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For Pete’s sake: Seahawks that overpowered the Jets in Week 17

By Todd Vandenberg

Jan 1, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back DeeJay Dallas (31) runs for yards after the catch against the New York Jets during the second quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back DeeJay Dallas (31) runs for yards after the catch against the New York Jets during the second quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Seahawks bounced back with a huge win over the Jets Sunday. They’re back in the playoff hunt, but that’s not what’s important here. No, this game was all about looking past this season.

Listen 12s, I’m the first to admit that on the face of it, it’s pretty cool to see that the Seahawks suddenly have a shot at making the playoffs after their three-game skid. As Lee Vowell wrote earlier, it isn’t too complicated. The Hawks need to beat the Rams, and the Lions have to handle Green Bay. I’m not saying it will be easy, but it’s certainly possible.

And while that would be great to see the gentlemen in navy, gray, and green in the postseason again, I have no illusions of a deep playoff run for this team. If they manage it, their then two-game winning streak would be overshadowed by the fact they lost five of their last eight games. No, there are a lot of teams on far hotter streaks with fewer injuries than Seattle. No, a potential playoff run isn’t what excites me about this win. The impact of this win has far more reach than that.

Seahawks finally shut down the big play

As we discussed in our podcast, cleverly linked on this very page, the Hawks defense had actually played much better last week against the Chiefs. Holding KC to less than 300 yards would normally earn the win. Unfortunately for the second week in a row, the Seahawks failed to understand that the tight end is an eligible receiver. At least it seemed that way.

Happily, Seattle flipped that script on Sunday vs New York. Even after losing Will Dissly for the season, the Hawks made excellent use of their tight ends. Geno Smith targeted his TE group eleven times and connected on eight for 83 yards and a score.

Okay, you knew I was kidding. The Hawks still couldn’t cover tight ends, as Mike White connected on nine of thirteen targets for 104 yards to the big guys on the line. And yes, the longest pass play for the J-E-T-S was 30 yards to TE Tyler Conklin. Hey, at least they never got into the end zone, so that’s a major improvement.

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