Sometimes you need to take a step back to move forward. The Seattle Seahawks seem to have done that this week, relying on the run game and defense in a 17-3 victory over the Arizona Cardinals
at Lumen Field. Now, all the injuries that Seattle was his with for this week might have had a big hand in the simplification of the game. No Sam Darnold, Leo Williams, Quenton Nelson, Uchenna Nwosu, Charles Cross, or Rashid Shaheed?No problem.
It certainly wasn’t the prettiest game offensively as Seattle finished
with 295 yards. Drew Lock managed the offense well and didn’t put the ball in harm’s way much at all. Don’t take that to mean he was conservative, however. Lock slung a few in some very tight windows. Brian Fleury stuck with the run game, and it helped to shorten the game. Would Seattle have beaten a better squad today the way they played? No idea. They won today and that’s all that matters right now.
Seahawks Droppings
- Drew Lock made it work, but was still clearly injured. I’m not sure he threw a tight spiral at all today which I’m hoping was just a side effect of his elbow injury. There were also a number of throws behind the receivers. Oh yeah, and Lock hurt his oblique during the game and may not be able to go next week. Will it be Jalen Milroe time in Las Vegas?
- Zach Charbonnet brings toughness to the offense. Look no further than the last drive of the game where Charbonnet broke multiple tackles to keep moving the chains and end the game. He’s not the fleetest of foot, but runs tough. Charbonnet is like a middle ground between Jadarian Price and Emanuel Wilson. Less explosive than Price, but more than Wilson with just as much toughness. The one-two punch of Charbonnet and Price could be pretty lethal.
- The offensive line played much better. No sacks given up today, and there weren’t many dropbacks I can remember where Lock was even under pressure. Maybe that’s an indictment on the Cardinals’ pass rushers or a testament to Fleury getting the ball out early. The only downside of this would be the fact that when Nelson comes back, Zabel will have to move over to RG again. Best case scenario would’ve been Zabel and Nelson getting reps against the Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders to be ready for the San Francisco 49ers after the bye week. That’s not a reality, sadly, so be ready for some rough weeks ahead.
- AJ Barner gets involved. I don’t know why they don’t use Barner more. The only thing he’s not great at is run after the catch since he always seems to get dropped within one or two yards of where he catches the ball. I’ll take that if it means more red zone TDs.
- Red zone issues improved. Both sides of the ball had better results in the red zone. The offense was 2-2 with Barner scoring both TDs. The defense held Arizona to 0-2 including that late-game fourth down stop from the two yard line.
- Short-handed defensive line stepped up. DeMarcus Lawrence looked like 2025 D-Law. He took accountability this week for some of the issues against the Chicago Bears. Whether or not it was really his fault, he took that personally this week and made his presence known with 1 sack, 2 TFL, and a forced fumble that was recovered by Arizona. Lawrence’s former Dallas Cowboy teammate, Dante Fowler Jr, also showed up for really the first time as a Seahawk with a sack and a forced fumble on Gardner Minshew to end the first half. With Big Cat and Nwosu out, Seattle needed others to step up and they did.
- The refs were pretty awful. It’s a good thing Seattle won this game or I would’ve been nearly apoplectic at the refs. Yes, the Seahawks had some very dumb self-inflicted penalties that they absolutely cannot afford to have playing against better competition. I’m looking at you, Jalen Sundell. And sure, the Cardinals made their own share of penalty mistakes to extend Seahawks drives. Yet, that defensive PI call on Josh Jobe was garbage. He barely touched Trey McBride and then turned to make the interception. Before the second Seahawks TD drive, the refs also called McBride’s forward progress stopped just prior to him fumbling which was recovered by the Seahawks. At least they didn’t overturn Barner’s TD which I was anticipating.
- Other pass catchers not named Jaxon Smith-Njigba made plays. I had to specify “pass catchers” instead of WRs because the leading receiver was actually RB Jadarian Price with 54 yards on 4 catches. I thought he couldn’t catch the football?? That over-the-shoulder catch early in the game was a thing of beauty! Cooper Kupp only had three catches for 32 yards, but I’m pretty sure all of those were for first downs. Tory Horton also had a key first down catch. The passing numbers overall won’t wow anyone with only 175 total yards receiving, but getting other players besides JSN involved is key.
For the most part, this was Seahawks Football. If Mike Macdonald and crew can right the ship, it was a good step in the right direction. Theoretically, the running game should continue to gel and improve as Charbonnet and Price get more action. Play great defense, hold on to the ball, and make key passes when necessary to supplement…that’s how they will need to play. At least for one week, we can enjoy a victory with a whole host of backups no less.
