It has been an interesting season for the Seattle Seahawks. They’ve been up and down, but they’re in a division that keeps them in the playoff picture. And quarterback Geno Smith credited the fans on Sunday The win over the Cardinals proved the Seahawks are a true playoff contender.
The Seahawks stand in a first-place tie with the Cardinals in the NFC West. Lurking a game back are the Rams and the 49ers. Make no bones about it, this division is weak. There’s no dominant team, and any of the four could still win the title.
But the Seahawks are the only team currently holding momentum. They won a big game over a team that had a chance to take control of the race. Meanwhile, the Rams and 49ers both shrunk away in runaway losses.
Seahawks must overcome QB Geno Smith
Sunday’s 16-6 win provided a blueprint for how the Seahawks need to get things done in 2024. They played fantastic defense, and Smith took care of the football despite getting hammered to the ground for five sacks. Coby Bryant’s pick-six turned into the game-winning play, giving Seattle a 13-3 lead midway through the third quarter. He said he gave all the speed he had, according to espn.com.
“I don’t think I’ve ever run that fast,” said Bryant, who finished the score with a dive into the end zone that resembled Marshawn Lynch's “Beast Mode” celebration. “I know I’m going to get fined, so hopefully Marshawn saw it.”
The defensive success is what they need because Smith hasn’t been good this year. He has only 12 touchdown passes and leads the NFL with a whopping 12 interceptions.
Geno Smith knows what he needs to do
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said Smith knows how to turn things around, according to yahoo.com.
“Look, he knows how important ball dominance is to us and to not turn the ball over,” Macdonald said. “He knows that we can’t do that in those situations. And we know he can’t.
“It’s not like we’re losing trust in him or anything. We got his back. And a lot of the things that make Geno a great player is his play-making ability.”
Just for a picture on how bad the interceptions are for Smith. He still has six games left this season and he’s already surpassed his season totals for 2022 (11) and 2023 (nine).
Macdonald said Smith has balanced the interceptions by making big plays.
“(Smith) arguably won us the game with zero-checks and extending plays and commanding the line and giving him autonomy to do what he feels he needs to do in that moment,” Macdonald said. “So there’s a balance there. You never want to take the play-maker out of the player. So making some decisions to protect the ball in those moments, yeah, he could probably be a little more careful in those situations. But there’s a fine line there.”
More big wins are needed down the stretch
The Seahawks travel to play the Cardinals on Dec. 8. They also have Green Bay (Dec. 15) and Minnesota (Dec. 22). They can’t afford to lose all three of those games. In fact, they need to beat the Cardinals and either Green Bay or Minnesota if they are serious about wining the division.
For now, they can bask in the win over Arizona. Smit said the team understands the importance of the win, according to seahawks.com.
“That was a big win,” said Smith. “Felt like a playoff atmosphere. I thought the crowd was amazing. Just felt like our team was locked in and focused the entire game. Hard-fought game. I thought Arizona played really tough. You know, just overall our defense was outstanding. Leonard (Williams) wrecking the game, the way ‘Spoon was flying around, Coby getting the pick-six. That was awesome. Really, really lit up the crowd.”
Macdonald said the whole team constructed the win.
“Just complementary football, defense stepping up when the offense needs us to do it, vice versa, offense coming through at the end; eight minute drive to put it on ice,” Macdonald said. “Complementary is the best way, is the vision. Look, we got great players that are explosive. It would be great to create bit more explosive plays. Got to give Arizona credit for some of the things they were doing today. Those are some things we're going to need to counter in the next two weeks, but I think we are making strides. I think we are. I think we're improving.”
The Seahawks ground game needs to be better
Kenneth Walker III hasn’t been his dominant self this season. He started the season with 103 yards on 20 carries against Denver. He followed up with 80 yards against the Lions.
But since then, he’s only had one game over 80 yards. And that came on 25 carries in an overtime win over the Rams.
Recently, Macdonald acknowledged the need to get the ground game rolling, according to foxsports.com.
“We’re going to get it figured out,” Macdonald said. “I mean, we’re going to be a good run team, going to have an efficient offense. I do feel like I’m a little bit of a broken record every week, but I do feel optimistic talking to the coaches and watching the tape.
“We’re going to get this thing rolling,” Macdonald said. “I think once you complement getting the run game going with all the other mechanisms we have in our offense and our system and all of our skill guys and the way Geno’s throwing the ball, I think that could be a really potent attack.”
