3 Up, 3 Down: The Best and Worst Performances From Seahawks' 31-7 Win Over Jaguars
On a beautiful Halloween afternoon in Seattle, the Seahawks ended their three-game losing streak in style. Nearly shutting out the Jaguars, they nabbed their first home win of the year by a score of 31-7, improving to a record of 3-5 heading into the bye week.
Here were the three best and worst performances from Seattle's victory.
3 Up
QB Geno Smith
Smith took a couple bad sacks in this one, but he was brilliant otherwise. Completing 20 of his 24 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns, the nine-year veteran made some great throws when it mattered most. He also got the Seahawks their first points of the day on a fourth-down quarterback sneak across the goal line, setting the tone for his first win as a starter since 2016. If this proves to be his last outing in place of the injured Russell Wilson, he couldn't have capped off an admirable three-week stretch any better.
WRs DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett
Seattle's offensive gameplan revolved around its star receiving duo and for good reason. Both wound up having monster games, with Metcalf reeling in two touchdowns and Lockett putting up 142 yards on a team-leading 12 receptions. Just to put Lockett's epic performance into perspective: until halfway through the third quarter, he had out-gained the entire Jaguars offense by 26 yards. He also nearly had the team's first score of the game on a nice over-the-shoulder grab, but was ruled down at the Jacksonville one-yard line.
The entire Seahawks defense
Due to a garbage time touchdown by the Jaguars, the Seahawks were unable to pitch their first shutout since September of 2015. Nevertheless, this was by far the best performance Ken Norton Jr.'s defense has had this season. Despite sacking Trevor Lawrence just once, the pass rush constantly put pressure on the No. 1 draft pick. The defensive line had four pass deflections. Quandre Diggs notched his—and the team's—third interception of the year. Ryan Neal had a great game, recording Seattle's lone sack of the afternoon early on. Bobby Wagner was active all over the field and had a would-be sack negated by a defensive holding call on Ugo Amadi. Tre Brown was stellar once again. From top to bottom, the Seahawks' defense was masterful. Of course, they're going to see a pretty significant uptick in competition out of the bye week, but it's clear that things have started to click for this defense. Very impressive effort on all fronts.
3 Down
RB Rashaad Penny
To put it as nicely as possible: Penny was ineffective in this one. He rushed the ball seven times for, well, seven yards, including two straight runs on the Jaguars' one-yard line that he failed to push across the plane. Four of those rushes either went for no gain or a loss of yardage. Just a rough day all around for the fourth-year running back.
WR Freddie Swain
Metcalf and Lockett were the only two Seahawks receivers with official targets in this one. Smith overthrew Swain once in the end zone, in which the receiver took a huge shot from behind, but the play was erased on a roughing the passer call. Then, when Penny Hart's number was called on a quick screen, Swain was tagged with an offensive pass interference penalty. Overall, a forgettable game for the Florida alum.
TE Gerald Everett
Like Swain, Everett didn't see too much action in this one. He caught one pass for seven yards and took a jet sweep that resulted in a loss of five. A miscommunication with Smith led to an incompletion on Everett's second and final target of the afternoon—a goal line fade that sailed out of bounds as the tight end failed to break outward for it. It wasn't a disastrous performance by any means, but Everett continued being a non-factor in this offense for yet another week.
