Mike Macdonald hinted at increasing Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III's usage leading up to Week 12's game against the lowly Tennessee Titans, and that proved to be the case. Macdonald stated that Walker was showing he was earning more opportunities to get the ball, and today, Walker is fresh off his second consecutive 100+-yard game from scrimmage.
It was a matchup the Seahawks had to have, especially after they dropped their last game to division rival the Los Angeles Rams in a frustrating fashion. All week, through practices and press conferences, bouncing back the right way was the theme, and even though it wasn't a perfect game, Seattle left Tennessee with a win.
Sam Darnold was good, but not great. Jaxon Smith-Njigba was not good, but great. Seattle's defense was shorthanded, but solid. And as for Walker? Well, he was excellent in a game that needed his impact, and Seattle will continue to need him down the road.
Kenneth Walker III showcased why the Seahawks should have leaned on him earlier in the season
In one of the other statements Macdonald made last week, he mentioned how explosive Walker can be with the ball in his hands. In week 11, against the Rams, Walker had 16 carries for 67 yards and added 44 yards on three receptions for a total of 111 yards.
It was Walker's first game with 100 or more yards combined rushing and receiving since Seattle's Week 4 game against the Arizona Cardinals.
Walker accumulated 81 rushing and 29 receiving yards in that game for a total of 110 yards, which was just two games removed from a 105-yard rushing game in Week 2. After the Cardinals, Walker went relatively quiet for several weeks, while Darnold and the Seahawks' passing attack hogged the spotlight.
Then the Rams game arrived — Walker was excellent — and now, a week later, he again was excellent. He rushed for 71 yards and caught three balls for 30 yards, finishing the game with 101 yards in total. Now, Walker still hasn't rushed for over 100 yards alone since Week 2, and still hasn't reached that mark in his last two, better games of the season.
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That being said, Walker's impact over the last two weeks has been anything but disappointing. Clearly, if you give him the ball, whether in the backfield or downfield, Walker can make things happen, as was evident by his explosive running on Sunday. Walker had runs of 19, 11, and 15 yards against the Titans.
Would it have been nice to top that off with an endzone celebration? Sure, of course. Zach Charbonnet cemented Seattle's 74-yard drive with a touchdown, but Walker's involvement on the drive was by far the highlight. After the game, Macdonald praised his running backs for their impact on the offense, specifically highlighting Walker's explosiveness.
"I thought [Walker] did a great job," Macdonald said. "It was great to see Zach (Charbonnet) punch it in the red zone. We wanted to run. Those guys played well together. Thought they protected the quarterback well. We caught it well out of the backfield. I felt Ken (Walker) today. He made some explosive plays for us, which was great."
Interestingly enough, Macdonald wanted to run in this game. Did he not want to run earlier in the season? It should be fair to speculate why now was the time Macdonald chose to key in on Walker's involvement. Perhaps it's because, before a few weeks ago, Darnold was showing minimal, if any, signs of unsettlement under center.
Seattle's offense was lighting up defenses almost every week, with a handful of blowouts along the way. There was no real need to rely on the run game. Now, things have shifted, and Darnold is throwing more interceptions, causing more turnovers, and while he still looks relatively good, he doesn't look as dominant as he did.
It makes sense — when you have something that's firing on all cylinders, why mess with that? Simultaneously, would it have brought a severe detriment to the Seahawks' offense had Walker been used more even while Darnold was firing darts?
Nevertheless, Walker has now strung together two solid performances, and it's changing Seattle's offense for the better. The trick is not to run away from it, but to keep running with it.