JOHN CLAYTON

Clayton: The rich get richer as Seahawks get WR Josh Gordon back

Dec 4, 2020, 4:08 PM

Seahawks WR Josh Gordon...

The Seahawks have another Pro Bowler on the roster with WR Josh Gordon reinstated. (AP)

(AP)

The return of Josh Gordon from suspension is an example of the rich just getting richer for the Seahawks.

Heaps: Josh Gordon will contribute right away for the Seahawks

Gordon won’t be available until the Week 16 game against the Los Angeles Rams. That strengthens offense for the most important remaining regular season game and gives them another weapon for the playoffs. The Seahawks arguably have the best one-two duo at wide receiver with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. David Moore is solid as the third receiver. It didn’t help that the Seahawks got nothing out of Phillip Dorsett, who would be a fast candidate as a third receiver. But Gordon can now fill the void and make this a great four-man receiving core. Freddie Swain has done some good things in his rookie year as well.

Where Gordon will help is on third down. Last year, he was great on slant routes that produced first downs. Though his numbers weren’t great, he proved his value. Russell Wilson likes him and was excited when he found out that Gordon was coming back.

As long as everyone stays healthy, Gordon takes the number of Seahawks who have been to the Pro Bowl to a dozen. That puts them among the seven most talented teams in the league. Plus, that number will grow. Though fans only account for a third of the Pro Bowl votes, the Seahawks are getting great attention. Metcalf is second to DeAndre Hopkins in NFC wide receiver voting. He’s third overall for receivers. Lockett is in eight place overall for receivers and fifth in the NFC.

It’s pretty safe to say that Russell Wilson, Jamal Adams, Bobby Wagner should make it. Duane Brown has a chance. Michael Dickson is battling Los Angeles’ Johnny Hekker as the top punter. Quandre Diggs has the third-most votes at free safety. Nick Bellore is No. 1 on special teams.

The vote comes at a time that the Seahawks is in a four-game stretch against some of the worst teams in football. Though some criticized the Seahawks for winning the game against the Philadelphia Eagles by only six point, this really was a 13-point win that the lead shortened at the end by a rare Hail Mary. That’s right numbers can sometimes be deceiving.

Statistically, this four-game stretch comes against four of the seven worst offenses in the league. The New York Giants come to town with backup quarterback Colt McCoy. Daniel Jones is doubtful with a hamstring injury. What’s interesting is the Giants and the Washington Football team are in the top-10 for defensive stats. Philadelphia is No. 9 but they look like a top 10 defense. The Giants are 10th but they have played such an easy schedule. If you look at their schedule, they have played only three games against teams with winning records. They are 0-3 in those games.

They have played Ben Roethlisberger, Jimmy Garoppolo and Tom Brady, but that’s about it. In the next four games, they play Russell Wilson, Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson. They probably won’t stay top 10.

But that’s the NFC East. If Jones doesn’t play Sunday, the NFC East have three teams using backup or third quarterbacks. The only quarterback who started the season opener and remains the starter is Carson Wentz and that could change if he continues to play as one of the worst quarterbacks in football.

So far, the NFC East is 4-20-1 in out of division games. No one in the division has beaten a winning team. The NFC East is 0-17 against winning teams. The Seahawks have a big advantage in this four-game stretch. They just have to not play down to the competition.

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