3 Seahawks who need to thrive in Week 8 versus the Buffalo Bills

The Seattle Seahawks are riding a newfound wave of positivity right now, folks! They earned a three-game winning streak to start the season, then endured a three-game losing streak immediately after. On Sunday, Seattle put it all together in a big win over a division leader in Atlanta.

A rookie held his own in the trenches (more on that below), two Seahawks had QB Ratings above 110 and a running back scored twice despite his birthday hango... Oops, I mean illness! After the game the Seahawks traded for a very good young linebacker, then we learned that the top two right tackles will be returning to practice. It's a lot to take in!

Head coach, Mike Macdonald is now tasked with riding that momentum and taking the next steps as a football team. Enter the AFC East-leading Buffalo Bills.

Seahawks players who need to ball out versus the Buffalo Bills

The Seattle Seahawks will face a stiff test against a hot team in the Bills this week. Which players must thrive in order to stop the team from Western New York from circling the wagons in Seattle?

Ernest Jones IV - Seahawks inside linebacker

I hate to immediately put him on a list, but he’ll be needed right out of the box in coverage against the dynamic TE duo of Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid. It won’t hurt that he is coming directly off of a week in Tennessee of game planning for the Bills. The Titans were having a fire sale, and Seattle got a quality off-ball backer who they are familiar with from his time with the Los Angeles Rams (playing alongside Bobby Wagner for a year).

Side note: boy is this starting to feel like the halcyon early days of the Pete Carroll administration. Seattle is cycling so many guys through this year that they are basically holding open tryouts for who is worthy to be a Seahawk. General Manager, John Schneider is hoping that by adding Jones and Roy Robertson-Harris, it adds yet more points of inflection of a bully mentality.

Tyler Lockett - Seahawks wide receiver

DK Metcalf took a strange tumble near the end of the game last week that put a sour tinge on an otherwise exhilarating game. Those who were toying with the idea of trading Metcalf may finally get their chance to see what our offense could look like without him.

The grizzled vet has to help keep the defense honest, making sure they can’t walk up on the Seattle offense and crowd the short to intermediate parts of the field. Stretching the field will open things up for the rest of Geno's arsenal. Rocket Lockett was once a dangerous and feared deep threat… one who can still remind the people of those powers in a moment's notice. With rumors of a trade swirling, he’ll need to prove his underrated value once again.

Michael Jerrell - Seahawks offensive tackle

The 6th-round, former DII player who was our 4th-string right tackle sure put up a valiant effort in his first start in the pros. He’ll absolutely be tested again, but we can also expect the Seahawks to once again protect him with two TE-sets and chips. Can big Mike hold up for at least one more game, while Lucas and Fant get back healthy?

We know he at least has a great last name... now what can he bring to the game? Hopefully enough stones to stone any free rusher trying to lay a finger on Geno Smith. If so, the Stone named Forsythe could be relegated to the bench from now on, giving way to a youth movement up front.

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