3 Up, 3 Down: Winners, Losers From Seahawks Week 9 Victory
In a game that certainly shouldn’t have gone past regulation, the Seahawks were very lucky to escape Week 9 with a 40-34 victory over the Buccaneers.
Following the Seahawks late fourth-quarter drive to set up kicker Jason Myers for a game-winning 40-yard field goal, the Seahawks were forced to play overtime after he missed his third kick of the game, including an extra point. Thankfully, quarterback Russell Wilson was able to carry his team 75 yards down the field on just 10 plays for the game-ending touchdown.
Seattle's coaches will definitely be grilling their team regarding the multiple inexcusable mistakes that were made during the game. But, the important thing is that the Seahawks are able to head into Week 10 with a record of 7-2, remaining just two games behind the division-leading and still undefeated San Francisco 49ers.
Let's dive into our three big winners and three losers from Week 9.
Three Up
Russell Wilson
Once again, the Seahawks were forced to rely on their front-running MVP quarterback to save their team from a disappointing defeat. Along with completing 28 of his 42 pass attempts for a total of 368 yards, Wilson also tied his career-high with five touchdown passes, which he has done two other times.
What was most impressive about Wilson's Week 9 performance was that the eighth-year quarterback provided his team with not one, but two chances to defeat the Buccaneers late in the game. With just 46 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Wilson drove his offense 53 yards on just six plays to give Myers a chance to kick the game-winning field goal.
Tyler Lockett
With tight end Will Dissly out for the remainder of the season, Lockett has become the sole target that Wilson has been able to consistently rely on in the passing game. The fifth-year receiver caught a career-high 13 receptions for a total of 152 yards along with a pair of highlight-reel touchdown receptions.
Throughout the game, Wilson completed near-impossible passes to Lockett, including his first touchdown reception of the game where the Kansas State graduate caught an over the shoulder pass in the back corner of the endzone to tie the game at 7-7.
Jacob Hollister
With tight end Luke Willson missing the majority of the game due to a rib injury, Hollister served as the primary tight end for the Seahawks offense and the third-year pro ran with the opportunity. He caught four passes for 37 yards along with his first two career NFL touchdowns
After drawing a defensive pass interference penalty to position the Seahawks offense at the Buccaneers one-yard line, Hollister caught a short one-yard pass to complete his first career score at the end of the first half. More notably, Hollister also caught a 10-yard pass from Wilson during overtime and just barely broke the goal line prior to his knee touching the ground for the game-winning touchdown.
Three Down
Jason Myers
Coming into Week 9, the Seahawks fifth-year kicker has struggled mightily compared to his 2018 Pro Bowl season performance. Prior to this game against the Buccaneers, Myers had missed three of his 13 field goal attempts and one of his 23 extra-point attempts as well.
Compounding on his first half-season struggles, Myers missed two of his four field-goal attempts on Sunday, including a 40-yard game-winning attempt. Myers was also successful on just two of his three extra-point tries against the Buccaneers. With his missed field goal during the second quarter, Myers set Tampa Bay's offense up with decent starting field position which allowed them to ultimately to push the score to 21-7.
Coverage on Mike Evans
No matter who was covering Evans, the six-year pro scalded the Seahawks defense throughout the game. Evans recorded 12 catches for 180 yards along with a touchdown. Even when future Pro Bowl cornerback Shaquill Griffin covered Evans, the two-time Pro-Bowler was still able to get open with ease.
Evans also played a huge factor in helping his team convert on six of their 14 third downs as well, as the 26-year-old caught three of his 12 receptions during third down conversion plays.
Pass Rush
For the most part, the Seahawks defense was once again unable to create much pressure on Winston. Despite a pair of sacks recorded by linebackers Bobby Wagner and Mychal Kendricks, the Seahawks pass rush was barely able to have an impact in this Week 9 victory.
Prior to the fourth quarter, the Seahawks defensive line was unable to even generate a single hit on Buccaneers’ quarterback Jameis Winston. Through nine games, the Seahawks have now allowed 300 passing yards or more in four games. Coach Pete Carroll admitted to reporters after the game that his defense still has major improvements to make after struggling throughout Sunday's win.
