For Pete's Sake: 5 critical observations from the Seahawks Week 8 win

It's always a good week when you add another win on the season, and the Seattle Seahawks accomplished that while rocking the '90s throwbacks, right?

The uniforms were undoubtedly the icing on the cake of a nice win to keep the streak going. To make the victory even more splendid, the reigning NFC West champions continued their losing streak on Sunday, getting taken down by the Bengals in San Francisco, sliding the Seahawks into first place in the division.

That put the win over the top, but not everything was sunshine and roses at Lumen Field on Sunday afternoon. Some of the issues that have haunted the team all season long were present again in this game, leading to bigger disasters if they continue the rest of the way.

However, with the bad was plenty of good as well, which is far better than what it could've been.

The return of ol' reliable Tyler Lockett

After a quiet game against the Cardinals last week, Tyler Lockett returned to his usual self and became Geno Smith's go-to guy again in Week 8. The longtime Seahawk was clutch throughout the game, even scoring the second touchdown of the day to push their lead even further.

Despite the questions surrounding the Browns heading into this game, their secondary has been a big part of their defensive success outside of Myles Garrett, and Lockett did not let that stop him from ending the day as the leading receiver for Seattle.

In this game, he recorded 8/9 receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown. It ties his season high for catches made and second this season in yards.

It was a good awakening of one of the most reliable players in the game, especially when your most prominent receiver, DK Metcalf, just returned from missing a game due to injury. This was the perfect comeback for Lockett and proved he should be utilized more as the season progresses.

Geno Smith's inconsistency needs to become less consistent

A concerning part of the Seahawks' success this season continues to surround the consistent inconsistency of Geno Smith. It's not anything new per se, but the turnovers and questionable decisions seem to come at the most inopportune times, which could put the team in much worse situations against tougher opponents in the weeks ahead.

The two interceptions against the Browns resulted in just three points scored, but the near-fumble that Smith was able to recover and a fortunately avoided third interception didn't provide much confidence in the quarterback moving on to next week.

Besides the usual pressure that any quarterback or team is under when the team is winning, there's more pressure on Smith and the Seahawks now that they have become the leaders of the NFC West. In order to keep their spot at the top, they'll have to clean up a lot of their game, which starts with Smith.

Turnovers are bound to happen in any game by any quarterback; it's inevitable. But Smith has now thrown five picks in the last five games and is just five shy from his 2022 season total of 11. That won't cut it against teams with better defenses in the coming weeks.

The emphasis on ball security needs to continue this week and isn't limited to just Smith. He needs to be prioritized, though, because he is the quarterback and is committing the most turnovers. And that simply will not cut it in the remaining nine games.

Myles Garrett, who?

Perhaps the most intimidating aspect of playing the Cleveland Browns nowadays is knowing the offense will have to figure out a way to control one of the best pass rushers in the league, Myles Garrett.

There's a reason he continues to be a menace every season since he was drafted, and there's a reason why opposing offenses have difficulty slowing him down.

Fortunately for Geno Smith, the offensive line did above and beyond their job on Sunday afternoon and kept Garrett away from the quarterback until the fourth quarter.

It would be the Browns' only sack of the day, for a loss of six yards, and other than keeping Garrett at bay, the offensive line did a phenomenal job keeping Smith upright throughout as well. The Cleveland defense managed to get to the quarterback just three times in four quarters, an unexpected accomplishment by the Seahawks' o-line.

With guys like Aaron Donald, Nick Bosa, and Micah Parsons on the schedule in the weeks ahead, this may be a good indication of how well-prepared the line is to protect Smith in those games. Some may say their performance was a fluke, but Garrett has a total of 7.5 sacks on the season and is in the race for DPOY again, so it seems unfair to say it was anything but a fantastic performance against a great defender.

Ball security continues to rear its ugly head

Much like the issues of turnovers last week, the Seahawks could not get out of their own way this week either.

Other than the two interceptions thrown by Smith, which was almost three, the quarterback was lucky to have recovered his own fumble as well. Fortunately, the first pick didn't lead to any points, as it occurred with just 22 seconds remaining until halftime.

But that fate changed the second time around, as Cleveland was able to make a field goal to put them ahead near the end of the third quarter. Considering it took the Seahawks until almost the end of the fourth to finally get more points, the second turnover could have been far more disastrous than it was.

Although they were still able to get the win despite the picks and points that came from them, the pattern of turnovers is becoming more problematic. The season is only going to get more challenging as the weeks go on, even more so now that they're at the top of their division. So, committing multiple turnovers in every game will not bode well in adding more wins the rest of the year.

Smith will need to tighten up with his decision-making and emphasize ball security even more this week as they prepare to take on the 6-2 Ravens in Baltimore next week.

There is still a lot of season left, and the path to the playoffs is becoming clearer; it would be an absolute shame if turnovers were a primary reason for detouring their way there.

Establishing the run game early was a recipe for success

Involving Kenneth Walker III early in a game is never a bad decision and is a big reason for a big play like he had on Sunday on the opening drive.

It was just the fourth play of the game, and Walker ran the football 45 yards down the field to put the offense in the red zone already. It led to the first points scored of the day, with rookie Jake Bobo running it in for a touchdown just a few plays later.

And unlike last week, when the entire run game relied on Walker alone, Zach Charbonnet also became a big contributor on the ground.

Between the two running backs, they recorded 13 carries for 119 yards while averaging 9.45 yards per carry. It was a significant upgrade from the game against the Cardinals, but it's always good when you can rely on more than just one player to get the job done.

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