Lessons from the Seahawks’ 29–26 victory over the Commanders

After losing to the Baltimore Ravens on the road last week, the Seattle Seahawks were in dire need of a strong comeback game.

Even though Sunday’s performance against the Washington Commanders wasn’t flawless, Seattle’s 29-26 victory left enough encouraging signs to suggest that things are starting to turn around.

“I felt like just to get a win coming back after last week, felt like we did a lot of uncharacteristic things in that last game, and it was important for us to kind of get back to who we are today, and I felt like we did that,” Geno Smith, the quarterback, said.

Smith completed the game with a career-high 369 yards and two touchdowns through the air, including his third game-winning drive of the season in the fourth quarter or overtime. In Seattle’s Week 2 overtime victory over the Detroit Lions and two weeks prior, in the final seconds of the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Browns, he also spearheaded game-winning drives.

Regarding Smith’s final-quarter performance, head coach Pete Carroll remarked, “I thought he was almost perfect, all but maybe once perfect.” “He had to think of throws, calls, poise, cadence, running the club, and everything else. He was flawless. He seemed to me to be exactly what we would hope to see in him.”

Even though they aren’t a great team, the Commanders are a fun team with four wins and two close games against the Philadelphia Eagles in their losses. Seattle’s offense didn’t find its rhythm until much later in the second half, but Smith and team still managed to secure the victory they required and boost their confidence with how they finished the game.

What we learned from Sunday’s victory over the Commanders is as follows:

The Seahawks’ offensive gets going in the second half.

Despite a sluggish start and a few errors, Seattle’s offense turned things around with a strong second half performance.

After the half, Smith completed 15 of 20 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns. The Seahawks offense appeared to be broken open by Ken Walker III’s 64-yard catch-and-run touchdown, which also contributed to the team’s second-half surge.

“It was a lift because we have been fighting every step of the way,” Carroll stated. “In order to enjoy ourselves and feel it, a significant event was required. He delivered a fantastic performance.”

Walker received a dump pass from Smith and quickly advanced up the field, gaining crucial blocks from Tyler Lockett and Jake Bobo to make room for him to enter the end zone. The touchdown play surpassed Drew Lock’s 51-yard pass to Noah Fant in the Seahawks’ victory over the New York Giants to become the team’s longest play of the season.

Walker stated, “I think that was good for our momentum.” On offense, we haven’t been performing as well as we would have liked. That was good, in my opinion, and practicing helped us to come together as a team during the week.”

The Seahawks scored on their next three possessions, including a 5-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Lockett and a flawlessly executed seven-play, 50-yard drive that resulted in the game-winning field goal in the final 52 seconds. Over the last two drives, Smith completed 9 of 12 passes for 100 yards passing.

Will Dissly, the tight end, said, “This was a good test.” “To simply come on out here and play until the end of the fourth quarter. This demonstrates the type of guys who use our locker room. In particular, after the game we played earlier. We should be proud of our guys for winning every quarter. Big shoutout to DK [Metcalf] for making those catches in overtime. And [Jason Myers] too.”

Speaking of Myers…

After a sluggish start to the season, Jason Myers produced the game-winning kick.

Out of the six field goals Jason Myers has attempted this season, three have been missed. However, Myers has returned to the dependable kicker the Seahawks trust after that unimpressive start to the season.

On Sunday, Myers made all five of his field goals and two attempts at extra points, including the game-winning 43-yard field goal with seconds remaining to give the Seahawks a 29-26 lead.

Carroll remarked, “Jason Myers had a great day today.” “The five field goals under pressure, not just the five field goals overall. He needed some pressure kicks today, and Mikey and Chris Stoll made it happen for him to work flawlessly to complete the kicks. For Jason, today is fantastic. He’s going to be essential. He will be essential to us in the final stages. He needed a confidence boost, and this game helped by reminding us of who he is.”

In the last seven games the Seahawks have played, Myers has made 17 of his last 18 field goals. The only turnover occurred on a 53-yard field goal against the Giants, which was narrowly missed to the left. In total, he has made 12 of his previous field goal attempts.

Myers stated, “I try to keep it all the same.” “You know you get better at prioritizing things by experiencing various situations and kicks. However, that is the reality of being an NFL kicker. Those are the situations that you will encounter. It’s fun because I love those kinds of situations.”

After a difficult start to the season, Carroll expressed his confidence that Myers would turn things around, saying that Myers has earned the team’s trust.

“He’s the real deal, and he’s a great kicker, and shoot, he showed you again today,” Carroll stated. “It doesn’t mean that everyone succeeds in life. He’s an incredible player, but they have ups and downs as well as occasional misses. Eventually, you have to battle your way back to your former self.”

– Boye Mafe and Devon Witherspoon, two of Seattle’s rising stars on defense, keep producing.

Two of the Seahawks’ young defenders are still playing very well.

Boye Mafe set a new franchise record by sacking Sam Howell in the third quarter. This made it his seventh straight game with a sack. The record was previously held by Michael Sinclair, who had sacks in six straight games between the final games of the 1997 campaign and the first four games of the 1998 campaign.

Mafe has one sack in all seven games, for a total of seven for the year.

“Seven in a row? “I am truly proud of him, even though I have no idea how the heck you do that,” Carroll remarked. We’ve talked a lot this season about his development and the real change from year one to year two, so it’s clear that he’s playing with the big boys now. Up there, he has the opportunity to assemble an incredible season. He’s had an amazing season so far. incredibly enthused for him in that sense.

In the fourth quarter, Mafe came dangerously close to having another sack of Howell on what ultimately proved to be Washington’s game-tying play. A strong pass rush around right tackle resulted in Mafe getting in Howell’s face, but he managed to get the throw away, as Howell’s pass fell perfectly into the hands of running back Antonio Gibson for a 19-yard touchdown.

“This is a testament to the things that we’re working on in the offseason,” Mafe stated. It’s evidence of the many guys who wanted to support and comprehend what we were going to do this year. Particularly considering where we were a year ago and how we’re improving in certain circumstances. It’s something we want to work on improving, and it’s starting to happen now.”

In the third quarter, Witherspoon also caused another turnover when he forced Howell to give up the ball during a scramble. After a 15-yard scramble, Witherspoon and safety Quandre Diggs held up Howell, who then ripped the ball from his grasp. Howell was still off the ground, suspended on Diggs, when the ball broke free.

“I was aware of that. Even before they called that, I was having a party. About the misstep, Witherspoon remarked, “I already knew.”

Along with his three pass breakups for the day, Witherspoon also came dangerously close to interception on a pass meant for Terry McLaurin.

He was fully aware of the predicament he was in. The quarterback is with me,” Carroll declared. “He was held up by me. I have an opportunity. He simply outwitted him to win the football, and he successfully removed it. The play was excellent. However, I believe that some of the pass breakups may have been directed towards McLaurin as well, challenging him from the beginning. He’s all over him, makes a play on one of the opening passes of the game. We’re fortunate to have him on our team as he keeps proving to be a very special football player.”