3 takeaways from critical Seattle Seahawks Week 4 win

Now, that’s more like it. The Seattle Seahawks of Week 4 looked like the Seahawks of old. Getting completely outplayed for the first 28 minutes of the first half. Not getting a single first down until the second to last drive in the second quarter when tying the ball game. Then, taking over in the second half and finishing the game by running the football.

That isn’t the most desirable way to win football games, but the Seahawks did what they failed to do over the last weeks; find a way to win. The struggles early on for the Seahawks have come in the second half where the defense fails to get off the field and the offense fails to put together a multi-first-down possession. In Week 4 against San Francisco, the script was flipped. The defense kept them in the game early on and most importantly, both sides of the ball finished the game strong in the second half.

Here are three takeaways from the Seahawks first divisional win of the season.

3 takeaways from Seahawks Week 4 win versus 49ers

Defensive Adjustments

After the Week 3 loss to the Vikings, many were expecting some sort of adjustment on the defensive side, especially in the backend. D.J. Reed was moved to the right corner and Sidney Jones got the start at left corner. Perhaps, the biggest adjustment was that made by defensive coordinator, Ken Norton Jr. He inserted Ryan Neal as the nickel DB and man, he had himself a day.

The 49ers offense started the game with an 8 play, 71 drive captivated with a touchdown. After that scoring drive, they didn’t score again until late in the third on a busted coverage by Sidney Jones that left Deebo Samuel wide open. The last scoring drive for the 49ers came in garbage time when Seattle was up big and playing soft coverage.

Last week, I told many to pump the breaks on wanting Ken Norton Jr to be fired. The NFL is far too often a reactionary league. We just finished the first quarter of the season and the Seahawks stand at 2-2. Within the first four weeks, this Seahawks defense has been under a lot of scrutiny and rightfully so. But, they are showing the ability to respond. It’s way easier to hit the self-destruct button and point fingers rather than stare the problem down right in the face and get to work.

What the Seahawks lack in talent, they make up for in leadership. On Sunday, the Seahawks defense consistently got off the field as the 49ers went 2-14 on third down. Ryan Neal was making plays in coverage. Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs were flying all over the place making plays. Bobby Wagner finished with 10 tackles. Darrell Taylor finished the game with a sack. I’m not by any means insinuating that the defensive problems are fixed, I’m just highlighting the team’s resiliency.