The Seattle Seahawks changed their identity once again, as they came storming out on offense for the first few drives, then had to come back in the final seconds to overtake the Browns. While both units had serious lapses, the offense and defense saw some true studs come through in key moments.
There's a saying that's often reported as an ancient Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times." As with so many adages, that origin isn't exactly true. In fact, it's not even close - at least not according to the great site, The Quote Investigator. As can best be determined, the true originator was British statesman Joseph Chamberlain. He said this in a speech in 1898: "We are living in most interesting times...which brought us also...new objects for anxiety." Yes, I chopped it up quite a bit, but you can go read the entire quote yourself. You came here for Seahawks football, not etymology.
I bring up the phrase because - well obviously, these are very interesting times for the 12s, and often filled with anxiety. No game illustrated that more clearly than the Seattle Seahawks win over the Cleveland Browns in Week 8. The Hawks got off to an incredibly fast start, racing off to a 14-0 lead over the NFL's number-one-ranked defense. That ranking was in yardage allowed, not points, by the way. And then came the anxiety, as over the next 35 minutes and 38 seconds, Seattle managed just one field goal while allowing Cleveland to take the lead. Interesting and anxious, indeed.
The Seattle Seahawks featured about two dozen studs in this game
Seriously, it's easier to say who didn't come up with a key play in this game than single out a few star performers. Still, I have to start somewhere, so let me get rolling with a few honorable mentions. I've been quite critical of Darrell Taylor's play up until last week. Listen, when you have six tackles and zero pressures in 156 snaps, you're not exactly balling. That's what Taylor had done up until last week's fine game versus the Cardinals. He had another sack today on the Borwn's penultimate play. It was a big moment, and he deserves his props.
I'm going to add Geno Smith here. Before the final minutes of the game, I was going to list Smith as a stud for his first quarter, then a dud for the remainder of the game. Let's talk about that dud section first. He threw two picks and nearly had a third. The first interception was clearly on Smith. As Lee Vowell wrote in his quick analysis after the game, Geno locked in on DK Metcalf on the play - one the Hawks had already run at that - so it was an easy move for Browns cornerback Martin Emerson to cut off the route.
The second pick wasn't much better, as he not only threw behind his intended target Noah Fant, but somehow didn't see that 6'2", 290-pound defensive tackle Maruce Hurst was in the passing lane. Smith missed on a few other passes as well and was a big reason the Seahawks only converted one 4 of 12 third downs.
Okay, now that we have that out of the way, Seattle wouldn't have been in position for a comeback win if Geno Smith hadn't been masterful on the Hawks first two drives. He was 6 of 8 for 78 yards and just about the prettiest touchdown pass you'll ever see for the Hawks second score of the game. Smith then took most of the game off, as indicated above, until he drove the team 57 yards on five plays to win the game. Five plays, five passes, 57 yards, one win. I can't exactly say Geno Smith was a stud considering a few of his mistakes, but he certainly wasn't a dud on the Seahawks scoring drives, either.
On offense, I saw one stud and a quartet of honorable mentions
My honorable mentions are the two guys who scored Seattle's first and last touchdowns. Yes, I'm sure a lot of 12s would say they were the studs. As I've often argued myself: scoreboard. I get it, and I wouldn't argue your point. Yes, Jake Bobo made a great play, cutting inside on the designed sweep to put Seattle on the board first. Other than that, he had two catches. Yes, he was great, but other players did more. I'd argue the same for Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Yes, I know, I know, it was only the winning score. But as he said himself, Geno Smith threw the ball, and without DK Metcalf's block, he wouldn't have gotten in. Listen, they both made exceptional plays, and made the most of their opportunities.
My other two honorable mentions are Seahawks running backs Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet. Neither had many carries; Walker had 8 for 66 yards, Charbonnet 5 for 53. But it was Walker's 45-yard run on the Hawks first drive that put them in the red zone for Bobo's eventual score. And Charbonnet was more than just a change of pace back, or a breather for Walker. He had two runs over 20 yards himself. The Hawks duo combined for 119 yards rushing. The balance they provided the offense was just as important as the offensive line in limiting the Browns defense to just one sack on the day.
My stud for the offense is the reliable one himself, Tyler Lockett. On the first Seahawks drive, he caught three balls for 30 yards and two first downs. On the Hawks second drive, Smith connected with Lockett twice for 29 yards. That accounted for another first down and the aforementioned touchdown pass of beauty. For once, Lockett didn't have to catch the ball a millimeter above the turf or drop his toes two microns from the sideline. Just an easy catch for a 14-0 Seahawks lead. He caught three more balls for 22 yards in all, including the first catch of the game-winning drive. Overall, Lockett led Seattle with 8 catches on 9 targets for 81 points and the touchdown.
The studs of the Seahawks defense came through
The Hawks defense bent and even broke a few times, but that doesn't mean they didn't have some studs lining up across from the Browns. I do have to mention that for the first time in several games, the Seattle run defense looked far too porous. Cleveland piled up 155 yards on the ground, the most the Hawks have allowed all season. That's a bit alarming, as Seattle came into the game ranked third in fewest yards per carry (3.5). The performance wasn't terrible, as it took the Browns 40 carries, and that's an average of 3.9 yards. We'd all like to see Seattle get back to shutting down the run.
That being said, the Seahawks inside linebackers both had solid games. Bobby Wagner led the team with 13 tackles - one of those for a loss - and broke up a pass. Wagner continues to prove he remains an elite defender week after week. Jordyn Brooks added 10 tackles of his own, two quarterback hits, and a sack that forced Browns QB P.J. Walker to fumble the ball. That turnover set up Seattle's second score of the game.
Oh, and who recovered that fumble? None other than Boye Mafe, the second-year player who continues to emerge as a leader on this team. As Andrew Bailie wrote, he was absolutely one to watch this week. Mafe recorded a sack of his own for his fifth-straight game. He added eight tackles, one for a loss, and four quarterback hits. It's far too soon to say no Nwosu, no problem. In fact, I doubt we'll ever be able to say that, the arrival of Frank Clark notwithstanding. But as Mafe has been doing his thing all season, I know I feel a lot better about that loss knowing he'll continue to play as he has all year.
The secondary's performance was a bit of a mixed bag. They got burned a few too many times on missed assignments - I mean, the Hawks did give up 248 yards through the air to P.J. Walker, a guy with a career passer rating of 60.3. Then again, they did pick him off twice, The first pick was by Riq Woolen, somehow just his first of the season. The second was a tag team effort, as Jamal Adams leaped so high into Walker's passing lane that he actually headed the ball back into the arms of fellow safety Julian Love. Seattle allowed a pair of 41-yard completions, but those interceptions more than made up for them.
Well, I suppose that was the long way of saying my studs for the game were Tyler Lockett and Boye Mafe. Except I'm not quite done. I have to mention that Michael Dickson quietly boomed the ball all day, as he has all season. Listen, hardly anyone is talking about him, but if a 54.8 yard average on five punts isn't booming, what is? Two were inside the 20, one was a 67-yard monster, and the one punt that went for a touchback was a 42-yarder that missed being downed by about two feet. So yeah, Michael Dickson was definitely a stud in this one, too. Congrats to the first-place Seahawks!