The Seattle Seahawks were struggling. Not only was the team 3-3 entering Week 7, but it is easy to forget that head coach Mike Macdonald's team was 2-0 with backup quarterback Drew Lock playing instead of the injured Sam Darnold.
Since Darnold returned, the team was 1-3. Fans and national pundits had every right to ask if Darnold should still be the starter, even though Lock has never shown he can be a long-term starter in his career.
But we can put all that aside for now after Seattle defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in fairly dominant fashion. The rest of the season is still going to be tough, but the Seahawks are right back in the playoff mix after Week 7.
Knee-jerk reactions from the Seattle Seahawks' victory against the Chiefs
Sam Darnold is still making critical mistakes
As brilliant as Darnold was playing for most of the first half, just before halftime, he made a bad decision by trying to force the ball on a pass from the 3-yard line to either Jaxon Smith-Njigba or Rashid Shaheed. The players ran into each other, but that had nothing to do with the interception, as it was picked before JSN or Shaheed could have caught it.
Seattle would have almost certainly had three points on the drive, and maybe seven.Darnold threw the interception on second down.
Darnold now has eight interceptions in five games (he only played one drive in the first game and none in the second game due to a glute injury). Worse, he is throwing his interceptions at the worst times. Still, 12s know he can do better, and he might in the near future.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba is still pretty good
This isn't breaking news, of course. The shocking part is that, week after week, opposing defenses know that JSN is going to get the ball, and because of his route-running and lower-body strength, he maintains his high-level production.
At some point, the Seahawks offense will have to adjust and get other receivers involved every game. But we thought that last season, and Seattle won the Super Bowl. Maybe the only player in the NFL who can carry so much of a load for his offense is Smith-Njigba? He finished Week 7 with nine catches for 150 yards and a touchdown.
Brian Fleury is still a work in progress as an offensive coordinator
Darnold's errors can't really be blamed on Fleury, of course, but some of the offensive coordinator's decisions, especially in the red zone, are curious. This includes running the ball wide on 2nd-and-4 from the Chiefs' 6-yard line, which was easily snuffed out for a 6-yard loss. Even a run up the middle would have made more sense.
The play-call also comes in too slowly at times, forcing Darnold to check off too close to the play clock running out many times. The issue has continued for most of the season, and there is no excuse for it.
AJ Barner had his best game of the season when needed most
Barner's numbers weren't huge, but he was efficient. That includes picking up multiple first downs on tush-push plays (or Barnyard plays). Fleury was supposed to have a tight end-heavy approach, but that hasn't unfolded. Barner is good enough to be a focal point in the offense, though, and after having four catches for 42 yards, he might be for the rest of the season.
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