So, how we feeling now?
Four straight wins, the last two by a combined 46 points, and the Seahawks are looking like a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
For the record, the Hawks haven’t accomplished anything yet. Next week’s game at the Rams is turning into the biggest game of the season to this point, and their divisional hopes could be affected by next week’s result. But the vibes we’re feeling right now are right out of 20-13, and have fans dreaming of a championship run.
If you missed it, coming into today’s game, the Seahawks combined analystics this season in all three phases of the game – or DVOA - were the fourth-best through the first eight games of a season since 1978. That’s 47 years!
The other three teams? The 1985 Bears and 1991 (then-named) Redskins, which both won a Super Bowl, and the 16-0 2007 Patriots, who lost the Super Bowl to the Giants.
And that was BEFORE today’s win.
In fact, according to Mike Renner of CBS Sports, the Seahawks became just the third team in the Super Bowl era to have 28-0 leads to start back-to-back games.
The point is, this team is currently firing on all cylinders. Sam Darnold is playing like an MVP candidate and Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s still on pace to be the first 2,000-yard receiver in league history. The addition of Rashid Shaheed only makes them even more dangerous offensively, and consider that they’re doing this defensively without starting safety Julian Love, linebacker Ernest Jones IV or Jarran Reed, who surprisingly went on IR this week.
And there’s also something else happening, which was very apparent if you’ve been in the stands the last two home games: The noise is back at Lumen Field. The presence of visiting fans isn’t close to what it was before and the feeling of home field advantage has returned.
Win games convincingly, and that’s what starts to happen.
The prevailing thought is that teams get better as a season wears on, and the Seahawks trajectory to this point has been nothing short of exceptional. Mike Macdonald has shown how valuable a coach he is, giving this defense an incredible facelift in just a year and a half. And his hire of Klint Kubiak has helped this offense find its maximum potential after an offseason filled with upheaval at the most critical positions on offense.
When Richard Sherman called the Hawks Super Bowl contenders two weeks ago, most people smirked. But count on one of the team’s legends to be ahead of the curve. Because a whole lot of national analysts are all of a sudden on board.
Again, nobody is crowning this team just yet, but the rest of the league is now warned.
Still, this kind of talk is meaningless midway through the season. What means the most? Next week – and if they can take care of the Rams.
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