Three bold predictions for Seahawks' Week 7 game versus Falcons

Call me discombobulated. I thought I had a pretty good read on the 2024 Seattle Seahawks after four weeks. Even the loss in Detroit didn’t throw me. I knew these Hawks weren’t at that elite level yet, but I kind of liked how they competed. Most of all, I thought I knew how they intended to attack their opponents.

Then came the last two weeks, and, well, the discombobulation set in. My predictions had been pretty good early on. They have been atrocious of late. Like Mike Macdonald, I had to go back to the drawing board this week. Put in some extra hours. Study the film. Do some yoga. Try to reset.

No game in Week Seven is “must win.” That’s hyperbole. We have all seen teams turn it on out of nowhere somewhere in the middle of a season. But this game against Atlanta is a crucial test. Seattle doesn’t necessarily have to win. But Macdonald and company had better begin figuring out an identity. If that means loading the box and blitzing more, so be it. If that means more two-tight end sets, that's fine. Of course, Seattle wants to beat Atlanta, but even if they lose, the Hawks need to play well. They need to show what kind of team they intend to be.

Bold predictions for the Seahawks versus the Falcons in Week 7

Since I think that question – what they want to be – is very much undecided at this point – predictions are difficult. But here it goes. Here’s my best guess as to what unlikely things may happen when the Seahawks take on the Falcons this Sunday.

DK Metcalf goes off

Metcalf was targeted 11 times against the 49ers. He caught three. For the season, he is catching fewer than 60 percent of his targets, and it is getting worse. Ryan Grubb seems as much at sea as the rest of us right now. He is only paying lip service to running the ball, and he and Geno Smith appear to be force-feeding the wideouts with decreasing success. That being said, there are two basic directions Grubb can choose.

He can shift gears. Run Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet more. Throw more to the tight ends. Throw more screens. I think the Hawks have too little confidence in the offensive line to commit to that strategy. Otherwise, they would have done it by now. Alternatively, they can push all their chips to the middle of the table, betting on their best players. Geno can make hero plays. So can Metcalf.

I think this is the game where they actually do it. The Falcons’ corners are good but their defense has not been effective in pressuring the QB this year. I don’t think the Hawks' defense will be able to slow down Kirk Cousins and his talented playmakers. It will be a high-scoring game, and Metcalf will have to step up. He grabs 9 balls for over 120 yards and two TDs.

Two Falcons corners get picks

A.J. Terrell is one of the better cornerbacks in the league, but entering the game against Carolina last week, he had not had an interception since 2021. In fact, no Falcons cornerback had recorded a pick since the 2022 season. The team only had eight interceptions in 2023, and six of them came from safety Jessie Bates. Against the Panthers, both Terrell and rookie Clark Phillips intercepted Andy Dalton.

That could be because Carolina’s offense is dreadful. But I am going to stick with some sort of reversion to the mean philosophy and assume that the Falcons are long overdue. Mike Hughes should get in on the act this week. If the game is high-scoring and Geno does, in fact, throw a lot, he will make mistakes, and the Falcons secondary – specifically the interception-starved cornerbacks – will clean up a few of them.

This does not mean Geno won’t have a big day. I’m not predicting four TDs for him, but I think it is a real possibility, and if he manages it, a four TD-two interception ratio is usually good enough to win a ballgame.

The game will come down to a last second, 55+-yard field goal

In this case, such a stat line from Geno Smith might not be enough. These teams are going to score. Normally, I would suggest that red zone efficiency would be crucial in a game like this, but I think both these teams will score from distance. They won’t need to be in the red zone to put up touchdowns. And they will barely need to cross midfield to convert field goals.

Both teams will score around thirty points, and whoever has the ball last will try to manage a quick drive that puts their kicker in position to win it. The Falcons' Younghoe Koo is a master at this. The best in the league at game-winning field goals. Before hitting his only attempt against San Fran (a short one), Jason Myers had missed a kick in three straight games.

He may get a shot at redemption – just like the entire Hawks team – against the Falcons. Let’s see if both the Seahawks and I can get recombobulated this week.

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