The Seattle Seahawks are on a roll and playing some of their best football of the season so far. The Seahawks went 4-1 in the month of October, beating great offense’s like the pass heavy Los Angeles Chargers and the run heavy New York Giants. Going into the game against the Cardinals, the Seahawks had almost no stop for anyone’s offense, whether that be the Lions who threw the ball all over the yard, or it was Saints who ran the Seahawks into the ground. After not allowing a single offensive touchdown to the Cardinals, the Seahawks gained a spark that is propelling them towards shutting down opposing attacks. The Seahawks held Justin Herbert under wraps for almost the entire game and they allowed just a 28.6 QBR. Of course, every play matters and so does every drive, but without a garbage time TD, the Chargers would’ve lost by 3 scores and that QBR would’ve much lower. In respect to the rush defense increase, Saquon Barkley and the Giants like to pound the ball on the ground and get explosive runs. Against the Seahawks, the Giants only managed 78 total rush yards with a long of only 15 yards and 1 offensive TD. The strongest point of the Giant’s offense was completely nullified by all 11 guys on the Seahawks defense. And not only was the rush defense impressive, but the pass defense was even better: 176 yards, 24.1 QBR, 0 TDs, and 5 sacks for 29 yards is a great game especially when you must be cognizant of Barkley’s explosiveness. A man that is a crucial part of that Seahawks defense is the defensive rookie of the month, Tariq Woolen. Woolen was responsible for 19 tackles, 5 pass deflections, 3 INTs, and 2 fumble recoveries.
While the defense stepped up drastically, the offense is ever-so-potent just like it has been for weeks. The offense is a top 5 scoring offense averaging 26.3 points per game thanks to the help of superstars like Geno Smith, Ken Walker, and the entire receiving core down to the tight ends. It is no surprise that the two guys mentioned before won offensive player of the month and offensive rookie of the month. Ken Walker is a guy that possessed big play ability but didn’t have the chance to showcase it. Its unfortunate that Walker’s time had to come at the expense of Penny, but will all the eyes on Walker, he is putting on a show for everyone to see. In the month of October, Walker had 432 rush yards and 5 rush touchdowns, he was an absolute beast so far. Geno Smith, a man that everyone thought was a forever backup is making people eat their own words as he continues to deliver on a weekly basis. As for why he won NFC offensive player of the month, Smith totaled 1207 pass yards, 10 total touchdowns, with a completion percentage of 69.4 and a QBR average of 111.7. With the spectacular performances from both guys, it is no surprise that the Seahawks are leading the division and managed to go 4-1 in October. There is no doubt in my mind that the Seahawks have caught fire and will keep playing great football in the weeks to play.
The Seahawks have 4 of their division games left to play which will really test them. The Cardinals are first up and they have their x-factor receiver back from suspension, Deandre Hopkins. So far, Hopkins has had only two games and in both he has gotten over: 13 targets, 10 receptions, and 100 yards. Tariq Woolen and the Seahawks will be tested early and often in this game. The running backs are super proficient but are good mid-tier running backs. I am going to say that the keys to winning this game are:
- Keeping Hopkins under 90 total yards
- Keeping Kyler Murray in the pocket and under 250 yards passing
- Playing clean football and winning the turnover margin by at least +2
If the Seahawks can manage to do these three steps, they will easily cruise to 6-3 and get ready for their little vacation out in Germany for the following weeks matchup against Tampa Bay. For notes about that game, come back next week and Go Hawks.