For Pete's Sake: 6 critical observations from the Seahawks big win in Week 10

It's so much more fun to look back on a well-played game, right?

Fortunately, that's where we find ourselves this week when discussing the best parts of the Seahawks' big win over the Commanders, keeping Seattle tied with the division-leading 49ers.

Other than wanting a win because who roots for their team to lose? The Seahawks needed a bounce-back game after the domination they received at the hands of the Ravens last week. Although it was a humbling experience for a team riding a two-game winning streak high, getting back on track and staying atop the division remained the ultimate goal.

Despite their losing record, the Commanders have morphed into a quality competitor. They just beat the Patriots on their home turf and hung in there against the Eagles a week before, making the Seahawks' path to winning more difficult than anticipated.

Luckily, they performed exactly how they needed to and came up big in the moments they needed to turn things around, leading to a very exciting last-second field goal to win an important game.

The best version of Jason Myers was back as he gets the game-winning field goal

After recording the best season of his career in 2022, solidifying himself as a dominant player at his position, Jason Myers started the year very up and down. He opened the season against the Rams, missing a short field goal, and followed that performance against the Lions by missing two more, ultimately leading to their overtime loss.

Since then, Myers has missed just one more field goal in a dominant win over the sad New York Giants, a significant move in the right direction for the typically reliable kicker.

He kicked that into high gear on Sunday, completing a perfect game against the Commanders, including the game-winning field goal in the final seconds of the fourth quarter.

Considering some of his misses earlier in the year contributed to the team falling behind, ending this game 5/5 on field goals brought back the confidence that some had lost.

Let's hope this version of Myers sticks around for the rest of the season, especially with several tough opponents left on the schedule. His consistency will become even more crucial over the next eight weeks, and his performance will be a factor in keeping their spot atop the division.

Ol' reliable came in absolutely clutch to give the Seahawks the lead in the fourth quarter

Who doesn't love to see Tyler Lockett doing Tyler Lockett things on any given Sunday? The Commanders are probably the latest who don't particularly love it, but the point remains.

Besides continuing to be the guy any Seahawks quarterback can rely on, Lockett seems to pop off at the exact time the team needs it. That's what he did on Sunday, catching eight passes on ten targets for 92 yards.

But his five-yard touchdown to put Seattle in the lead late in the fourth quarter is what put the cherry on top of an otherwise great day for the receiver.

It was the momentum shift the team needed at the time, and although Washington matched their touchdown with their own on the next drive, Lockett's score ensured they had a chance to win in the final seconds of the game. And you can't really ask for more than that!

The offensive line kept Commanders defenders filthy paws off their quarterback

After the absolute disaster that was the offensive line's performance last week, they redeemed themselves by making sure the Commanders were virtually unable to get within sniffing distance of Geno Smith for the entirety of the game.

Besides recording just one sack with no loss of yards, the Commanders did get to Smith five times. But considering he was taken down four times last week for a loss of 34 yards, on top of being hit four more times, it was a significant improvement by the line to keep their quarterback upright just a week later.

The protection allowed Smith to have one of the best performances of the 2023 season, giving him time to properly read the field and complete 31 passes for 369 yards. He was barely pressured, less than 25% for the whole game, allowing the field to open up for more opportunities for the offense to be successful.

On top of that, the run game benefitted from it all, too, something that couldn't be said against the Ravens games last week.

All hail Boye Mafe!

Among the players that Seahawks fans are excited about this season is probably the guy that has skyrocketed to the top of favorites lists across the Pacific Northwest: Boye Mafe.

The second-year linebacker has come alive this year and become an absolute menace for opposing quarterbacks, setting a franchise record for his latest sack against the Commanders on Sunday. Coming into this week, he was well on his way to putting together an impressive season, already totaling six sacks, six tackles for a loss, two fumble recoveries, and nine quarterback hits.

But he solidified his mark in Seahawks history with a sack on Sam Howell on Sunday, setting a team record for being credited a sack in seven straight games, finally dethroning Michael Sinclair, who had held the record with six sacks in six games since the 1997 season.

To make the rise of Mafe even more exciting, he could set an NFL record this season if he maintains the dominance he's displayed so far. Chris Jones of the Chiefs currently holds the record for 11 straight games with a sack, something Mafe can accomplish in the next three games if he notches a sack in each one.

What's even cooler to see is how humble he remains when asked about his record-breaking performance. After the Seahawks' win on Sunday, he reiterated how important the accomplishment means for the team and where they're headed, taking the credit away from himself and putting all onto the team.

"For me, it's just another accomplishment. Biggest thing for me is just understanding that it's bigger than me. This is a testament to the things that we were working on in the offseason. It's a testament to a lot of guys who wanted to buy in and understand what we had to do this year. Especially [with] where we were last year and how we were getting better in certain situations. It's one of the things we want to strive to get better at and now it's coming to fruition."

That is the type of attitude any team would be lucky to have in their star players; the Seahawks are just fortunate to have gotten one of the best ones in recent memory with Mafe.

DK Metcalf set up special teams to get the win

Although he deserves credit for being the leading receiver in Sunday's game, recording 7/12 receptions for 98 yards, the part of his performance that simply cannot be ignored is his two crucial catches on what would be the final drive of the game.

After the Commanders matched the Seahawks' touchdown to tie the game at 26, Seattle got the ball back with just 52 seconds remaining. The offense started on their own 25-yard line and needed to get at least within field goal range to get the well-earned victory at home.

Metcalf ensured that happened by first converting on a third and four with a 17-yard reception. He followed that up with another, but this time for 27 yards. It allowed Jason Myers to kick a 43-yard field goal to win the game with just three seconds left on the clock.

And we know how the rest of the story goes.

It was the exact time that Metcalf needed to bring the spark to the offense, and without it, the game likely would have headed into overtime.

No run game last week? Kenneth Walker made sure that wasn't the case two games in a row

It's never a good sign when a team cannot depend on their run game, especially when they have a great running back like Kenneth Walker III on their roster. That's the unfortunate situation the Seahawks dealt with last week against the Ravens, as the team totaled a minuscule 28 yards on 15 carries.

Some of that was certainly attributed to the problematic performance by the offensive line, which impacted much of the game overall, but that changed on Sunday with a stellar performance by the group in Seattle. Their protection and blocking allowed Walker to total 19 carries for 63 yards, while the entire run game recorded 26 carries for 120 yards, a significant upgrade from just one week ago.

And then there's the insane 64-yard touchdown by Walker in the third quarter to put the Seahawks in the lead once again. The fake handoff started the play, but with no receivers appearing open, Walker ran through the linemen and became a wide-open target for Smith to throw to.

The play went so well that Walker was able to avert all tackles straight into the end zone, redeeming himself for a forgettable performance last week.

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