The Seahawks played well a few days ago against the Minnesota Vikings. They lost. Nobody will accuse the Seahawks or Bears of playing well in this game, but it was Seattle who walked away with an important victory that could lead to meaningful football in the final week of this topsy-turvy season. The Rams better hope they wrap up the division this week because this Seahawks team rarely loses on the road (6-1). Should Seattle sneak into the playoffs, they may want to petition the NFL to play away from home. This “ugly baby” performance that only the most devoted Seahawks fan could love guaranteed a winning season for Mike Macdonald in his first year, with a chance to improve on their 2023 win total against the Rams.
There are fans who hated the coaching change and pointed to the win total as the ultimate arbiter of whether the change was wise. There is an old adage in coaching that Pete Carroll adhered to, which says that if a young player is even with an older player, you go with the young player and bet on their development to eventually surpass the performance you were getting from the veteran. That would seem to apply to coaching as well, as Macdonald has matched the win total of Carroll’s final season while being the youngest coach in the NFL.
This game will not be one he points to as a favorite. His team could not put away a toothless Bears squad that seemed to have only screen passes in their play book. Rookie #1 overall pick, Caleb Williams, barely threw the ball past the line of scrimmage until the final drive when he showed off his penchant for highlight reel throws while on the move. Seattle sacked him seven times, bringing his league-leading total to a whopping 67 sacks.
Chicago finished with 76 yards passing and just 2.2 yards per throw. They had just 58 yards rushing from running backs. Macdonald’s defense was never truly threatened. The closest this game was to a Seahawks loss was when Pharaoh Brown tried to fight for extra yards and was stripped of the football by Kyler Gordon of the Bears. Gordon picked up the ball and galloped all the way for what was initially announced as a game-changing touchdown. The tortured Bears fans erupted in disbelief.
Replays showed Brown’s foot touched Gordon while he was down, reversing the touchdown. The stadium let out a collective groan as they realized their offense would have to score. Spoiler alert: they didn’t.
The Seattle offense was barely better. They came out strong with an impressive drive built on the run game. Geno Smith almost had another red zone interception on a throw to a never-open Tyler Lockett who was double-covered. Running was the only thing working as weather started to become a factor with rain falling and eventually wind as well.
Smith missed some throws and generally looked uncomfortable in the pocket. The game moved quickly with few penalties and lots of clock-running ball control plays either on the ground or through short passes. Each team finished with just 10 drives, and one of those for each team were end of half/game kneel downs.
There will be plenty of hand wringing about this offensive performance. That makes sense in the broader context of the struggles over the last half of the season. Using this game as evidence of anything is foolish.
There were a lot of similarities to the Rams/49ers Thursday night debacle a couple of weeks ago. The weather played a role in each, but the bigger factor was the weariness of the teams involved. Chicago was playing its third game in 11 days. The Seahawks were coming off a demoralizing loss to the Vikings and had to travel across the country on a holiday week.,
Nary a touchdown was scored between the 49ers, Rams, Seahawks, and Bears. It was ugly. That is what the NFL gets for scheduling Thursday Night Football in Week 17.
The only statistic that mattered in this game was who had more points at the end. Give the Seahawks credit for doing enough to win and controlling the game in spite of all the factors working against them.
Smith and the team now get an extended break before playing their final game. Macdonald joked about finally getting a “net rest advantage” over their opponent, meaning Seattle will have more of a break than the Rams, who play Saturday night.
Seattle is undefeated with extra rest so far this season, winning after their bye and after their first Thursday Night game. They have to get some help to make that game matter.
If the Rams lose, Seattle can win the division by winning next week. That is the simple scenario. If the Rams beat the Cardinals on Saturday night, the Seahawks will need a lot to go their way in order to win the tiebreaker should they beat the Rams.
The strength of victory tiebreaker adds up all the wins of the teams Seattle and Los Angeles have beat. Right now, the Rams have an advantage there. Seattle needs the teams they beat to win and the teams the Rams beat to lose in order to make up ground and win that tiebreaker. There is a likely scenario where the Rams beat the Cardinals but do not get enough wins from the teams they have beat to clinch the division. In that scenario, the Seahawks and Rams will go into their final game not knowing which team will win the tiebreaker.
That is the best case scenario for the Seahawks. Even if they ultimately do not get in the playoffs, it would be ideal for them to finish the season playing for a chance to win the division. Beating that Rams team in a game that matters would arguably be the best way to finish the season. They are too flawed to do anything interesting in the playoffs.
Finish with a winning record in the division. Beat every division opponent. Expose the Rams for the frauds they are. Go to Cabo.
Quickly on the Rams…this is a team everyone seems to be celebrating as the dreaded team nobody wants to face in the playoffs. This is a team that was trailing the Jets in the 4th quarter, that tried desperately to lose to the 49ers by throwing the ball directly to their defenders three times, trailed the Saints 14-0, and have a negative point differential on the season. Seattle has proven to be a middling team, and are recognized as such. Los Angeles has proven the same thing, but are perceived as a sleeper. Bizarre.
Macdonald and the Seahawks largely dominated the first matchup between the teams. It took two red zone interceptions (including a pick-six), an interception where Jaxon Smith-Njigba volleyed the ball into the air that hit him in the hands, a snap over Smith’s head by Connor Williams, and two running plays for zero yards in overtime at the Rams 16-yard line, for Los Angeles to “win” that game.
It is time for this Seahawks season to end, but not before knocking Sean McVay and the Rams on their botoxed butts.
