Seahawks Quick Hits: Tyler Lockett shows he’s still Seattle’s top dog at WR
Sep 27, 2020, 6:07 PM | Updated: 8:23 pm
Seahawks WR Tyler Lockett had 100 yards and three TDs against the Cowboys. (Getty)
(Getty)
OK, everyone can breathe. The “Heart Attack Hawks” showed up – mostly in the second half – but the Seahawks are 3-0 after beating the Dallas Cowboys 38-31 at home in Week 3.
Seahawks 38, Cowboys 31 | Instant Reaction | Injury updates on Adams, Carson
As you’d expect from a score like that, Seattle’s offense was good and the defense, not so much. Let’s take a look at some quick takeaways from Sunday’s tight contest.
The Wilson-Lockett connection can’t be understated
Nine catches, 100 yards and three touchdowns. What a great day at the office for Tyler Lockett, who showed, like Michael Bumpus said on Friday, that he is still the Seahawks’ No. 1 wide receiver.
Good things come in 3s. 😉
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/UqewNZVduL
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) September 27, 2020
Lockett got things started for the Seahawks on offense, scoring each of their first three touchdowns, all in the first half. Wilson looked to him early and often, and he was big in the red zone and when Seattle desperately needed a first down late.
Lockett’s great day was especially needed as DK Metcalf cost the team a touchdown by slowing up ahead of the end zone on a would-be 63-yard touchdown. Instead, rookie corner Trevon Diggs punched the ball out of the back of the end zone and the Cowboys got the ball back.
DK Metcalf fumbles the score away after TOASTING Trevon Diggs
— PFF (@PFF) September 27, 2020
Metcalf would wind up scoring the game-winning touchdown and finishing the day with more yards than Lockett, but the veteran had five more catches and five more targets than the second-year player.
Metcalf is still playing great but Lockett is clearly still the top dog in the wide receiver room.
Run D is 3/3 this year
I wasn’t sold on the Seahawks’ run defense after two weeks. I thought their success against the run was due in large part to the circumstances surrounding those two contests, as Seattle’s offense was so dynamic that teams were forced to air it out to keep up or try and catch up.
Well, the Cowboys still put up a ton of yards through the air (more on that soon), but the Seahawks absolutely shut down the run in Week 3.
Todd Gurley and the Falcons ran for just 72 yards on 21 tries in Week 1, and the Patriots had 25 carries for 67 yards last week. This week, Ezekiel Elliott and the Cowboys had only 61 yards on 21 attempts.
Elliott had 14 carries for 34 yards and a short touchdown, good for just 2.9 yards per carry, and was also stopped in the end zone early for a safety.
Gurley and the Patriots’ backfield don’t compare to Elliott. He’s a multi-time rushing champion and regularly puts up big numbers. Keeping him in check is another win for a Seattle defense that has a lot of problems elsewhere, such as …
Pass D? Not so much
Another week, another 400-yard passer allowed by the Seahawks.
Matt Ryan threw for 450 yards in Week 1, Cam Newton got close to the 400 mark with 397 yards through the air in Week 2, and this week Dak Prescott had 472 passing yards. Not great.
Again, a lot of these numbers have to do with what the Seahawks’ offense is forcing opponents to do. But this is a secondary that was looked at as the potential Legion of Boom 2.0 heading into the season. Instead, they’re lucky they’re playing with maybe the NFL’s best offense because late in this game, they really struggled to stop the Cowboys’ aerial attack and gave up a ton of explosive plays.
We're up for the Gall-UP TD! @michael13gallup for 6
Watch now on @NFLonFOX #DALvsSEA pic.twitter.com/XgfrRz83Ga— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) September 27, 2020
Quinton Dunbar was out of the Week 3 contest with a knee injury and Marquise Blair is done for the season with a torn ACL, but the Seahawks are high on Tre Flowers and Ugo Amadi. Both made some plays in Week 3, but that unit allowed a lot of yards again and allowed the Cowboys to get back into the game despite being down 15 in the third quarter.
Something to monitor is All-Pro safety Jamal Adams left the game with a groin injury and it’s unclear what his and Dunbar’s status is going forward. Regardless, this is a group that needs to gel fast. And it’s not just the secondary but also the linebackers and, of course, the pass rush.
Seattle did force three Prescott turnovers, so it wasn’t all bad as far as the pass defense goes, but there is certainly reason to be concerned. Luckily, Seattle gets a better matchup next week when they travel to Miami to take on the 1-2 Dolphins.
Rookie DE Alton Robinson shows up
After being a healthy scratch for the first two weeks of the season, rookie defensive end Alton Robinson looked like someone the Seahawks will be leaning on going forward.
He was around the football, recording tackles and tackles for loss early on, and also had some nice wins rushing Prescott. But it was in the fourth quarter where the rookie came up big, sacking Prescott with less than 20 seconds left and forcing the Cowboys to burn their final timeout.
In the final seconds of the game, rookie Alton Robinson records his first NFL sack! 👏
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/4y2IQoveWP
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) September 28, 2020
The very next play, Prescott threw a game-ending interception to Ryan Neal in the end zone.
Pass rush was a question mark entering the year and Robinson flashed in his first game. Some will point to the Cowboys’ banged-up offensive line but Robinson was maybe Seattle’s most effective pass rusher.
It was a great first showing from the fifth-round pick, and with guys like Bruce Irvin and fellow rookie Darrell Taylor out of action, Robinson could make a name for himself with more performances like this one. His final line: three tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack and one quarterback hit.
Russ is cooking
I’ll keep this short and sweet.
Through three games, Wilson has 925 passing yards and 14 touchdowns to just one interception. The 14 touchdowns in the first three weeks of the season is an NFL record, and the pick wasn’t his fault.
.@DangeRussWilson setting records today ❗️#GoHawks x #DALvsSEA pic.twitter.com/ZMfgx7wyLb
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) September 27, 2020
He’s never received an MVP vote, but it looks like the award could be coming to Seattle for the first time since running back Shaun Alexander won it in 2005.
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