I’m still trying to process what happened, so here’s a good recap.
And that doesn’t even include the weirdest two point conversion you’ll ever see!
I’m jumping
ahead of myself here, but there’s so much to cover!
The game started off on the right foot, with a big defensive stop followed by a quick scoring drive for the Seahawks. Just a few minutes into this huge contest against the Los Angeles Rams, the Seattle Seahawks led 7-0 in those hideous rivalry jerseys that I hope never see the light of day again. After that, it was mostly a steamrolling by the Rams as they went ahead 30-14. Then, about halfway through the fourth quarter, the Seahawks came storming back to tie the game at 30-30. Nobody was able to win the game in regulation, which set up overtime.
The Rams moved the ball down the field and Puka Nacua put a bow on his huge night with a long TD catch to put the Rams up 37-30. The Seahawks never quit. Sam Darnold never quit. He led the offense right down the field, picking his spots and checking it down when necessary. Darnold found Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the back of the endzone, setting up the all-or-nothing two point conversion. Slingin’ Sam took the snap, ripped that Rams monkey off his back and stomped on it as he whistled a pass right past a defender’s earhole to backup TE turned hero Eric Saubert for a successful try to win the game 38-37.
Macdonald’s defense gave up more yards in the first half than they did all of last week against the Indianapolis Colts. There were wide open running lanes and busted coverages abound for Matthew Stafford to exploit. As for Seattle’s offense, there wasn’t much of one – a recurring theme for the last month or so. Add in the backbreaking turnovers and poor tackling, and that my friends, is how we come to this point. The Seahawks did everything that they couldn’t do if they wanted to go toe-to-toe with the best team in the NFL. Seattle just isn’t in the same league as Sean McVay’s team in any facet of the game.
Seahawks Droppings
- The Seahawks showed so much heart and grit in this game. They could’ve rolled over in the fourth quarter after things weren’t going their way. Cooper Kupp fumbled near the end of the first half when they were already in scoring range. Then, he had a huge toe-tapping catch on the game winning drive. Sam Darnold threw two terrible interceptions again. Then, he bowed up and led the team back to win the game in dramatic fashion. The defense, torched for most of the game, put together a huge streak of stops that kept Seattle around long enough to come back. These are the types of games that can galvanize a team.
- This was a total throwback to the weird home primetime games that we were so used to seeing. The Calvin Johnson fumble tapped out of the end zone. The Rams missed FG. Stopping Cam Newton on the 1-yard line. I will probably die at least 10 years sooner for being a Seahawks fan, but games like this make it (possibly) worth it.
- Macdonald’s defense gave up more yards in the first half than they did all of last week against the Indianapolis Colts. There were wide open running lanes and busted coverages abound for Matthew Stafford to exploit. The tackling was also pretty poor again. Seattle’s defense did bow up when it counted in the red zone a few times and they kept their streak of not allowing a 100-yard rusher intact. A turnover or two would’ve been huge in this game, particularly with the offense giving the ball away.
- For the first three quarters of the game, the defensive line was getting manhandled. Stafford never had any real pressure on him when he dropped back to pass. Ballcarriers were routinely getting six yards a pop. Things flipped in the fourth quarter, when they finally started getting to Stafford. On a day when Nick Emmanwori, Coby Bryant, and Riq Woolen all left the game with injury, the defensive line needed to take over the game. That didn’t really happen.
- Rashid Shaheed is pretty awesome. He gave Seattle a little bit of life after Darnold’s second interception with his punt return TD, his second special teams score for Seattle since they acquired him from the New Orleans Saints before the trade deadline. Then, his long run to start the next drive was another shot in the arm that led to another TD. Shaheed was starting to round into form as a WR as well, which could pay huge dividends come playoff time.
- The Seahawks rushed for 171 yards, with Ken Walker III hitting the century mark right on the button. He finally broke a long 55-yard TD after being this close on so many runs the past month. All he needs is a crease and he’s gone. I know that some people are out on Walker and prefer Charbonnet, but few back in the NFL have Walker’s explosiveness. I hope he builds on this as we roll on towards the playoffs.
Seattle has clinched the playoffs and still control their own destiny. They’re 12-3, solely in first place in the NFC West after possibly the best comeback in franchise history. This is a special team, and yet, their warts keep showing up. I keep saying that they can’t win in the playoffs if they keep losing the turnover battle…but maybe they can? The crazy thing is that this team isn’t even hitting on all cylinders, and still just beat probably the best team in the NFL after losing the turnover battle 3-0. That’s not supposed to happen. Teams like this don’t come around very often, and I don’t want them to squander this opportunity with careless mistakes. Get healthy, and get ready to be road warriors for the final two weeks of the season.
