3 Up, 3 Down: Winners, Losers from Seahawks Week 4 Commanding Victory Over Dolphins
Following a comeback victory against Dallas, Seattle hit the road for an extremely long plane ride down to Miami and they’ll now be able to happily enjoy the flight back to the Pacific Northwest.
While the defense allowed over 300 passing yards and 100 rushing yards, a pair of interceptions – one from Ryan Neal and another from Shaquill Griffin – played a major role in this 31-23 victory, as the offense was able to score 14 points off those turnovers. In addition, the Seahawks’ defense also kept their opponent out of the end zone through the first 58 minutes of the game, holding the Dolphins to five field goals.
On the other side of the football, Seattle's offense decided to take a more balanced approach this time around (34 throws and 26 runs) and it paid off in a massive way, as they finished just two yards shy of producing 100 rushing yards. Running back Chris Carson was able to record his first two rushing scores of the season, which is a major goal the coaching staff was looking to eventually accomplish.
Let's dive into our three big winners and three losers from the Seahawks’ first trip to the Hard Rock Stadium since the 2012 campaign.
Three Up
Ryan Neal
Making his first career NFL start, playing for the injured strong safety Jamal Adams, Neal certainly made a strong impact in the secondary against the Dolphins. Wasting no time in just his second game of the season, the 24-year old recorded his second career interception, as he was able to catch a pass that deflected off linebacker Cody Barton’s hands on the opening drive.
Following this takeaway, the offense scored their first of two touchdowns during the first half, as Chris Carson plunged into the end zone for a score shortly after. Along with this pivotal turnover, the 6-foot-3 cornerback also recorded six total tackles, five solo tackles, and a pair of pass deflections, including a huge hit on Myles Gaskin on a third down screen.
Russell Wilson
Looking to continue his stellar performance in Miami, Wilson certainly didn’t produce one of the best showings of his career, but his late-game effort proved to be enough to provide his team with their fourth victory of the season. With Seattle leading by just two points halfway through the fourth quarter, the six-time Pro Bowler proved once again why he should be considered the front-runner for MVP, as he required less than four minutes to score 14 unanswered points.
Despite being picked off for just the second time in 2020, the 31-year old still found a way to complete 24 of his 34 passes (70.6 percent completion percentage) for 360 yards (season-high) along with two touchdowns. Making an impact on the ground, the 5-foot-11 signal caller also ran four times for five yards, including his eight-yard run up the middle of the field that resulted in a third down conversion.
Greg Olsen
Coming off his best statistical performance of the season, Olsen continued serving as a reliable receiver for Wilson for the second consecutive game. Though he didn’t outproduce his results from Week 3 – where he caught five passes for 61 yards – the veteran tight end still found a way to be effective, catching five of his seven targets for 35 yards.
By numbers alone, that may not seem impressive, but two of his five receptions came on key third downs, which is an area where the Seahawks struggled throughout the majority of this contest. In addition, the three-time Pro Bowler nearly recorded his second touchdown of the season, but an 18-yard pass was thrown just beyond his reach, which unfortunately led to a turnover on downs just two plays later.
Three Down
Travis Homer
Returning to his home state of Florida, this hometown contest against Miami was definitely one Homer would've liked to have back, as he struggled to find his footing on the ground through all 60 minutes. Despite earning a season-high four rushing attempts, the former Hurricane only gained five yards and was brought down behind the scrimmage line several times as well.
While the second-year pro proved to be ineffective in the trenches, he was still able to make an impact as a receiver, catching a three-yard touchdown pass with just three seconds left in the first half. With that said, the 22-year old mishandled one of his kickoff returns in the second quarter, as he had the ball deflect off his hands and only recovered it for a six-yard return to Seattle’s 11-yard line.
Quandre Diggs
With Adams sidelined with a groin injury, the Seahawks were counting on Diggs to help carry the load in the secondary against the Dolphins, but the veteran free safety endured some key issues with his tackling once again. After being ejected for an illegal hit to the head against the Patriots in Week 2, the 27-year old got into some foul trouble yet again, this time with a questionable unnecessary roughness penalty that offset an offensive holding penalty on third down.
As a result, Miami’s offense was able to advance into Seattle’s territory, ultimately finishing their drive with a 29-yard field goal. Though the entire defense failed to contain receiver DeVante Parker, as he caught 10 passes for 110 yards, the 5-foot-9 free safety couldn’t help slow him down, as his poor tackling in the second quarter resulted in the pass catcher’s second-longest catch of the game (17 yards).
Tyler Lockett
Following one of the best performances of his career, Lockett was kept silent throughout the majority of his team’s fourth game of the season. Earning just two targets through the first 45 minutes, the 28-year old didn’t produce his first catch until midway through the fourth quarter and finished with just two receptions, his lowest total since 2018. He also uncharacteristically dropped a pass in the first half that would have moved the chains.
Even though the one-time All-Pro receiver only generated a pair of catches, his 30-yard reception ultimately helped his team take a commanding lead late in the game, as they surged into the end zone just three plays later. Considering the Kansas State product has been stellar up to this point, the Seahawks shouldn't be overly concerned with this poor performance from their star pass catcher.
