To ease the pain of all Mariners fans, the Seattle Seahawks came out flying on Monday Night Football in the first 20 minutes, before trying everything possible to give the game to the Houston Texans. Despite their efforts, the Seahawks held on for a 27-19 win, climbing to 5-2 on the season.
I won’t say that the home game blues have been cured, but it was nice to see this team get back to .500 at home, as being good at home will be crucial when teams like the Rams and Colts come to down when the season
will be on the line.
Overall, this was one of the weirdest games I can remember, from the timing of the game, to the stadium being glued to their phones watching the heartbreak in Toronto, to how well and equally poor this team played.Let’s break it all down.
1st Down – There’s a path where this is the best team in football
I truly believe this. Is everything working? No, but there’s a lot that is, and what is working, is absolutely elite. The Seahawks continue to absolutely ball out on defense, despite the fact that they have not had Derick Hall, Devon Witherspoon, and Julian Love for multiple weeks.
On Monday, the defense arguably looked the best they have all year, if not for multiple takeaways and safeties that were ripped away from them, or the offense turning the ball over four times. The secondary depth has clearly come around after the Baker Mayfield debacle (more on that later), while Tank Lawrence and Uchenna Nwosu have provided the edge spark this team needed.
Offensively, there may not be a better duo than what we’re seeing from Sam Darnold and Jaxson Smith-Njigba. The Seahawks have a ‘98 Rams or ‘08 Cardinals version of Kurt Warner rolling with Darnold right now, while JSN looks like the co-favorite with Jonathan Taylor for Offensive Player of the Year.
The running game is making baby steps, but the pass protection continues to hold up overall, which gives me belief that this run can be sustainable. When you consider that the NFC continues to be a bloodbath of mediocrity, a division title could lead to multiple home playoff games and a real shot for the Seahawks to become the best team in the NFC, and perhaps the whole league.
2nd Down – There’s a path where this team misses the playoffs
I truly believe this. Despite all that has gone wrong, and how efficient and dominant this team appears the majority of the time, they also have these absolutely brutal moments of dumb decisions or horrible luck.
Week one, it was Abe Lucas’s butt fumbling the game-winning touchdown from Darnold and Seattle. Against Tampa Bay, it was unbelievably bad injury luck, combined with a rare deflection off a Bucs helmet to ruin a perfect game from Darnold, and a potentially 7-0 start by Seattle.
Injuries and flukey things happen, but it’s the boneheaded moments by a coaching staff that I find to be baffling. The Jalen Milroe pitch and fumble. Not going for 4th and one against the 49ers when AJ Barner has looked like Jalen Hurts when running the tush push. The tricks plays having horrific outcomes when you have the hottest QB in the league right now.
Combine these concerns with the fact that Seattle has had multiple field goal mishaps this season, and their inability to run the ball late, and I smell an eventual playoff collapse coming up, despite the fact I wouldn’t be shocked to see this team in the Super Bowl at this point.
We’ve seen the 49ers under Kyle Shanahan have been one of the best teams for multiple seasons, and yet they’ve had horrific injuries or gaffs that have cost them multiple championships at this point. It’s been a trend, and if they don’t get some of these mistakes cleaned up after the bye, it will come back to haunt them.
3rd Down – The defensive backs came alive
I spoke about the backup defensive backs getting torched in the duel vs Tampa Bay, but their response and growth since has been remarkable. In the win over the Texans, we’ve seen a rebound from Riq Woolen post concussion and Josh Jobe once again looked like a shutdown corner, even though he can’t catch the football. Even Ty Okada looked like the best he has ever looked on Monday night.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the secondary’s potential depth being Super Bowl good. Despite my two-week jinx, I still stand by my belief. After the bye, the Seahawks should be 100% healthy and add arguably two of their three best defensive players with Spoon and Love. The schedule is going to get tough in November, but this defense appears ready for the challenge.
4th Down – Heading into a much needed bye
As I said, the Seahawks are gonna be ready to roll come post bye week. Not just the secondary, but the return of Derick Hall with Nwosu and Lawrence feels really close to being good enough to get to a Super Bowl, especially when your defensive tackles are dominating the way Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy are.
Offensively, Klint Kubiak will be getting fullback Robbie Ouzts back, which could end up being a sneaky addition. People forget, and I get that it was the preseason, but Ouzts was a leading force (literally) in the running game looking potentially good to great, albeit a small sample size. If this team can run the football, look out.
The bye week comes at a unique time. After the bye, the Seahawks will have a big game on Sunday Night Football at the Commanders, which hours later will be the trade deadline. If the Seahawks truly feel like they have a shot, I think it’s a better than 50% chance they made a trade during their bye week.
Adding a final edge rusher to this defense would be incredible, I just don’t think there’s a logical fit out there right now. Even if Maxx Crosby was actually available, there’s no offer that Seattle can make that the Dallas Cowboys couldn’t top. Yes, they could use linebacker depth, but the emergence of Drake Thomas is substantial. The need for a linebacker may just be depth at this point, and a Demario Davis or Jordyn Brooks reunion feels unlikely at this point.
Offensively, the need for guard help is a hot topic with regards to Jalen Sundell and Anthony Bradford, but it’s important to remember that EVERYONE needs offensive line help. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if John Schneider makes a play for a wide receiver, as an insurance for Tory Horton as well as a potential over the top option. I wrote about this before the Saints game, but I continue to look at Chris Olave as a long-term star level addition, or Rasheed Shaheed as the deep shot guy.
Those are the areas that I think the Seahawks could look to improve, if an opportunity presented itself. If I was a betting man, I’d lean on an addition along the front seven, but don’t count out an offensive move.
