This was not supposed to happen. It was not supposed to happen when the Seahawks traded away their franchise quarterback and cut their best defender. It was not supposed to happen when they left their quarterback position to Drew Lock, Geno Smith, and Jacob Eason. It was not supposed to happen when they started a 5th round rookie and a moonwalker at corner or two rookies at offensive tackle. It was not supposed to happen when their biggest playmaker on defense, who was a featured part of the new scheme was lost in the first game of the year or when their explosive starting running back went down a few weeks later. It was not supposed to happen when they started 1-2, including a loss to the lowly Falcons at home, or when their defense surrendered over 100 yards rushing to their first six opponents. It absolutely was not supposed to happen when they lost five of six games, including clunkers against the Bucs, Raiders, and Panthers. And it certainly was not supposed to happen when the NFL decided to give the Green Bay Packers every chance to make the playoffs by scheduling them in the Sunday night game. Guess what? It happened.
The 2022 Seattle Seahawks are going to the playoffs. As a wise man once said, “They wrote us off, but [we] didn’t write back.”
Seattle becomes first team to make the playoffs and have a top five pick in the upcoming draft in decades. This was a storybook season in a Disney sort of way. We saw our parents killed off in the first scene, struggled to survive, but ultimately wound up victorious.
The story saved one of the most shocking twists for the very last game of the NFL season. Our brothers from midwest mothers, the Detroit Lions, marched into Lambeau Field and smacked down arrogant Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.
The Lions have been a lovable team since their preseason appearance on Hard Knocks with amazing sound bites from their new coach and their rookie defensive lineman singing Billie Jean. If you have never heard a Jamaal Williams interview, you are missing out.
Sitting on my couch watching them rip hope from the hearts of the Packers and their fans was one of the most enjoyable moments of the season. I am thrilled the Seahawks benefitted, but I’d be lying if I said I was happy to see Detroit’s season end. That is a team and a fanbase that deserves a taste of the playoffs.
In lieu of that, we are trying to thank them with donations to the team charity. Please consider a “12” inspired donation to show them appreciation and the rest of the league who Seahawks fans are.
The only reason that game mattered was because the Seahawks won their final game, and because they had beaten the Lions 48-45 earlier in the year, back when the offense was capable of scoring points.
Seattle had 400+ yards of offense in five of their first nine games. They have done it just twice in their last eight games. Ironically, both those games were against the Rams. Yes, it is true. The Seahawks had over 400 yards of offense yesterday.
Of course, it took overtime to get there, but it happened. More than yards, points have been hard to find. Seattle has scored 13, 10, 23, and 19 in their last four games. While we all screamed into the void about this awful Seahawks defense, the team played a shell game and put the dunce hat on a different group.
The Seahawks defense has held their last three opponents under 300 yards of offense, including the Chiefs on the road. They have held those teams to the third lowest conversion rate on 3rd downs (28.9%) over that stretch, fourth lowest passer rating (65.0), and seventh lowest yards per game (281).
Time and again, the Seahawks tried to lose this game. Time and again, the defense found a way to keep hope alive.
The best part of their performance may have been the pass rush. Seattle finished with 10 quarterback hits and 5 sacks from six different players. Uchenna Nwosu led the way with 4 hits and a half-sack.
Nwosu and Darrell Taylor wound up tied for the team lead with 9.5 sacks on the season. Taylor now has 6.5 in his last 6 games.
Even old timer, Bruce Irvin, chipped in with 1.5 sacks.
Two players that stood out were rookies Boye Mafe and Coby Bryant. Mafe has had a muffled first year, with most of his contributions coming in the run game, and often in setting the edge so other players could make a play.
In this game, he made some plays of his own. He had a big sack, and finishes with a respectable 3.0 sacks in his rookie campaign with limited pass rush snaps. Bryant got a sack of his own, tackled wonderfully, and was in solid coverage most of the day.
Bryant finishes his rookie year with 4 forced fumbles, 4 passes defensed, and 2.0 sacks. No other rookie defensive back has had those numbers in at least the last 23 years.
You can look up and down this rookie class, and the story is pretty darn good. Charles Cross has played a solid left tackle. Mafe has been a starter for a good chunk of the year. Kenneth Walker is the likely Offensive Rookie of the Year. Abe Lucas has been a solid right tackle. Bryant put up some historic numbers while playing a new position in the slot. Tariq Woolen made the Pro Bowl and will finish among the top three in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. We do not know what we have in Tyreke Smith as he was on injured reserve all year. Dareke Young had arguably his best game in the last one as he made plays as a runner, a receiver, and on special teams.
It is hard to do much better.
Walker had his third straight 100-yard rushing game, and finished the season as just the second rookie rusher in team history to top 1,000 rushing yards. He did it despite not starting a game until week six, and he missed a game due to injury in that stretch. This was not about a 17-game season. It was legit production.
He ran hard against a Rams defense that was keyed on slowing him down. He could have had a lot more if guys like Bobby Wagner were not in just the right place to stop him on what otherwise would have been long runs.
The Seahawks chances to pull off an epic upset in the playoffs largely ride on how well Walker can produce. In games when he runs for 97+ yards, the Seahawks are 5-1.
Smith has become much more erratic playing quarterback the last few weeks. He had a really rough go in this one. He should have had three interceptions and generally looked far less confident throwing than we have seen for a lot of the year. He did manage to throw a few dimes, including a beauty of a touchdown to Tyler Lockett.
Many of his best plays were made with his legs. His 25-yard scramble at the end of regulation helped setup what should have been the game-winning field goal until Jason Myers missed it.
Smith took a big and dirty hit from villain Jalen Ramsey on that run and was down on the ground for a while before getting up and playing the rest of the game. He may make some absolute face palming decisions, but he is an easy guy to root for.
Seattle ultimately won the game after Quandre Diggs picked off Baker Mayfield in overtime and Myers finally made the winning field goal. Diggs has had something of a renaissance since his truly abysmal performance against the 49ers that saw him drop interceptions and show little effort to make tackles. He has interceptions in the last two games, and had three of his best PFF grades over that stretch, including a sparkling 91.0 in this game to lead the team.
The Seahawks now face the hated 49ers for a third time this season, and second time on their home turf. San Francisco has a massive talent advantage, and has pretty easily handled Seattle in both of the previous games. They are easily the hottest team entering the playoffs, having won 10 straight. They have scored more than 30 points in six of their last eight games. They have won by more than 10 points in six of their last eight games. They have the best defense in football.
Seattle has no business winning this game. There is no way Geno Smith and a bunch of rookies could go in and beat the most talented team in football on their home field and end their season. That would be like thinking the Seahawks could make the playoffs and have the 5th pick in the upcoming draft. It is not supposed to happen…