Seahawks sent a statement to the NFL with win over Eagles
Dec 10, 2014, 1:44 PM | Updated: 1:52 pm
Even with newcomer Tharold Simon in a key role, the Seahawks defense is in its championship form. (AP)
(AP)
BY
710 ESPN Seattle
With last Sunday’s dismantling of Philadelphia, the Seahawks sent an unmistakable message to the other 31 teams in the NFL. Whether intentional, situational, coincidental or otherwise, Seattle made it clear that the defending Super Bowl champions are not going away any time soon. That Lombardi Trophy still resides at 12 Seahawks Way.
Defensively, this team is playing at the peak of its power. After limiting the Cardinals and 49ers to a combined six points, Chip Kelly watched his vaunted up-tempo Eagles offense held to the lowest output of his NFL career. The Seahawks defense is back to playing at its suffocating best and should be the focal point of any matchup conversation for the next three weeks and the postseason.
Offensively, a team missing its top wide receiver from a year ago (Golden Tate), its starting tight end (Zach Miller) and its most electric pass threat (Percy Harvin) piled up 440 yards and found a way to get carries from six players and catches from 10. Russell Wilson and company took advantage of short fields provided by turnovers and ground out 41-plus minutes of possession off of the clock on drives that started in their end.
The offense and defense worked in tandem against another team with an outsized offensive reputation on the way to a decisive win that wasn’t as close as the 10-point difference on the scoreboard would indicate.
Still, there are those that view the NFL through conventional lenses and will deny that the Seahawks served notice of their bad intentions for the rest of the league. There are those that will insist on seeing only zone coverages on defense and a scrambling game manager at quarterback. If 2013 is any indicator, the Seahawks will just keep winning football games and winning them their way.
The season is now a three-game gauntlet with a chance to take on each of the Seahawks’ flawed but tough NFC West division rivals. There’s no team in the NFL that Seattle can’t beat playing at this level (despite any protestations to the contrary you may hear from Wisconsin) but the 49ers, Cardinals and Rams all have something to play for and they all know the Seahawks very well.
Seattle will need to maintain top form to finish out the season with a chance to host a postseason game at CenturyLink Field. In fact, a healthy dose of divisional bad blood should only serve to further focus the Seahawks’ restored swagger.
The Seahawks sent a message to the NFL that they’re not going away, and now they can take the next step and let everyone know just where they’re headed.
As always, thanks for reading and feel free to join the conversation any time on Twitter @TheMichaelGrey.
