It’s amazing what a road win can do to flip the vibes. After a gut wrenching loss at home to the 49ers, a desperate Seattle Seahawks team came into hostile territory in Pittsburgh and came out with a huge 31-17 victory over the Steelers.
It was a wild game where you could’ve easily seen the Seahawks win 34-3, or could have just as easily seen the game tied in the final moments, there were truly that many massive swing plays.
Let’s break down the win and what it means.
1st Down - Those who were doubted, stepped up
Week one was rough, but it was really rough for guys like Kenneth Walker, Cooper Kupp and Riq Woolen. On Sunday, all three played really well and showed their potential on this team.
Woolen might have lost his starting job last game if it wasn’t for the injury to Devon Witherspoon. With his back against the wall, he stepped up and showed again the potential top corner talent he has. A motivated Riq paired with what Josh Jobe has been doing, this secondary is going to be elite when Spoon and Emmanwori return.
Cooper Kupp looked fresh and a high level number two receiver against a banged up Steelers secondary. He caught seven of nine targets for 90 yards and looked strong after the catch, moving the chains multiple times. If he can provide anything close to that level of production this year, then this passing game will be fine.
Arguably the biggest winner on Sunday was Walker. After a week that saw a near unanimous (myself included) push for Zach Charbonnet to take the lead running back job, angry K9 showed up on the field and was incredible.
Aggressive, powerful runs that looked decisive, K9 had 105 rushing yards on 13 carries, including the game sealing touchdown run. He also had a 13 yard reception in what was one of the best days we’ve seen him in nearly two years.
We may never see both Walker and Charbonnet humming at the same time, but it was a reminder what these two are capable of the last two weeks.
2nd Down - Byron Murphy is becoming that dude
Sunday was a second week of evidence that this defense has the makings of something special. Two brutal mistakes last week allowed the 49ers to reach 17 points, but they lost half of their team to injury in the process. This week, on the road against a team that put up 32 to the week before, Seattle gave up only 17 again, with 10 of the points coming off short fields after turnovers.
There are a ton of reasons why this defense currently looks like a top five unit, but the emergence of Byron Murphy II is arguably the biggest. After a rookie season that looked like a learning and growing experience, Murphy was good last week and looked like a game wrecker in Pittsburgh.
With five tackles and 1.5 sacks, Byron generated five QB pressures and blew up the Steelers running game multiple times. If this is the type of player that is going to be along the defensive line that already has Leonard Williams, Jarran Reed and a stable of pass rushers, then this defense can carry this team a long way.
3rd Down- Heads up by Holani
The special teams gaff by the Steelers was one of those more rare plays you’ll ever see. A very tough rookie moment for Kaleb Johnson, turned into a heads up opportunity for Seattle’s special teams ace George Holani.
While Johnson and Pittsburgh froze, Holani used his returning experience to know that the ball was live, and he somehow managed to get down there and recover the loose ball without stepping out of bounds. It was just a stunning haymaker that took the life out of the stadium and more accurately shows how dominant the score should have looked for Seattle on Sunday.
It has been a really strong start by the Seahawks special teams crew, which is currently ranked 2nd according to PFF. If you’re a team that’s gonna lean on defense, having an elite special teams unit will go a long way in whether you can go from 10 wins to say 12.
4th Down - Seahawks identity still needs to be figured out, but blueprint is there
I think the overall identity of this team early on is clear. This is a potential championship level defense that is gonna hold the door open as long as it takes for the offense to catch up. If it can within the next month, then this is a team that can most definitely live in the tier just below Green Bay and Philadelphia on the NFC hierarchy. If the offense can’t get to a top 12 or 15 unit, then you’re probably hoping for a wildcard berth at best.
Offensively, I think we saw what the blueprint for their identity and potential success is on Sunday. The Seahawks looked more comfortable running the ball (minus the toss plays) and making things happen with the play action game. They were deliberate when they took shots and found ways to get everyone involved on Sunday, while Jaxon Smith-Njigba continues to look like an All-Pro.
If Seattle can stay committed to their philosophy, and cut down on the turnovers, there’s a strong case to be made that this could be a borderline top 10 offensive unit in the NFL. Four turnovers and a missed field goal in two games, with three of those turnovers in plus territory. That’s the difference in being 1-1 with a 22 points per game average so far, instead of 2-0 and averaging around 30 points ppg.
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