Rebounding From Sluggish Start, Seahawks Clip Eagles in Defensive Affair
Despite a sluggish start that featured two botched fourth down conversion attempts, a second straight strong effort by Jamal Adams and a surging defense helped the Seahawks snag a 23-17 road win over the Eagles on Monday Night Football.
Once again playing efficient football without any interceptions, Russell Wilson completed 22 out of 31 passes for 230 yards and threw his 31st touchdown of the season, Chris Carson added a 16-yard touchdown run, and DK Metcalf exploded for a career-best 177 receiving yards. On the other side of the ball, Seattle harassed quarterback Carson Wentz with a ferocious pass rush and forced five straight three-and-out possessions as the team built a 14-6 halftime advantage.
Holding on during the final two quarters despite failing to find the end zone again and settling for three Jason Myers field goals, the win improved the Seahawks record to 8-3, moving them into sole possession of first place in the vaunted NFC West.
Here are five key takeaways from Seattle's seventh straight victory over Philadelphia.
For the “running backs don’t matter” crowd, Chris Carson is programmed different.
As exhibited in his standout performance last week against the Cardinals, Carlos Hyde is a fine, fine running back in his own right. But in his return to action after missing four games, albeit with a limited role, Chris Carson showcased why he belongs in the discussion as one of the top five ball carriers in the sport when healthy. Even with only eight carries on the night, his impact on Seattle’s offense was undeniable and he turned in the highlight play of the night. With Seattle holding a slim 7-0 lead midway through the second quarter and threatening in the red zone, Carson took a handoff from Wilson up the gut and bounced back to the hash mark. With multiple Eagles waiting for him near the goal line, the fourth-year back gave a “Beast Mode” type effort keeping his feet driving and willing his way into the end zone to bump the lead to 14 points. For those wondering about whether or not Seattle should re-sign him, his agent simply needs to show that run on repeat to emphasize how important his presence is for this football team.
Owning Darius Slay, DK Metcalf begins his assault on Seattle’s record books.
Two weeks ago, Metcalf was limited to only a pair of receptions against Jalen Ramsey in a loss to the Rams. Facing another opportunity to spar against one of the NFL’s best corners in Slay, the rising superstar dominated the matchup from start to finish, finishing with a career-high 177 receiving yards on 10 receptions. Maximizing his size advantage against Slay, he torched him for a 52-yard bomb in the first half and then outmuscled him on a jump ball down the sideline in the fourth quarter for a 32-yard gain. While he did drop a touchdown later on that same drive that could have put the game away earlier, his latest outstanding effort helped him surpass 1,000 yards on the season, making him the fastest receiver in franchise history to reach that mark in just 11 games. With a few more strong performances, he will soon pass Steve Largent for the franchise single-season record at just 22 years of age and he’s inching closer to a potential All-Pro selection.
Along the offensive line, Brandon Shell demonstrated his worth not being in the lineup.
In Cedric Ogbuehi’s defense, the sixth-year veteran drew a rough matchup to step in as a spot starter with Shell nursing a high ankle sprain. The Eagles entered Monday’s game ranking second in the NFL in sacks and sixth in pressure percentage with Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, and Josh Sweat creating problems off the edge and the former first-round pick faced a significant challenge trying to block that trio. With that said, he struggled mightily all night in pass protection, allowing numerous quick pressures to force Russell Wilson to step up or flee the pocket. His run blocking also was suspect and an unnecessary holding call away from the play wiped out a touchdown run by Hyde in the second half, eventually forcing the Seahawks to settle for a short Jason Myers field goal. In a tighter game, it’s possible a move may have been made to Jamarco Jones considering his struggles, but regardless, the team needs Shell to get healthy in time for the final stretch run.
A rejuvenated Seahawks pass rush continued to wreak havoc tormenting Carson Wentz.
Capitalizing on the Eagles banged up offensive line missing multiple starters, the Seahawks made life miserable for Wentz from the outside. Adding insult to injury for the NFL’s most-sacked quarterback, they got after him for six combined sacks by five different players and 12 quarterback hits by eight different players. It was a fantastic team effort led by Poona Ford, who continued his emergence as an interior pass rusher with a team-best three quarterback hits and his second sack of the season. With the pressure constantly getting home with a blend of four-man rushes and blitz packages, Wentz struggled to find a groove most of the night and completed only 55.6 percent of his pass attempts. After producing just nine sacks in the first six games of the season, Seattle now has 19 of them in the past four games since acquiring Carlos Dunlap, who added half a sack to bring his total to four of them in four games with the team.
Just as importantly, a maligned secondary is getting healthier and finding a rhythm.
As Jamal Adams reaffirmed earlier in the week, “the back end doesn't eat if the front doesn't eat as well,” and Monday’s game was a great illustration of how much a surging pass rush can help a defensive backfield. For a second straight game, the Seahawks held an opposing quarterback to under 270 passing yards, this time limiting Wentz to 215 yards and under five yards per attempt. The Eagles receiving corps struggled all night to create separation, particularly against Shaquill Griffin, who looked fast and played well in his first game back after missing four games with a hamstring injury. Only one player – tight end Dallas Goedert – produced more than 70 receiving yards on the night and Philadelphia’s receivers combined to make nine catches for 46 yards. That’s a far cry from the plethora of games where Seattle surrendered north of 400 passing yards earlier in the season and with Quinton Dunbar still potentially returning down the stretch, the group still has room to grow chemistry-wise and keep improving with five games left to play.
