Seahawks Hammer Hapless Jets, Keep Pace in NFC West Race

Unlike last week, Seattle came out playing with far better energy and took care of business against a far inferior team, racing out to a 20-point halftime lead and coasting to a blowout victory in the second half.

All week long, Seahawks players and coaches spoke at length about the team missing opportunities and failing to make necessary adjustments fast enough in a disappointing loss to the Giants in Week 13. With a winless Jets squad coming to Lumen Field this weekend, they made sure history didn’t repeat itself.

Throwing a touchdown promptly on the team’s first possession, Russell Wilson bounced back from a rough Week 13 performance with four scoring tosses in the first three quarters, Jamal Adams broke the single-season sack record for defensive backs by bringing down his former teammate Sam Darnold, and Seattle built a commanding 20-point halftime lead in an eventual 40-3 blowout victory at Lumen Field. With the win, the Seahawks improved to 9-4 on the season and kept pace with the Rams for first place in the NFC West.

Here are five takeaways from Seattle’s biggest win since Super Bowl XLVII in 2013:

1. Using this as a “get right” game, Wilson finally breaks out of his month-long slump.

After leading just one touchdown drive last week, Wilson was under fire for his latest dismal outing throughout the week. Taking advantage of a defense ranking near the bottom of the NFL in pass defense, Wilson got the confidence booster he desperately needed against the Jets, starting with a touchdown toss to Freddie Swain on the Seahawks opening drive. While he did throw another interception in the red zone on the next possession, he was near-perfect the rest of the afternoon, spreading the wealth with completions to seven receivers and throwing four touchdowns to four different receivers. He finished the afternoon with a stat line far closer resembling his red-hot start through the first five games with 21 completions on 27 attempts for 206 yards and four scores and a 122.6 passer rating.

2. Leaning on the ground game early helped take pressure off Wilson, spurring the offense to a monster day.

One week after Seattle surprisingly having Wilson drop back on nearly 75 percent of the team’s offensive plays, offensive coordinator put more emphasis on the ground game from the outset. On the game’s opening drive, Penny Hart broke loose for a 19-yard pickup on a reverse and Chris Carson picked up a pair of first downs on the ground before Wilson found Swain wide open in the end zone. Two drives later, Carlos Hyde got into the act with 40 yards on just four carries, including an explosive 18-yard run to push the Seahawks into the red zone. By halftime, the team had averaged seven yards per carry and had nearly 100 yards on the ground, providing much-needed balance to support Wilson and the aerial attack. For the game, Carson rushed for 76 yards on 12 carries, Hyde added 66 yards on 15 carries, and the team produced 174 rushing yards as a whole.

3. A wide cast of characters gets involved in yet another stout defensive performance.

While Adams will draw most of the headlines for his historic accomplishment passing Adrian Wilson to break the sack record for defensive backs against his former team, he was far from alone making key plays for the Seahawks defensively. Playing by far his best game since being signed by Seattle, Damon “Snacks” Harrison forced a fumble on a tackle against Frank Gore in the first half that led to a Jason Myers field goal and wrapped up the game with a season-high five tackles. Rocketing off the edge on a third down play, Shaquem Griffin recorded his first sack since last January to bring down Darnold in the third quarter, while Jarran Reed also got into the act to increase his season total to 4.5 sacks. In the secondary, Shaquill Griffin swatted away two passes intended for Jamison Crowder in the end zone and both drives for the Jets wound up netting zero points due to missed field goals by Sergio Castillo. Ugo Amadi also added two pass deflections and seemed to be in on every play throughout the afternoon.

4. Seattle’s defensive backs best start working with the JUGS machine after the game concludes…

If there’s anything the Seahawks will be kicking themselves over defensively after this game, it was the missed opportunities on defense. In the first quarter, Darnold threw Adams open as he dropped into zone, providing him a chance for a potential pick-six. But the pass bounced off his chest and fell to the turf for an incompletion instead. A few drives later, Poona Ford and K.J. Wright both jumped at the same time trying to reel in a batted pass from L.J. Collier, but neither player came down with the football for the turnover. Then after halftime, Darnold telegraphed another bad throw with Amadi jumping a crossing route, only to have the easy defensive touchdown slip through his hands. As the old adage goes, there’s a reason all of those players are playing defense, but in games against better opponents, those plays can’t be squandered.

5. With the rout on late in the third quarter, backups took advantage of some quality playing time.

In a season unlike any other due to the COVID-19 pandemic, preseason scrimmages were axed back in August, limiting opportunities for rookies and fringe players to impress in game situations during training camp. After months of waiting for their opportunity, however, the Seahawks were finally able to provide their backups with a chance to see extensive snaps after building a 34-point lead late in the third quarter. Under center, Geno Smith checked in for Wilson, completing four out of five passes for 30 yards, rookie tight end Colby Parkinson caught his first two career receptions, and players such as linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven and safety Damarious Randall were able to see the field while combining to make three tackles. Even along the offensive line, Seattle did some interesting maneuvering to rest starters, subbing center Kyle Fuller in at right tackle while Chad Wheeler slid over to left tackle to replace Duane Brown. While those reps might not seem like a big deal, especially when considering how crazy this campaign has been, it was fun to see many of these players see snaps in a no-pressure situation.