Three massive overreactions to Seahawks' Week 14 victory over Cardinals

The Seattle Seahawks are rolling. The team has won four straight games, sits at 8-5, and is in first place in the NFC West. The team has a tough schedule the rest of the way, but it has also set itself up to be in the proverbial driver's seat to make the playoffs.

As well as Seattle's defense is playing, the unit gives the team a chance against anyone. What was magical was that offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb might have called his best game of the season in Seattle's 30-18 Week 14 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. The team did not turn the ball over, and the running game was explosive.

Is the team truly ready to become one of the best in the NFL? There is still much to prove. And there might be some overreactions to what we saw from Seattle on Sunday.

Three overreactions to what the Seattle Seahawks did against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 14

The Seahawks running game is fixed

To be clear, Zach Charbonnet was not the only running back who stood out in Week 14. Little-used Kenny McIntosh also played exceptionally well in limited time. The success of both implies the offensive line probably had its best game of the season in terms of run blocking. But that does not mean the same level of efficiency will be repeated next week and thereafter.

The Cardinals simply do not have a good run defense. They are 18th in yards allowed rushing per game and 19th in yards allowed per rush. The 176 rushing yards the Seahawks had in Week 14 aren't the most the team has allowed; it is the third-highest. In Week 15, the Green Bay Packers will be a much more formidable defensive opponent, and the team is ninth in rushing yards allowed per game and seventh in yards per rush allowed.

If the Seahawks can run the ball against Green Bay, however, they might prove the rushing offense is indeed much better. The key could be for Ryan Grubb to be as creative in using the back as he was against Arizona, especially plays like running Charbonnet in motion before the handoff near that goal-line that turned into a touchdown.

Seattle is ready to be a dangerous threat in the playoffs

Seattle has certainly improved over the last month. The team should probably have five wins in a row except for several mistakes by quarterback Geno Smith in Week 9 against the Los Angeles Rams. But who has Seattle beaten that truly be considered good? Maybe the Denver Bronocs, but Seattle faced Denver in Week 1 and Bo Nix's first NFL game.

Besides Denver, the Seahawks have not beaten a team that currently has a winning record. Sure, two of the Cardinals' losses, and they are now 6-7, are to Seattle, but Arizona has played worse as the season has grown old. Seattle might be becoming a very good team, but we will learn a lot about the team over the next two weeks against the Packers and the Minnesota Vikings.

Zach Charbonnet is better than Kenneth Walker III

This gets tricky. Charbonnet does stay healthier than Walker, as Walker has missed three games this season and Charbonnet has missed only one in two years. He is also the bigger back so he might be able to take a bit more punishment. Let's be honest, though. What we saw from Charbonnet in Week 14 was surprising because he showed breakaway speed and had an offensive line that was blocking well.

In 48 fewer rushes, Charbonnet has as many rushing touchdowns (7) as Walker, a better yards per rush (4.1 to 3.7), and a slightly better success rate (which is based on picking up the necessary numbers of yards on each specific down in order to be able to eventually pick up a first down). The eye test is different, though.

In many games, fans could see Walker picking up yards that simply weren't there for a lesser back. Of Walker's 3.7 yards per rush, 2.0 are after first contact. Of Charbonnet's 4.1 yards a carry, 1.6 are after contact. In other words, if the Seahawks' offensive line is blocking well, Charbonnet might be the more efficient back because of his straight-ahead running, but Walker is the guy if the O-line begins to break down again.

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