JOHN CLAYTON
Clayton: Why Seahawks are trending up going into their bye week
There were a lot of crazy of opinions and analysis before the 31-7 Seahawks win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
Seahawks Trade Deadline: Who they could move or add
Oddsmakers went against the Seahawks. They were 3 1/2 point favorites – only 3 1/2. Think about that.
Teams usually get three points just for being at home, and the Seahawks crowd at Lumen Field is one of the best in football. Some consider home field in Seattle worth as much as four or five points. In other words, Vegas was thinking the Jaguars and Seahawks were even. Crazy.
Even crazier was that some national analysts said the Seahawks without Russell Wilson were less talented than the Jags. Are you kidding me?
On Sunday, the Seahawks showed they were at least 24 points better than a team that has only won one game in the past two years. The win only got Seattle’s record to 3-5, but a lot of good things happened.
• Geno Smith was great at quarterback. He completed his first 14 passes and finished 20 of 24 for 195 yards. He targeted Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf 19 times, completing 18 passes for 185 yards combined to the star wide receivers.
• The Jaguars’ defensive game plan was totally predictable. Cornerback Shaquill Griffin was going to go against Metcalf, and that opened up Lockett to Jacksonville’s lesser defensive backs. As a result, Lockett caught 12 passes for 142 yards.
• The Jaguars’ defense is terrible. They have two Pro Bowl players – Griffin and linebacker Josh Allen – and little else. The Seahawks just carved up that defense.
• The Seahawks did well in the secondary. Cornerbacks D.J. Reed, Sidney Jones and Tre Brown did great in coverage. Jaguars receiver Marvin Jones had only 35 yards on five catches. After a while, all quarterback Trevor Lawrence could do is throw screens to tight end Dan Arnold.
• Despite his talent, Lawrence wasn’t able to get the ball downfield. His longest completion was for 17 yards, and that was to running back James Robinson, who suffered an ankle injury in the first quarter and was out the rest of the game.
• The numbers didn’t add up to what we watched. Seattle sacked Lawrence only once and had seven quarterback hits, but the Seahawks’ defense pounded him the entire game.
• What will be interesting is to see if the Seahawks do a contract extension with safety Quandre Diggs. He continues to be the best player in the secondary for creating turnovers. His interception Sunday makes him the only NFL player with three or more picks in each of the past five seasons.
• The Seahawks’ offensive line did a great job. Ethan Pocic did well getting the start at center. Duane Brown fought through his illness and played well. Damian Lewis is back and playing well at left guard.
• The Seahawks go into their bye week thinking that running back Chris Carson, wide receiver D’Wayne Eskridge and maybe Russell Wilson can all be back after the bye for their next game on Nov. 14 in Green Bay.
• One thing to follow is the health of Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray. He suffered an ankle injury that could keep him out 1-3 weeks. If it does keep him out three weeks, he might not be able to play against the Seahawks on Nov. 21.
Pete Carroll Show: Seahawks are “getting better at what we’re doing”
