After letting a golden opportunity in Cincinnati slip away last week, the Seattle Seahawks returned home and ground out a 20-10 victory over their division rival Arizona Cardinals.
The game was not pretty, as the Seahawks made countless mistakes that gave Arizona hope, but the talent gap was too much.
End of the day, it's a divisional win that gives the Seahawks a lot to work on, as well as a lot to like. Let's dig into it.
Seattle Seahawks 1st Down: K9 having a special season
With Zach Charbonnet out this week due to injury, I figured Deejay Dallas would play a bigger role in this game, and in a way he did, just negatively. He did not play a role on offense because Kenneth Walker III put the offense on his back.
Walker took all 26 rushing carries for the Seahawks and had 111 total yards. While he didn't reach the endzone, he provided explosive runs, and a physicality that wore down the Cardinals. With the Seahawks in their 4-minute offense, K9 powered through a Cardinals defense thinking run for 20 hard-fought yards to help get Seattle in field goal position, icing the game.
We haven't seen the explosive home run touchdowns this year from K9, but he's having an incredible season. Walker is currently on pace for over 1,500 total yards and 17 touchdowns, which would easily get him a Pro Bowl nod. As Geno Smith and the passing game battle through injuries, Walker has become a focal point of this offense and may be going forward.
2nd Down: The rookies stepped up on offense
With the offense missing multiple starters, including star wideout DK Metcalf, a lot was going to be asked of rookies Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Jake Bobo, and Olu Oluwatimi, and they absolutely delivered.
Evan Brown, who missed Sunday's game, has been a pro bowl caliber center this season, and the Seahawks didn't miss a beat as Olu quarterbacked the offensive line. The 20 points scored don't tell the whole story, as Seattle was in a position to put quite a few more points on the board if not for some mistakes and turnovers. It's good to know Seattle has two quality starting centers going forward.
Preseason stars Jake Bobo and JSN both had their best games in the NFL, with JSN hauling in 4 catches for 63 yards and his first career touchdown, while Bobo also had 4 catches for 61 yards and one of the best toe-dragging touchdowns you'll see all year. Bobo also ranks as the third-best player in the NFL in run blocking, according to PFF (subscription required). That's not receivers, that's all players.
It was great to see JSN flex and Bobo continue to break out. The value of finding good role players in the UDFA market can't be understated (Seahawks fans know Doug Baldwin). Dee Eskridge has completed his suspension, and to be honest, I'm not sure what his future looks like in Seattle. It feels like Seattle has the perfect quartet at the position right now, so Eskridge will need to earn his place.
3rd Down: Witherspoon got screwed
I was at the game on Sunday, and one of the things I was most excited to see (other than Jake Bobo of course) was getting to see Devon Witherspoon in person. Walking out of that stadium, I think it was clear and obvious to everyone in attendance that Witherspoon was the best player on that field.
The #5 overall pick continues to be one of the most unique players we've seen in the league, as Witherspoon dominated the field. Witherspoon finished with 4 tackles (one that even Kam Chancellor would be impressed with), and a pass breakup. What the stats won't show was a beautiful interception in the endzone, as he undercut a route and a massive sack chasing down Josh Dobbs on a blitz in the 4th quarter. Unfortunately due to some questionable penalties, both plays were wiped out. If those plays happen, Witherspoon is probably the defensive player of the week again.
Despite the plays that technically didn't happen, the Cardinals and Lumen Field felt it. Witherspoon is that rare breed of immediate superstar talent. Per PFF, Witherspoon is now the highest-graded cornerback in the NFL with a score of 88.5.
The 49ers felt this with Nick Bosa and the Cowboys with Micah Parsons, but it is rare to see this from a defensive back. As Seahawks fans, we probably experienced this feeling in those first few games with Earl Thomas, and the talent was justified. I believe the same thing is happening in Seattle with Spoon.
4th Down: Defensive resurgence defining the season
While the star addition of Devon Witherspoon is immense, we can't forget all the additions that have given this defense a rebirth. Bobby Wagner and Jarran Reed are back and have brought stability to the defense. Jordyn Brooks, Tre Brown, and Jamal Adams are healthy and flying around. Julian Love has steadily improved since his rough start. The youngsters in Darrell Taylor, Derick Hall, and Boye Mafe are wreaking havoc and getting after the QB. This defense is restocked with good players, looks legit, and they have the stats to back it up.
Along all the high grades for most of the defensive players, they've backed it up on the stat sheet and the scoreboard. The Seahawks have allowed only 3 points in the second half in their last 3 games. The only field goal during that time span was off a turnover in which the Bengals didn't gain a yard.
Brian Nemhauser, who does a fantastic job over at Hawkblogger and Real Hawk Talk, put out some incredibly deep stats on social media after the win. They are as follows.
The Seahawks currently rank 4th in yards per play allowed (4.7) after being ranked 29th in the first 3 games. The Seahawks are averaging the most sacks per game in the league at 6 per game since week 4. The Seahawks' defense is the best in football when it comes to EPA/play and success rate since Jamal Adams has come back.
These eye-popping numbers haven't been seen in the Pacific Northwest since the 2015 season, during the ladder stages of the LOB era. The Seahawks currently have the number 12 ranked scoring defense at 19.7 per game, but only 10 points per game in their last three contests.
This defense will miss Uchenna Nwosu, but I still feel strongly that the defense is on the up, and just be the biggest storyline of not just this season, but of the next phase in becoming a Super Bowl contender.