Another blowout victory, albeit one quarter later than usual, and absolutely do glance at the standings right now, because your Seattle Seahawks are 10-3. If the NFL season is a cross-country flight, the pilot’s just taken the intercom with a welcome update: “Folks, we’re about to begin our approach and final descent into the playoffs. Hope you enjoyed our turbulence-free time in the air. We are, however, seeing a little choppy weather between us and the ground, so as a precaution I’ve turned on the seat
belt sign. Thanks for flying JetBlueGreenGray and we hope you’ll choose us again.”
How could we not? On the talons of another big win, this time 37-9 over the slumpalicious Atlanta Falcons, the Seahawks are the most watchable, most reliable, and most enthralling carrier of emotions in all of football. You could be forgiven* for choosing the Los Angeles Rams instead; good thing then, that we’ll see those two rivals settle the argument in prime time. In Seattle. Next week.
*no, you could not
From afar, this Seahawks conquest will appear another offense-driven laugher to anyone stuck watching an inferior team in Week 14’s early slate. (That’s everyone.) Here to say it was not that.
We had defense.
We had history. Weird history, impossible-sounding but real. This feat has been accomplished only twice, and both times by Seahawks? And in consecutive years?
We were even served seconds on Jaxon Smith-Njigba touchdowns (later I’ll argue for a third) and the return game provided the eventual winning points. Don’t know much about kick coverage X’s and O’s but I’m pretty sure the tacklers are supposed at least touch the ball carrier.
I’m not mentioning all three phases by accident, fellow frolicky football fanatics. The Seahawks passed two thirds of the time until the game was decided, so their offensive game plan was clearly to attack mainly through the air. Only neither Sam Darnold nor the line were up to the task for the first 29 minutes. Until, suddenly, they were.
The Seahawks’ defensive game plan was simply to be themselves. That wasn’t a problem in the slightest.
The Seahawks’ special teams are definitely good enough to help them swing games. That happened.
A game that was knotted 6-6 at half was won in the next quarter hour of game play because Seattle is a complete team, from the last practice squadder all the way up to the general manager. There is no weak phase, there is no deficient position group, there is no organizational disconnect. The Seattle Seahawks are the real deal as much as any team in football.
They come out of Atlanta with another road win (sixth this season), another double-digit win campaign for Mike Macdonald (two for two), another keep-the-pace game with the Rams in advance of their TNF meeting (December 18) and another comfortable victory featuring an entire quarter of garbage time (their sixth again).
In addition — and this must be mentioned now because the resemblance has turned undeniable — the Seahawks defense feels familiar in your bones, if you’ve been around long enough. The road Hawks looked like the old home Hawks: tipping passes, harassing the passer until the final whistle, plugging holes, taunting opponents, rope-a-doping fans with a sputtery offense until the dam breaks. And when it does break, foes are buried for good.
We used to watch this exact game play out in 2012-2015 at CenturyLink Field all the time. It was expected almost. Now a decade has passed and they’ve come full circle with an entirely new roster and coaching staff. But it’s eerie how damn familiar the whole enterprise feels.
You’ve got corners with attitude, a mutant safety, the depth of two defensive lines, an all-world linebacker, flashy but steady role players, a beloved defensive coach, and an increasingly raucous crowd with fans who travel. It’s been almost ten years in the waiting. Why shouldn’t we get a little celebration dance, as a treat?
This contest began inauspiciously enough. The Falcons elected to defer (author’s note: oopsie) and literally rode Bijan Robinson to midfield. After five straight touches to the NFL’s best running back not named Velus Jones, their drive stalled. No problem; the Seahawks graciously went sideways on first and second down then narrowly avoided a safety on third down, setting Atlanta back up for its second possession a mere 39 yards away from the end zone.
Kirk Cousins and the Falcons never did find paydirt. Not that drive, not any drive. The last time a Seattle opponent scored a touchdown it took three consecutive fourth-down conversions and fifteen plays total. Also, that was four days before Thanksgiving. They might be done surrendering easy sixes.
Atlanta did find a seam here and there, though. But when faced with his first real playcalling decision of the game, fourth and short from the 12, Atlanta head coach Raheem Morris went for the hard count that tricks nobody ever, took a delay of game and kicked the field goal. In the long run Morris’ choice didn’t matter much, but man, you’d lost five straight. You’re on the verge of mathematical elimination. You’re going against the league’s best defense. If you don’t get the teeder there, you’re digging a hole in your head before even grabbing the shovel.
When the gift horse of bad process show up, no need to look it in the mouth. Instead admire Josh Jobe laying out for the breakup on third down that forced Morris to choose as wisely as the Nazi officer picking out Holy Grails.
The play before the play is sometimes The Play. Stuffing Bijan Robinson four times inside the 10 doesn’t sound like a good time for anyone. Jobe’s full extension might well have contributed four early points to the cause.
Thematically, the Falcons proceeded to get into character on defense. Lost JSN on third down as he snuck past the sticks. Blew up an A.J. Barner screen but got dinged for offsides, turning second and long into first and five for Seattle. Zach Charbonnet rumbled for a cluster of 27 grapes yards up the middle and soon it was fourth and short on the edge of the red zone.
Time for the Barnyard, and it probably would’ve worked, had it been executed. instead, the mere threat of it polarized David Onyemata into the neutral zone for the easiest conversion du jour. The Seattle drive ended with only three points when Jaxon Smith-Njgiba couldn’t quite get his feet down in the back of the end zone. Still, you got a dozen plays in, ate up six minutes, theoretically allowed Sam Darnold to clear out the cobwebs. Basically softened the defense with some body blows to regroup for a stronger, cleaner third possession. Not how it played out… at first.
After forcing another Falcons punt, the Seahawks maneuvered into third and one where Klint Kubiak drew up a little dump-off play for Darnold to Kenneth Walker, which would have totally worked on a different day. On this day, the defense read it a mile away, cut off the easy toss post-snap, and nudged Darnold to his next read, in traffic. It was a poor one.
The Seahawks defense, backed up in a familiar situation, refused to give anything away with sloppy tackling or penalties — that was the Falcons’ job. Truly another feather in Seattle’s wings: they don’t self-destruct as frequently as the other team this season. They don’t beat themselves, hardly ever now. Which frickin’ matters. Case in point, after the pick, Atlanta went backwards for ten, took yards in dainty bites of two and three, couldn’t get 3rd and 12. Naturally, a field goal attempt made the most sense.
Key word: attempt.
He is. Special.
But just like the interception led to no points, so would Nick Emmanwori’s effort. Darnold overthrew Rashid Shaheed on third down for a three-and-out in what was not the quarterback’s best half of ball. Anyway, we’re approaching halftime, the game is tied and the Falcons have moved the ball capably. Nothing is decided. It comes as no surprise to see Robinson rack up successful play after successful play; Tyler Allgeier even breaks a couple of them off himself and Kyle Pitts finally gets loose for 30 on a fairly acrobatic lunge.
(That’s also the drive with the Emmanwori backfield bodyslam. Don’t worry your little mittens. We have footage in his second home, a.k.a. the Predator column.)
Enter an officiating break? Hey, that used to happen to Seattle’s last dominant defense, too. In a fortuitous twist of fate that felt wrongly significant at the time, an Atlanta touchdown was nullified when receiver Darnell Mooney was called out of bounds without re-establishing himself. To keep the story brief, the call was suspect, on third down too, and in summary, Cheathawks live, the hosts elect to kick. Through the uprights this time.
To this point, Seattle had crawled to 66 yards of total offense. Granted a minute to drive down and potentially tie things before half, they found the key. Short completion to JSN, Charbs for five, and then we witnessed the four Sam quadruplets, the four good ones, all lined up in a neat little row. Sneaky Sam slithered for the first down behind his right guard, Scrambly Sam picked up a dozen on the ground, Slinger Sam rifled one to Shaheed across the middle, then finally Sensible Sam went to the sideline for five to Barner out of bounds to stop the clock at :04. Jason Myers closed the deal by drilling a suddenly stress-free 48-yarder. If we could get more of the good Sams, yes, please. Poor quarterback play and bad luck are the only impediments that would block a title run. Sidestep them both and there’s February football.
Thus were the Seahawks well-positioned to score on both sides of halftime. Extremely well positioned.
In retrospect that’s a dagger, but in realityspect it’s still only a seven-point game, which is why Jarran Reed’s return and instant impact cannot be overstated. Diligently he composts the Falcons right guard and ends Atlanta’s best chance to get back in the game:
Now the afternoon has turned. A quarter later than the Seahawks’ 2025 template, sure, but the vibes are high, the turnovers are bunching, the special teams are nails. All that’s left is for the offense to procure points in set of six rather than three. They obliged.
Off the turnover, Darnold located Barner on second down and Shaheed on third — Seattle was 6-of-13 there — before scrambling around to connect with Cody White next. Walker broke contain to burst around the left side for eight, and with too many weapons to account for all at once for a single defense, the NFL’s best receiver chose that moment to rise from the throne and assert his rule again. Flipped the field for 30 without breaking a sweat, deigned to grant the run game a snap, which perfectly set up his own kingly self for a first coronation.
What else is there to say? (Except there were prey to be hunted Sunday.)
The Seahawks were not done doing the things they’d started doing right. Next drive, held Robinson in check on first and second down, so of course Cousins has to throw on third, right at Witherspoon, and guess who’s in the right place at the right time AGAIN. No, go ahead, guess, you’ll totally get it. Last year we would’ve said Spoon, ‘cause truthfully it felt like there were multiple Devons on the field at once. That mantle has passed.
Witherspoon’s pass breakup bounced straight up in the air to none other than Emmanwori, completing the rookie’s day and frosting the game. Especially after Myers later made it a three-score affair.
Ah, but just because the Falcons helped beat the Falcons doesn’t mean they had any quit in them. Allgeier put the Atlanta offense on his back with three big plays out of the kickoff, and soon it was Falcons fourth and two on the doorstep again. Down more points than there were minutes left, and with Robinson in his back pocket, Morris inexplicably sent out the field goal unit. Look, I agree that trimming the lead to 14 works great if the Seahawks aren’t gonna score again. I just don’t think that’s a remotely realistic expectation.
I mean, check out how things unfolded since a minute before intermission.
Up two touchdowns against a team allergic to touchdowns, Seattle looked to enter clock-killing mode. Two Charbonnet handoffs made sense, but then out of the blue it’s 33 more to Shaheed. With all the eyes on the Seahawks’ game-changers, Cooper Kupp put six on the board to remove all possibility of funny business.
At this point it’s more academic than f = ma. Especially since Seattle’s f, m and a outclassed everything Atlanta brought to the equation.
The hosts’ sixth straight defeat was assured by the time the visitors got a little sloppy and slowly began to sub in a la preseason game. Before we could get too deep into the roster, though, Witherspoon added his long-awaited first interception, JSN scored a second time, Riq Woolen took a flag that got me up off my couch in excitement, then just for funsies Michael Dickson placed another punt inside the five, and that’s all he wrote. Haha just kidding, there are some predators to laud. Yes, lawd.
PREDATOR
I’d like to begin with Team Effort instead of Nick Emmanwori, but you guys, goddamn, the rookie was a force multiplier. There’s the exploit of versatility Corbin Smith brought up atop this story. A block, a sack, a pick and a TFL. That’s not human behavior. That’s [Ravens superstar/Seahawks legend] stuff. Speaking of whom, how about the tackle that we hope neither Montario Hardesty nor Vernon Davis watches on the highlight shows:
I mention Hardesty because, well, it’s been 15 years since Kam Chancellor started doing Nick Emmanwori things (you can fight me in the comments).
Trading up for Emmanwori in last year’s draft cannot be mentioned enough. But we will try, over the rest of his career.
PREDATOR
Devon Witherspoon. In addition to being the Seahawks defense’s spirit animal, he got off the schneid for interceptions today.
Does the tip drill remind you of anything? Anything at all? Spoon also contributed that fumble recovery, the assist to Emmanwori’s pick, and a third-down open-field tackle early on. The Seahawks should pick in the Top 10 more often. But maybe never again. Either is fine.
QUIET PREDATOR
Ernest Jones came through, as usual, with 11 tackles, five solo, and generally should get credit every week for being the engine that allows Seattle’s defensive line to run loose and play free. Which leads to all the turnovers. Eight in two games. Yes lawd times two.
PREDATOR
Obviously JSN. After a down week vs. the Vikings, a 7-92-2 stat line is welcome, as is further evidence of his secret power. You know the one. Where he scores touchdowns with presence alone. Look how open he springs his fortunate teammate.
That’s not even fair to a secondary. Which is the point. We’ve watched Kyle Shanahan work this witchcraft for too long without learning the spells ourselves.
PREDATOR
Gotta get Rashid Shaheed in there. Three explosive catches to go with the obvious game-breaker. Here’s the thing. Dominant JSN, healthy Kupp, dangerous Barner, commitment to the run game — Seattle is the perfect space for Shaheed to have monster games, maybe even one at the highest-leverage moment of the season.
PREDATOR ATTITUDE
I love this late taunting flag on Tariq Woolen, in the context of a game already won. I love it. Miss me with the “Typical Woolen bonehead penalty” bullshit. I want my cornerbacks to prey on receivers. it is the natural state of a functioning Seahawks ecosystem.
PREY
There are no two ways about it, JSN had his way with A.J. Terrell Jr. Which is of course even more impressive knowing that Terrell hadn’t given up a touchdown in coverage since Week 10 of 2024 (!), and then was torched twice. Would’ve been three if he hadn’t summonsed all his veteran wiles to nudge Smith-Ngjiba out of bounds in the back of the end zone that one time. But this is not the day to complain about officiating, gosh.
PREY
Raheem Morris earned this one all day with the two kicking decisions, to begin the first and fourth quarters. Did he not watch film of the Seahawks’ ability to score in bunches and on non-offense? Did he not believe 4th and two from the Seattle 9 was his best chance to get a touchdown and stay in the game?
Seattle welcomes the Daniel-Jones-less Colts to Lumen Field next, followed by the NFC West showdown everyone has circled on their physical calendars with sharpies, highlighters, crayons, and maybe a little human blood too, ever since the schedule was announced. Bring on the last quartet of games. There is no longer any limit to how high the Hawks can go, so if they are to go? Let us go with them.
