The Seattle Seahawks took a little while to get going, but once they put their foot on the gas there was no hope for the Atlanta Falcons. It was a sensational second half for Seattle to turn a 6-6 game
into a 37-9 walloping, securing a second straight 10-win season under Mike Macdonald. Unlike last year, Seattle should be pushing for more than 10 wins and getting into the playoffs, if not potentially as the No. 1 overall seed. Remember when these games would come down to the wire? Now we’ve seen Drew Lock in mop-up duty in half of Seattle’s victories.
It’s time for Winners and Losers!
Seattle Seahawks Winners
Have a day, Nick Emmanwori!
If he doesn’t win NFC Defensive Player of the Week then that’s a shame and a robbery. He blocked a field goal after Sam Darnold’s interception, he picked off Kirk Cousins on a deflected pass, he brought Cousins down for Seattle’s only sack of the game, and recorded two tackles for loss. This rookie provided all of the excitement and then some, much like Devon Witherspoon did on that memorable Monday night against the New York Giants.
Devon Witherspoon shines again
There’s no denying Devon Witherspoon’s impact and outsized role on the Seahawks defense; he just hasn’t had the stats to show it. I’d say an interception, a fumble recovery, two passes defensed, and seven total tackles is an all-around masterpiece for the third-year cornerback.
Jarran Reed goes clubbing
Any slim hope of a comeback for the Falcons realistically ended when Reed had his surgically repaired wrist/hand come crashing down on Bijan Robinson for the forced fumble. Imagine the Seahawks having this deep a defensive line and now they get Reed back.
Screw the penalty, Riq Woolen is playing outstanding football
Woolen picked up another taunting penalty in garbage time and I know that will irk people—it sort of irked me since he should know the stupid rule by now—but Riq has been terrific for two months. He recorded two passes defensed and has been a lockdown corner for a good while.
Rashid Shaheed has arrived
Maybe Shaheed just needed to play an NFC South rival to really get going. This was his first NFC South opponent since he was acquired by the Seahawks at the trade deadline, and he had his breakout game with the Seahawks. His 100-yard kick return for a touchdown was awesome, but I was more encouraged by his four catches for 67 yards, providing the type of spark Seattle has not really had from a second receiving option since Tory Horton went on injured reserve.
Was that the start of something promising brewing? We’ll find out soon, but I’m hoping that was the start of Shaheed having a greater role as a receiver in this offense.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba logs back on
After a slow start, JSN turned it up in the second half. Four catches for 26 yards turned into seven catches for 92 yards and two touchdowns against A.J. Terrell, who hadn’t allowed a TD in a year and then was beaten twice by the NFL’s leading receiver for 2025.
The Calvin Johnson record is all but gone unless JSN has a 250-yard type of masterpiece soon, but that’s secondary to winning and he’s still having one of the great wide receiver seasons in NFL history.
Sam Darnold snaps out of it
That first half by Darnold was the most I’ve really been concerned about him all season. He was panicky in the pocket, throwing inaccurate passes, and his interception was just unacceptable decision making. Something happened from the one-minute drill prior to halftime through the second half that clicked him back into the Darnold we’ve seen for most of this season.
The final stat-line was 20/30 for 249 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception, but when you consider he started 5/11 and couldn’t complete any passes 10+ air yards down the field, he was dialed in from about the midway point onward. I also love that he finally started running and scrambling for yards, which he’s more than capable of doing. Scrambling for yards is a way to mitigate risky throws like the one he got picked on.
Cooper Kupp returns to the end zone
Kupp became the Seahawks’ first non-JSN player to get a receiving touchdown since Cody White in Week 9. Did JSN’s rub route to free up Kupp look a tiny bit like OPI to anyone? No? Okay, no harm, no foul. Don’t really care because JSN is elite at subtleties. Kupp gets his second TD as a Seahawk, and he also had a 24-yard “Classic Coop” catch where he sat in the zone, broke tackles, and took off for an explosive play.
Jason Myers’ hot streak continues
Seven kicks, seven makes, business as usual for J-Money in 2025.
Mike Macdonald wins 10 games again
Congrats to Coach Macdonald on his second season in a row winning double-digit games. Last year’s 10-win season might have felt a little hollow knowing there were no stakes for Week 18, but this year’s 10 wins feel wholly different. Seattle is stomping inferior opponents out with regularity, and the balance of offense, defense, and special teams is supreme. The Seahawks look well coached, very disciplined collectively, and the mixture of veterans and youngsters has melded so well that everyone looks in sync with each other whether it’s the starters or backups playing.
Seattle Seahawks Losers
Not Charles Cross’ best day
Cross allowed the first sack of the game, which was nearly a safety, and it was his inside pressure allowed that likely took away a touchdown from Darnold to Kenneth Walker III. The franchise left tackle (and the offensive line as a whole) appeared to be better after the half, but Cross had his hands full early and often against Atlanta’s very good pass rushers.
Run game struggles outside of three plays
The Seahawks officially had 129 yards rushing, but Darnold scrambled for about 21 or 22 of those yards, Zach Charbonnet had over half of his yards on one carry (out of seven), and Velus Jones Jr (!!) had a 25-yard carry in garbage time. The early down rushing numbers were not kind. Still waiting for this run game to get going more consistently, and despite recent improvements since the bye, this was not a particularly impressive day. Klint Kubiak does not help matters with the high frequency of 2nd and 10 carries.
I also think Robbie Ouzts has a ways to go to be an actual bruising fullback instead of what we’re seeing right now.
Final Notes
- Anthony Bradford looked fine to me, at least in pass pro. He’s been the pinata of sorts on the offensive line but I’m sure a Monday review will provide confirmation one way or another.
- Julian Love made a nice pass breakup on Kyle Pitts on his first series and otherwise rotated with Ty Okada in his first game back. Okada had a PBU on Seattle’s final defensive red zone possession.
- Klint Kubiak’s 2nd and 10 run fetish aside, his 2nd half looked like a throwback to what Seattle excels at: using the middle of the field and spamming play-action looks. There are still worries about obvious passing situations and 3rd and long struggles, but the Seahawks got out of their offensive lull brilliantly.
- This defense had done a lot of things well except generate turnovers at a high rate. Eight turnovers in two games is excellent and deserving of a unit that is truly complete: they can rush the passer, they can stop the run, they can turn you over, and play a “bend but don’t break” or “bend and then break you” style.
- The real tough part of the schedule now begins. While the Indianapolis Colts are in deep trouble with Daniel Jones’ injury and a 1-4 record since starting 7-1, they’re still better than the last three teams the Seahawks have faced. These final four weeks will be a monster litmus test to determine whether or not the Seahawks are more than just a very good team hammering mostly bad opponents.
- Sorry to Falcons fans, but this one is going to get the Enemy Reaction treatment. I hope you left some goodies in the comments section and across the world wide web.
