Hawks Eye View Week 12: Seahawks Set For Playoffs With Easy December Slate
After a Week 10 loss to the Los Angeles Rams featuring three more turnovers from Russell Wilson, things looked grim for the Seahawks.
Seattle started the year with a franchise-best 5-0 start. Wilson had impeccable play that garnered the MVP hype he has long deserved. But lurking beneath high-powered wins was a worrisome pass rush that wasn't pressuring opposing quarterbacks enough and a secondary that allowed yards after the catch in bunches.
The Seahawks bubble floated the fanbase to soaring heights, only to seemingly pop after three deflating losses, including two games to the Cardinals and Rams. Seeing the Cardinals again, on Lumen Field for the first time, would test whether the 2020 Seahawks are a true playoff team. A decisive defensive drive, a 28-21 final score, and a 7-3 record seem to say they are. For now, Pete Carroll's team remains in the conversation amongst contenders heading into the final month of the season.
In Week 11, there were two other divisional rematches with post-season implications: one between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs, and one between the Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints. Entering the week with sizable leads, the Saints and Chiefs held on to improve to 8-2 and 9-1 respectively. Although the Raiders remain on the bubble and the Falcons have fallen out of the playoff race, the stakes are higher in an NFC division with a nearly three-way tie atop the standings.
After a difficult middle stretch in November, the Seahawks overcame the competitive Cardinals before a smooth stretch of December games. Likely wins against the Eagles, the Giants, the Jets, and the Washington Football Team would put the Seahawks at 11-3 before they face divisional opponents in the last two weeks of the season. And if the defense can continue to play like they did against the Cardinals, this could easily be a 12 or 13-win team.
What saved Seattle in Week 11, and what will save them in the months ahead, is an improving defensive line that can apply pressure and a secondary that is growing chemistry-wise and consequently playing better football. Wielding both, the Seahawks silenced the Cardinals in the last moments of the game.
In the last three plays, key components of the defense made stops at every level, pressuring Kyler Murray to make rushed, far-reaching throws that were swatted away by diligent defensive backs.
On 2nd and 10, feeling pressure from Benson Mayowa, Murray tried to lean on future Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald. Murray targeted a perfect spiral to his tall frame at the foot of the end zone, but with Bobby Wagner and Quandre Diggs covering him, Fitzgerald couldn't haul it in and the pass was swatted away.
On the ensuing third down, Murray took a shot for the end zone, hoping for a game-winning connection like he saw in Week 10 with Deandre Hopkins. This time, Murray aimed for Andy Isabella, but the pass fell incomplete due to the Reeds. Defensive tackle Jarran Reed hit Murray as he threw and the quarterback still managed to get off a near-perfect pass to the corner of the end zone. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, D.J. Reed and Diggs were waiting there too, slapping the ball out of Isabella's hands.
With the game on the line, the Cardinals faced 4th and 10 with 38 seconds left on the clock. Before Murray could even get the football out of his hand, Carlos Dunlap swallowed him for a six-yard sack, his second one of the game to force a game-clinching turnover on downs.
With the ball back in their hands to win the game, Wilson kneeled courteously, melting the last few seconds off the clock. Wilson's valiant bounce-back performance also deserves to be noted, as the quarterback threw for 197 yards, two touchdowns, and most importantly, no interceptions. In addition to 165 rushing yards (42 of which were by Wilson), the Seahawks made due without feature back Chris Carson, as Carlos Hyde rushed for 79 yards on just 14 carries to ignite a balanced Seattle offense.
As they head into a Monday Night game against an Eagles team plucked of its plumage, the Seahawks remain a favorite for a stretch of games against the NFL's worst division as well as the only winless team left in the Jets. After playing against some of the toughest NFC teams just to make playoffs, such a slate seems well-deserved for a team that appears to finally be coming into its own.
