Reaction vs. Reality after Seahawks’ 26-0 win over Chicago

Our weekly attempt at separating the knee-jerk reactions from the realities of the Seahawks’ most recent game, in this case a 26-0 win over Chicago.

Knee-jerk reaction: See, that’s what Kam Chancellor means to the Seattle’s defense. The Seahawks lost both games they played without him then shut out Chicago as soon as he returned. Why didn’t they do more to get him back from his holdout sooner?

Reality: Seattle’s defense is obviously much better with a Pro Bowl player in Chancellor than it was with the inexperienced backups that were filling in for him. But it’s an oversimplification to say that his return was the sole reason why Seattle’s defense got back on track Sunday after a pair of shaky performances to start the season. For starters, Seattle had a much easier matchup against a Bears offense that was without its starting quarterback and top two wide receivers. The Seahawks were also playing at home for the first time after opening with arguably their two toughest games on the road. And did we mention that the Bears’ offense stinks? Chancellor’s presence was a big difference for Seattle’s defense on Sunday, but it wasn’t the only difference.

Knee-jerk reaction: This is the beginning of the end for Marshawn Lynch. He didn’t top 75 yards rushing in either of the Seahawks’ first two games then hardly played Sunday because he was so banged up. He’s rapidly approaching that cliff that running backs fall off of right around age 30.

Reality: To completely reject the possibility that Lynch could be slowing down would be to ignore years of statistical evidence about running backs in Lynch’s age range. But it’s way too early to come to any conclusions about how much Lynch has left. He had trouble getting warmed up for games twice last season like he did on Sunday, according to coach Pete Carroll, and Lynch was still among the league’s most productive running backs. Wait and see how he responds this week before going into panic mode about Beast Mode.

Knee-jerk reaction: Phew. The Seahawks are who we thought they were after all. The issues that contributed to their 0-2 start appear to have been fixed. This team will cruise to another division title.

Reality: Seattle’s arrow is most definitely pointing upward. Chancellor is back and the Seahawks’ defense is looking like itself again. Also, the schedule over the remainder of the first half works in their favor, starting with next Monday night’s game against the winless Lions at CenturyLink Field. But the Seahawks’ offense is still very much a work in progress. There were some encouraging signs against Chicago, including Jimmy Graham’s big day and how the running game didn’t miss a beat with rookie Thomas Rawls filling in for Lynch. But there were also plenty of issues. Seattle didn’t convert a third down until the third quarter, going 0 for 6 on its first six attempts. Pass protection was also a problem in the first half as Seattle seemingly took a step back in that regard after improving in Week 2. And their only offensive touchdown of the day came late in the third quarter, Graham’s score sandwiched between four field goals as Seattle went 0 for 2 in the red zone. The Seahawks overcame those issues against the punchless Bears, but it will be harder to do so against the tougher teams on their remaining schedule. Meanwhile, the Cardinals lead the division by two games with a 3-0 record and have an NFL-best plus-77 point differential. That’s more than most teams, including Seattle, have even scored through three games. The Seahawks have work to do, both with their offense and in the standings.

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