The Seattle Seahawks came into the final week of the NFL regular season needing a win to get a chance to get into the playoffs. The Seahawks needed a win, and the Detroit Lions to beat the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night to get into the playoffs. Of course, the Seahawks needed to take care of their own business to have that chance, and they did just that, in dramatic passion.
The Seahawks needed every yard, every snap, and every forced turnover they can get in order to defeat their NFC West division rival, the Los Angeles Rams in overtime in Week 18. It was a hard-fought game, and for the Seahawks to come out victorious in this game, is just short of a miracle.
It was not a pretty game for the Seahawks, as they were having trouble moving the ball up the fields against a Rams defense who is decimated with injuries up front. Geno Smith did not help the Seahawks’ cause, as he threw an interception on their very first possession.
3 takeaways from the Seahawks victory in Week 18
They simply cannot allow this to happen, especially next week against a much more formidable San Francisco 49ers team. The 9ers will run the ball down the Seahawks’ throat throughout the game when they get into an early lead. The Seahawks made the playoffs, and we cannot take anything away from that especially when no one believed in them at the start of the season. They must learn how to take care of the ball and not allow any unnecessary turnovers to happen.
Enough with the negativity, the Seahawks are in the playoffs, let us celebrate with them on this one with the three takeaways from their playoff-clinching win in Week 18.
Seahawks’ defense made the stop when it counted
Coming into the season, the Seattle Seahawks had to lean heavily on their defense as they just traded their franchise quarterback away. No one knew how good, or how bad, the defense will play, but they have to trust them to keep them in the game every week. It has not been a good ride for this Seahawks’ defense, especially after suffering from major injuries to their key members. This defense has been gutted on the ground by most of their opponents, and they cannot seem to find any answers to that question.
But when the Seahawks needed it most, this defense, came in clutch this week in a win-or-go-home game against the LA Rams. This defense gutted it out on the field, even after watching their offense give the ball over on their very first possession. Even after trailing late in the fourth quarter, the Seahawks’ defense did not quit and kept fighting back.
All this defense needed was to give them the chance to make the next play, and they did just that in overtime. Needing to shut the LA Rams down after failing to score on their offensive end, what appeared to be a walk-in Van Jefferson touchdown, became a Quandre Diggs out-of-nowhere interception. The interception gave the ball back to the Seahawks, to eventually get the game-winning field goal.
That interception will live in every Seahawks’ fans’ memories as one of Seattle’s season-defining moments no matter how far they go in this year’s playoffs.
Seahawks QB Geno Smith kept making mistakes
When Geno Smith was tabbed to be Seattle’s quarterback at the start of the season, it was due to his game-managing skills. He was tasked to keep turnovers to a minimum to get the Seahawks in games and not get blown away by their competition. For the most part, Geno has done admirably, but lately and towards the end of the season, Geno has made unfathomable mistakes that ended up costing the team early deficits.
This must-win game against the LA Rams was no different, Geno, on the Seahawks’ very first possession, threw the ball and had it intercepted by Rams’ cornerback Jalen Ramsey. That turnover proved to be costly, as the Rams were able to put three points on the board on their next possession. Those early turnovers by Geno simply cannot happen, especially if they want to be in a competitive game against a much superior opponent in the playoffs like the San Francisco 49ers.
Playing in a playoff game against a formidable team on their own turf will be a tough task, and turning the ball over early will not bode well for Geno and Seattle if they continue this trend. Let us hope Geno hands the ball over to Kenneth Walker on their first possession this week.
1,000 rushing yard season for Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III
The second-round draft pick this season was asked to carry a huge load when the Seahawks’ starting running back, Rashaad Penny went down with a season-ending injury. Kenneth Walker has not disappointed the Seahawks, even through his own struggles on the field and his injuries, Ken Walker kept battling out there.
This game when the Seahawks needed Ken Walker to compliment the passing game, he did just that, as he finished the game with 29 carries for 114 rush yards. Although he did not get into the endzone, it helped set the offense better by moving the sticks. By rushing for more than 100 yards in this game, Kenneth Walker III finished his regular season with 1,050 rushing yards, what an accomplishment from this second-round rookie, who might be in line for the Offensive Rookie of the Year, the sky is the limit for Walker.
The Seahawks will have to lean heavily on Kenneth Walker against a stout 49ers defense, and the task might be daunting, but as we see from this season from him, all he needs is just one hole, and he can take the ball to the house. Also, Seattle must limit some of the throwing mistakes by Geno Smith early, and it will not be a bad idea to hand the ball over to Kenneth Walker more.