The Seattle Seahawks looked every bit the defending champions as they routed the Cardinals after a close first half. The 31-7 victory was clearly a team effort, but it wouldn't have happened without these three players on the rise. Well, not as easily as it did.
Arizona gave Seattle everything they wanted in the first half. Well, a lot more than they wanted, obviously. With the score tied at 7-7, I'm sure I wasn't the only 12 who was concerned heading into the second half. I shouldn't have been worried, though. Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur came into the game with his own concerns. Smart man, LaFleur.
Trey McBride had five catches for 28 yards in the first half. It seemed that every time the Cardinals needed to move the chains, McBride got the nod. And he had the Cards only score as well.
These three players are on the rise for the Seattle Seahawks
As it turns out, McBride wasn't able to pad his stats in the second half. He only had three catches for 13 yards after that TD. As great as the Seahawks' defense was, especially in the second half, much of the credit goes to these rising stars on Seattle's offensive side of the ball.
Emanuel Wilson
Last week, Wilson was on the naughty list. In Week 1, he had three yards on two carries. That's not good. Maybe he read my comment? Nah - but he did transform from Eddie Lacy into Beastmode.
Well, close enough. 92 yards on 21 carries is just what the Seahawks envisioned when they signed him. When Jadarian Price went out with a chest injury, Wilson picked up 69 of his yards. With all signs pointing to an early return by Zach Charbonnet, the Seattle backfield looks like it's in great shape.
Drew Lock
It sure looks like Lock's fourth-quarter performance last week was the true picture of his talent, doesn't it? Once again, the former second-round pick looked like that draft spot was right on target - just like he was in this game. He threw for three touchdowns, all to this kid named Jackson, or Jason, or something like that.
Yes, Jaxon Smith-Njigba could probably make Dan McGwire look like a serviceable QB - okay, not really - but Lock was every bit an NFL starting quarterback in this game. Seattle better hope Jalen Milroe is ready next year, because Drew is gonna make bank in 2027 at a new address.
Drake Thomas
According to analyst Chris Myers, Mike Macdonald called Thomas the smartest football player he's ever coached. I couldn't track that quote down, but Macdonald did say, "...he’s the same guy every day. He’s 100%.
He’s all in. He’s got attention to detail. He understands adjustments, understands game plans." That's from Bob Condotta in the Seattle Times, back in October of last season. After Thomas came through with seven tackles for the Seahawks in this win, I can't say Macdonald is wrong.
To say this team is loaded is a gross understatement. When you realize that Sam Darnold has only been on the field for five snaps, Charbonnet and Okada haven't played a single down, and Nick Emmanwori has been limited, the Seahawks are a scary team.
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