“Hello, Seattle!” A simple, yet effective, closing line from the great Mike Tirico last night as the Seattle Seahawks sent a message to the NFL that they are no longer one of best kept secrets in the NFL, but they are one of the best teams, period. A 38-14 destruction of the Washington Commanders doesn’t accurately describe the mismatch that we saw last night.
The Seahawks executed offensively to a level of precision that would have made even Mike Holmgren smile. Mike Macdonald’s defense made DC’s
offense look inept and slow. The Seahawks went to Washington and took a desperate Commanders team and Ivan Drago level broke them, figuratively and literally.
So what does it all mean? Let’s break it down.
First Down – Sam and Jaxon are building legitimate trophy resumes
As we hit the halfway point of the season, the conversation about this team’s playoff potential feels real, and so do some of its best players having shots at awards.
I think considering the season he’s having and how much he is needed right now in Tampa Bay, Emeka Egbuka is the heavy favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. That being said, Grey Zabel and Tory Horton need to be mentioned as guys waiting in the wings.
Zabel and Horton were two of my biggest draft crushes, going back to their tape in 2023. If you were to redraft last spring’s NFL draft today, I believe Zabel would go in the top 10 and that Horton would be a top 50 pick easily. Zabel has become the steady presence along the interior offensive line that this franchise has needed. He is getting better every game, and has still not allowed a sack.
Horton will never get the opportunities that Egbuka is going to get, but all Tory does is score touchdowns. He leads all rookies with six total touchdowns, as he continues to look like a future star.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba is having a special season, as his eight receptions and 129 yards receiving showed the world on primetime how he’s become the smoothest receiver in the league. If you were to extend JSN’s numbers to a 17 game season, he’d have 123 catches for an NFL record 2,014 yards and 8.5 touchdowns. To put it into perspective, 2021 offensive player of the year Cooper Kupp had 145 catches for 1947 yards and 16 touchdowns. He’s obviously not being forced to the ball the way Kupp was in his Super Bowl season, but Smith-Njigba is making more happen with a chunk less receptions.
Unfortunately it is just hard to see wide receivers win MVP in this league, but JSN should absolutely be the favorite for Offensive Player of the Year. If the touchdown opportunities start to pick up, he could make an MVP run, but he’s got stuff competition.
That stiff competition comes in the form of his teammate Sam Darnold. One of the best stories of the past two years continues, as Sam continues to put up historical numbers. According to OptaSTATS, Darnold is the fourth quarterback to complete over 70% of his passes, throw for over 2,000 yards, 15+ touchdowns, and be sacked fewer than 10 times in his team’s first eight games. The other guys to do that? The holy trinity of 2007 Tom Brady (MVP), 2009 Peyton Manning (MVP), and 2018 Drew Brees (MVP runner up)
What Sam is doing is historic, and the show he put on last night in the first half, perfection, on national television is the type of wow moment that typically catapults someone to the top of the MVP discussions. It’s the halfway point, but Darnold being able to beat fellow MVP candidate Matt Stafford in two weeks could give him front runner status.
Second Down – A coming out party for everyone else
The stars shined last night, but I wanted to give props to a bunch of other guys that showed up in DC.
With Julian Love going on IR, Ty Okada has become one of the more important players in the Seahawks chase for a division title, and he’s gotten better every week. He’s not Love, but he’s been playing like a red chip caliber player, and his interception last night was one of the great picks in franchise history.
Shout out to Anthony Bradford, as the much maligned guard got his flowers by the broadcast booth, and he played one of his best games of the year. The trade deadline is here, and he played like someone trying to tell Schneider not to replace him.
Congratulations to Elijah Arroyo and Cody White! No Cooper Kupp, no problem, as both guys stepped up and had massive souls crushing deep touchdowns, both the first of their careers.
Despite the easiest false start I’ve ever seen, the “Barnyard” rush push play continues to be a successful option, as Barner scored yet another touchdown on the season. Figure out the penalty portion of the play, and this play is a real weapon that the Seahawks should be using frequently.
Third Down – Ernest Jones
All was not perfect in Seahawksland last night, as Ernest Jones suffered a knee injury. While we wait to hear on the severity of the injury, you have to assume he will miss at least the next two games. That’s losing your defensive quarterback and the man guarding the middle of the field against Trey McBride on Sunday and Sean McVay’s scheme in two weeks.
This has the potential to be a devastating injury, and I hope he’s not out for too long. In the meantime, the pass rush may need to hit another level of dominance while Drake Thomas and Tyrice Knight (hello!) are asked to hold on. If Macdonald and Schneider aren’t convinced they can, the next few hours are critical.
Fourth Down – Go for it
The deadline for trades is 1pm PST on Tuesday, so we’re definitely in the endgame. Insiders everywhere seem to think it will be a quiet deadline, but also acknowledge that the Seahawks have something big they are working on.
Is this multiple trades, trading for multiple players on one team, or is a massive superstar trade in the works. So what the heck is it? As we wait to find out, it’s hard not to think, especially after last night, the Seahawks are going for it.
With the surprising losses by Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers on Sunday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Philadelphia Eagles ravaged by injuries and drama, Seattle and Los Angeles feel like stronger teams as we head into November.
It sucks that your apparent equal is in your division, but it also means you really control your fate for the No. 1 seed. The Seahawks should view this as an arms race with the Rams, and go get a blue chip player, or some real depth to protect this roster, in case a player like Jones is going to miss extended time.
