I know we’re past the “spooky season,” but the Seattle Seahawks are scary good right now.
They used an early explosion on both offense and defense to put the Arizona Cardinals on ice in the first quarter. Particularly, the combination of a blitzing Tyrice Knight forcing fumbles, and hoover-like hands of DeMarcus Lawrence scooping the ball up for two defensive touchdowns was extremely successful. Seattle went up 35-0 before some typical stupid turnovers happened – well, three of them to be exact – that
kept Arizona hanging around in the second half.
Seattle finally got wise and started pounding the ball on the ground to bleed the clock, eventually coming away with a 44-22 victory. It was a game that never really felt in jeopardy, even as the Seahawks were giving the ball away. It would’ve been nice to see the offense put together a late touchdown drive, but they were effective on the ground, and still finished with field goals. The Seahawks are playing damn good ball right now.
Seahawks Droppings
- Until the backups started filtering in near the end of the game, the defense was superb once again. The first two scores they gave up were courtesy of turnovers by the offense, deep in their own territory. They had two goal line stands to go along with the two forced fumbles and two defensive TDs. Those were the first two fumbles the Seahawks defense had forced all season. I could probably list the whole defense for standouts, but Knight, Lawrence, Tariq Woolen, and Nick Emmanwori stood out. The fact that Mike Macdonald still doesn’t have his full defensive roster available, but is still clamping down on opposing offenses is a testament to just how good of a coach he is.
- Darnold didn’t need to play like an MVP, but he was deadly efficient early on. He was throwing darts the first few drives with another beautiful deep pass on the TD to Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He was responsible for all three turnovers, but not really. What I mean by that is the interception deflected off AJ Barner’s helmet, and one of the fumbles was a botched exchange between Darnold and new center Olu Oluwatimi who was in for an injured Jalen Sundell. Darnold played another good game despite the turnovers and got to sit out the last drive as Drew Lock finished out the game.
- Seattle’s running game finally got going. If not for the Drew Lock kneeldowns at the end of the game, they would’ve had 200 yards, instead finishing with 198 yards on 46 carries. The Seahawks running back spread the wealth as top backs Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet combined for 150 yards, with Charbs getting a TD. George Holani got in the action with 31 yards and an impressive TD that had Kevin Harlan confusing him for Charbonnet. Then again, Harlan was confused most of the day. Newly acquired Rashid Shaheed got two carries for 20 yards. Seattle’s running game is the missing piece for this offense. If they can get on a roll to end the season, what the eff out!
- JSN had 93 yards with a TD and it feels like a disappointing game. That’s how good that man is. He could’ve had 150+ today if they needed him to. Cooper Kupp’s was a shoestring tackle away from a TD on a long catch and run. Let’s blame the hammy that held him out last week.
- The offensive line played well once again, allowing only one sack on the day and paving the way for the huge day by the running game. Jalen Sundell’s injury sucks for continuity-sake, but Oluwatimi might have been the opening day starter had he not been injured in preseason. He’ll get the snaps figured out if they need him to step in for Sundell.
No doubt about it, next week’s road game against the Los Angeles Rams is a massive litmus test for the Seahawks. You want a statement win? That would certainly do it. Seattle is a burgeoning powerhouse, who can take hold of their NFC West future with a win against the Rams.
