The Seattle Seahawks’ shootout loss to Tampa Bay last Sunday raised an ominous question —- was the defeat an outlier or a sign of some cracks in the foundation Mike Macdonald has been building in his second season.

The answer the Seahawks delivered maybe wasn’t quite as emphatic as it appeared it would be for much of the game, as they briefly left the door open for another fourth-quarter collapse.

But this time the defense stood firm, holding off the Jacksonville Jaguars three times in the fourth quarter as they had the ball and a chance to forge a tie.

The offense finally delivered the knockout punch with a 61-yard pass from Sam Darnold to tight end AJ Barner that let the Seahawks run the clock out.

The result was a 20-12 win over a Jags team that came into the game 4-1 following a comeback win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night.

While the offense faltered some late, Darnold finished with another sterling passing line going 15 of 27 for 295 yards and two touchdowns.

That included eight completions to Jaxon Smith-Njigba for 162 yards, including a 61-yard touchdown that was the longest of his career. He was 18 yards shy of the career high set last year against the Los Angeles Rams.

The Seahawks became the first team this season not to lose a turnover against the Jags, who came into the game with a plus-eight turnover differential, the best in the NFL.

The defense gave up two TDs, each on misplays by the secondary.

But otherwise, this was the defense Macdonald likes to see.

The Seahawks had a season-high seven sacks, including 2.5 by DeMarcus Lawrence — back after sitting out the 38-35 loss to Tampa Bay — and two by tackle Byron Murphy II, continuing his second-year ascendance.

While the Jags missed a point-after attempt and a field goal, the Seahawks used a 53-yard field goal by Jason Myers with 10 seconds left in the first half to key a 20-0 run that gave them a lead it never gave up.

The win improved the Seahawks’ record to 4-2 and tied, for the moment, for second in the NFC West with the Rams, who won at Baltimore 17-3, with the 4-1 49ers playing at Tampa Bay later in the day.

The Seahawks led 13-6 at halftime after rallying from an early 6-0 deficit.

Smith-Njigba had five receptions for 117 yards at the break as Darnold hit on 8 of 14 passes for 140 yards.

The Seahawks fell behind 6-0 in the second quarter when a blown coverage led to an easy 21-yard touchdown pass from Trevor Lawrence to Brian Thomas Jr. Shaquill Griffin and safety Nick Emmanwori each moved up to guard a receiver in the flat, leaving Thomas wide open down the sideline

The Seahawks countered with a 66-yard drive for a Myers 24-yard field goal that made it 6-3. The drive was tinged in disappointment as the Seahawks had a first-and-goal at the 10 and ran it three straight times with Zach Charbonnet, including a 2-yard loss on a draw play from the four.

The Seahawks got a stop on its next drive when Leonard Williams sacked Lawrence on third down.

The Seahawks needed just one play to take the lead with 8:34 to play in the second quarter when Darnold hit Smith-Njigba for a 61-yard touchdown pass. Smith-Njigba was lined up in the left slot on Jags cornerback Greg Newsome II — acquired by Jacksonville in a trade earlier in the week —- and ran straight down the hash marks and got behind him to reel in a perfect pass from Darnold. It was the first snap Newsome played for the Jags. That put the Seahawks up 10-6.

After the Jaguars missed a field goal, the Seahawks moved into position for a 53-yard field goal by Jason Myers to put them up 13-6 at the break.

The Seahawks got the ball first to start the second half — the Jags won the coin toss but elected to receive to start the game — and took the kickoff and moved 77 yards in eight plays to take a 20-6 lead on an 11-yard pass from Darnold to Cooper Kupp with 10:14 left in the third quarter.

The TD was the first of Kupp’s Seahawks career and was set up by his 29-yard reception three plays earlier.

That gave the Seahawks 20 points in the span of 15:24 of game-clock time.

The Jags got back in it when Lawrence hit Tim Patrick with a 26-yard touchdown with 13:00 remaining to cut the lead to 20-12. Lawrence scrambled and lofted a pass over the head of Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe, who appeared to make a late jump on the ball, to cap a 14-play, 82-yard drive in which the Jags converted two fourth downs.

The Jags lined up for two and the Seahawks were called for having 13 players on the field. They had their heavy defensive line on the field and stopped a run from the 1 by Bhayshul Tuten to keep an eight-point lead.

The score brought back memories of the Seahawks blowing a 14-point lead at Arizona two weeks ago and a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter last week.

The Seahawks took over at their own 35 and couldn’t move it with Darnold getting Jacksonville’s first sack of the game by Arik Armstead for a 9-yard loss on third-and-2.

The Jags took over at their own 12 with 10:49 remaining.

The Seahawks caught a break when Thomas couldn’t catch a pass when he had to leap for the ball over the middle for what would have been a sizable gain on third-and-5.

The Seahawks again couldn’t move it, and the Jaguars got the ball back at their own 21 with 7:37 to play.

The Jags again couldn’t move it and again punted.

The Seahawks also couldn’t move it and again punted, giving the Jags one last chance with the ball, taking over at their own 36 with 4:03 remaining. A dropped pass on second down led to a third-and-long and another Seahawks sack — the seventh of the game —- and yet another punt.

This time, on first down, Darold hit Barner for 61 yards, allowing the Seahawks to run out the clock.

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