These Seattle Seahawks are not dead yet. The foolishness of writing that sentence about a first place football team does not lessen its accuracy. Professional sports is not unlike other work environments in some ways. Motivation matters. Balancing self-interest, coworker interest, and company interest takes a deft touch from leadership and individuals. It is much easier when things are going well, the numbers are all positive, and everyone can see how their work is contributing to a greater whole. People tend to focus more on self-interest when things are not going well, wanting to make sure they get theirs. Sports teams have this same dynamic, with the added dimensions of independently wealthy individuals and willingness to put personal health and safety on the line. Creating an environment where athletes want to come to work every day to be their best is challenging. Winning is like a performance-enhancing injection into the locker room. It is especially crucial for a young coach finding his footing.
Players talked about a meeting Mike Macdonald held on Monday last week as being a necessary moment of truth. Macdonald spoke later in the week about how he felt the players responded with a great week of practice. He had said similar things leading up to the previous two games, and the team laid an egg in each. It would have been a very bad sign had that happened a third straight time.
Losing is one thing. Having a coach who is not able to read the readiness of his team or a locker room that can self-motivate to respond to a poor performance is a very bad place to be. That is what made the loss to the Giants so disturbing. That the team was able to play their best game of the season after some rest, reflection, and hard work, is a great sign.
How impressive was this win? It has been nearly a decade since the Seahawks beat a winning opponent on the road by 20+ points. The last time it happened was in 2015 in Minnesota. This Falcons team was coming off three straight wins, all against divisional opponents. Their last two games included a 500+ yard passing performance and a 200+ yard rushing performance. Their offensive line is considered one of the best in football, and their running back duo is in the conversation for tops in the league.
Seattle entered this game hemorrhaging yards on the ground, giving up explosive plays at a nauseating rate, and losing the turnover battle repeatedly. Then, to make things tougher, they found themselves without three of their five starting secondary players, and three of their top four cornerbacks. Oh, and let’s throw in a 6th round rookie from University of Findlay to get his first NFL start as a 4th-string right tackle on the road.
Mixed in with the challenges, though, was an infusion of talent on the defensive line. Byron Murphy was back, and Roy Robertson-Harris was acquired in a trade.
One of the addictive aspects to the NFL is never quite knowing what the witches potion of different players mixed with different opponents will create. Lately, it has been a toxic brew that made for ugly football with plenty of warts. On this day, it looked like rejuvenation formula that had the defense punching above its weight.
This was the first time since Week 1 that Boye Mafe, Derick Hall, Leonard Williams, and Byron Murphy started and finished a game. That quartet played a massive role in this game. Williams had a drive-killing sack. Murphy was stout and disruptive and had a tackle for loss. Mafe and Hall paired on a game-sealing strip sack and fumble return for touchdown.
Mafe and Hall are quietly becoming the best young edge rusher duo in the league. They are the only teammates 25 or younger who have at least 4.0 sacks on the season, and that is with Mafe missing multiple games due to injury. This team is different when they are both out there.
It is mostly a coincidence that the team is 4-0 when Murphy is in the lineup, but not entirely. His availability, combined with the addition of Roberston-Harris, allowed Williams, Johnathan Hankins, and Jarran Reed to get more rest and be fresh throughout the game. That helped contribute to a pass rush that started to come alive in the second half.
Most were too busy being stressed to notice the defensive line started winning at the end of the Falcons 14-play touchdown drive to start the second half. That advantage grew on the following few series. It was the Seahawks trench play wearing out their opponents instead of vice versa. That is a huge development, and there is reason to think it is sustainable.
Seattle was not only exhausted playing three games in 11 days the past couple of weeks, but they were thin at key positions. That group was always expected to be strength of this team. They have been when healthy. They are now rested and reloaded. Things could get really fun.
Speaking of fun, it was great watching Mike Jerrell hold his own in his first NFL action. He is a terrific guy who coaches and players have rallied around. George Fant, Abe Lucas, Charles Cross and others could be seen giving him pointers in the locker room and the practice field leading up to this game. He made a key block on Kenneth Walker’s touchdown run early in the game, and did a pretty decent job of pass protecting. There were definitely some rough reps, and this was one of the worst pass rushing teams in the league, but he was not the disaster most 4th-string rookie division two players would be in their first start.
Josh Jobe was another fun story to watch unfold. He was an undrafted free agent out of Alabama that the Eagles signed in 2022. He saw meaningful playing time last year (240 snaps), but performed poorly enough that he was not brought back or signed to another roster. Seattle added him as a practice squad player back in late August. He was terrific in this game.
His coverage was solid and his run defense was physical. He nearly had a pick-six late in the game. There was a pass interference call made against him that was very clearly the Falcons receiver initiating the contact, but otherwise played a clean game. It was such a promising performance at such a valuable position that the Seahawks may need to sign him to the 53-man roster if they hope to keep him around. They have some extra defensive linemen with the addition of Robertson-Harris, so that could be an option.
Jobe getting the start was a surprise. The expectation was that Coby Bryant would play some nickel corner and K’Von Wallace would play safety in place of injured Rayshawn Jenkins. Wallace barely played, and Bryant was the safety replacement. He had a decent game that included a late interception. Bryant does not have the look of a high ceiling player, but his propensity for creating turnovers should not be underestimated.
The fact that this cobbled together secondary was able to largely contain one of the most dynamic passing attacks in football speaks volumes about the players and the coaching. No Falcons receiver had more than 63 yards receiving or a catch over 20 yards.
Seattle has done generally done well limiting explosive passes. There was reason to fear that would be an issue in this game. Atlanta has a lot of the same elements of a healthy run game and strong play action passing that has battered Seattle in the last three games. The Falcons came out getting almost anything they wanted in the run game. They had over 100 yards rushing at halftime. Seattle shut them down in the second half. The final numbers were interesting.
For the second straight week, the Seahawks cut down their explosive run rate. What was most interesting was how they did it.
They had been committed to playing light boxes (6 defenders near the line of scrimmage) early in the season, but had been getting gashed against the run. The 49ers game was the first time all season they had more neutral box (7 defenders near the line) snaps than light box. The expectation was that they might continue that trend. Instead, they had their highest percentage of light box snaps of the season. And they did okay with it.
Nobody is going to hang a banner for allowing 4.6 yards per carry, but Seattle can play defense the way Macdonald wants to play defense if they can keep that number in the 4s. It gets really ugly when that number is 6, 7, 8 yards per carry or beyond.
Macdonald had to be concerned about his injured secondary and chose to give his coverage extra help with one more player in coverage. That meant one fewer to defend the run against an elite run offense. The defensive line and linebackers had to step up. It was not perfect, but it was good enough.
Robertson-Harris is going to be a really nice addition for this team. He is a beast in reseting the line of scrimmage. He does not get moved off the ball. His game is not necessarily about lots of flashy stats. It is more about keeping offensive linemen from getting to their spots and creating opportunities for others to make the play. That could wind up being a sneaky big addition.
It is hard not to spend all the time talking about the defense given how much better their performance was relative to expectation. Holding a great Falcons offense to 14 points at home with all these injuries is incredibly encouraging, and restores some hope that was in short supply.
The offense, though, deserves some love. Geno Smith rebounded from his worst performance of the season to have another masterful game. He was under pressure on the majority of his dropbacks, but managed to be accurate anyway. The contrast between Smith and Cousins was hard to miss.
Both players were under pressure throughout the game. Smith was 11/13 for 87 yards (7.9 YPA) with 1 TD and 0 INT and only 1 sack during those pressured dropbacks. Cousins was sacked 3 times, including the strip sack, and threw an interception without throwing a touchdown. He seemed rattled when a rusher was within a couple of steps. Smith showed poise throughout.
D.K. Metcalf also bounced back from a forgettable performance against the 49ers to put up nearly 100 yards in the first half and draw a big pass interference penalty on the opening drive. His route to catch the touchdown before half was beautiful, as was his leaping grab of the floater from Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Metcalf remains an enigma. He has made more impressive contested catches this year than at any time during his career. He is producing at levels higher than at any time in his career. Yet, there are big games where you need to count on him to be part of the winning formula, and he is absent. Credit to him and Smith for taking accountability for the game against San Francisco and getting back to what they need to do for this team to be relevant.
Macdonald seemed to think the knee injury that took Metcalf out of the game was not the worst case scenario. That could mean he is back this week, or could mean he misses a few.
Walker was a key part of this game, and the news that he might not play due to injury was a gut punch. He fought through the flu and played a huge role in the outcome. This team is different when he is in the lineup and utilized. Grubb has seen the potential in Walker from the beginning, and the work he put in to make sure Walker could be on the field during passing downs as a blocker is bearing fruit now as a receiver. The touchdown catch was a thing of beauty.
This game does not erase what happened in the previous three weeks. This team is is capable of thrilling heights and queasy depths. The run defense remains the single most important area to focus on and see progress in. There is very little possible if that does not improve. Riq Woolen and Tre Brown are expected back this week. Adding that talent back to the field with this high-performing defensive line and edge group gives them a chance to gel into the defense they looked like when the season started. As well as Jerrell played in this one, getting back Fant and Lucas would be a big shot in the arm. Further down the line, you could be talking about Uchenna Nwosu and Jenkins coming back.
What looked like a season spiraling out of control has now been stabilized. The 49ers face-planted and lost Brandon Aiyuk. Seattle is in first place and has two home games before a bye week. Winning one of those two games puts them in a good position to finish strong. Winning both would arguably make them favorites to win the division. Buffalo is in the conversation for best team in the NFL. They have an MVP level quarterback, a great offensive line, and great rushing attack. That is no longer a matchup to fear. It is a measuring stick that will help this team find out who they are and what they are capable of. Seattle is still learning where they fit in the food chain of the NFL. They just ate a big kill. Time to defend their home.
