself up for him.
“I think just staying grounded and giving Him the glory, and understanding that I’m here to serve others,” he told Sports Spectrum at a Super Bowl LX press conference. “I’m here to serve the Lord.”
“My faith comes first,” he reiterated later in the press conference. “That’s what I stand on. That’s who I am. Everything else is everything else. I’m a follower of Christ, I’m a son, I’m a brother, and then I’m a football player. So that’s what I lead with.
“… Jesus, for me, is everything. This is Who I do it for. I’m here to serve Him and to serve others.”
Marked by a humility centered on his faith in Jesus, Smith-Njigba and his Seahawks teammates will look to continue their red-hot start in Week 3 as they travel to Washington to take on the Commanders (0-2). Kickoff is set for Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
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