Well, that was no fun. Thursday Night Football against the Green Bay Packers saw the Seattle Seahawks starting quarterback go down after not being able to score many points. The offense then went directly into the toilet. All of this made it quite difficult for Seattle's "Death Zone" defense to contain Jordan Love and the beast that is Josh Jacobs.
I mean, I feel for the defense, but sheesh, what a way to come out on the battlefield after letting the new moniker for your defense reach the masses... some of the Seahawks players may feel like they have a bit of egg on their faces, and they should. They should take it personally and go out and have a great game for the regular season home finale. The 12s and season ticket holders have to show up as well, though. It's rainy, but this isn't Minnesota, after all. This should be Seahawks football weather.
Whether you've given up hope, or hold a wait-and-see mentality, the 2024 Seattle Seahawks are still alive. The odds may not be in their favor, but each week brings new circumstances and unexpected results on the ledger. Mike Macdonald is tasked with keeping his young club focused on the task at hand, rallying them to play their best in a big moment. To do that, the defense will need to bring the swagger they've played with in spurts, as well as rely on their own central figures.
Seahawks players that must ball out to press their ascension past the Packers
The Central figures are ones that Seattle has installed of positions of importance. Many of them are battle-tested, or have shown great promise. When up against the wall, a team needs to be able to go to these leaders as steadying forces and playmakers. Coach Macdonald and his staff spent a lot of this year in evaluation mode, trying to find those guys.
This season is getting late, and it's time to see what can happen when these Seahawks are pressed against elite competition. The Minnesota Vikings are second only to the Kansas City Chiefs in win total.
Byron Murphy II - Seahawks nose tackle
When mentioning central figures earlier, the rookie defensive tackle was likely not your first thought. He is a newbie coming into his own in a new environment, but there is nobody more centrally located (in a physical sense) in this Seahawks defense. In a battle of the second-iteration Byron Murphy's (Minnesota has Byron Murphy Jr. at cornerback), BMII should be able to take advantage of what one could consider less than stellar guard play from the Vikings this season.
Byron Murphy II of the Seattle Seahawks mentioned that the Minnesota Vikings were on him, showing interest in him during the lead-up to the draft. It's time for BMIII to be all on the Vikes. Now would be an incredibly well-timed opportunity to start making splash plays (as many more as can be created by a nose guard). The presence of Leonard Williams could allow both of them to create some ghosts in Sam Darnold's head.
Riq Woolen - Seahawks cornerback
The player formerly known as Tariq Woolen was in people's minds for letting the Packers win in Lumen. He let up some passes, had poor tackling effort, and was a big easy target in highlighter green. This man is blazingly fast and uncommonly long, by God! His rollercoaster play is tough because fans all love him and have seen his potential.
There have been times when Woolen has shined this year, shutting down passing attacks and demoralizing veteran wideouts (remember Calvin Ridley in joint practices?). Those types of services will be of utmost importance against arguably the best wide receiver in the game right now: Justin Jefferson. Jordan Addison on the other side, and T.J. Hockenson at tight end are dangerous as well. Riq the freak has to show up and show out to stop Darnold and his cache of weapons.
Geno Smith - Seahawks quarterback
Geno Smith's efficiency metrics have not been great this season, plain and simple. He's had stretches of leading the league in pass volume, but his quarterback rating and passer rating have fallen off each year since his comeback Player of the Year award.
Now, how much does having a makeshift offensive line play into the equation? Well, Seattle fans were 'treated' to a display of an offense in shambles with Sam Howell in after Geno was injured. Howell was sacked four times against his five completions in relief duty. Maybe Smith has mitigated some of that?
Something to note: defensive coordinator, Brian Flores and the Vikings defense bring the blitz at the 2nd (and for a time, the top) highest rate in the league. Combine that with the fact that Seattle's offensive line is third worst in pressure rate makes this a scary matchup. We are officially in the closing arguments section of Geno Smith's case to be in Seattle next year, ladies and gentlemen.
Having to navigate one of the better defenses in the league will be an interesting backdrop of evaluation, I'm quite sure. He'll need to get the ball out quickly and take calculated shots on Sunday. He may even need to run for his life.