It got rough for a minute there, but on a day where the New England Patriots "honoured" their Super Bowl 49 winning team, it was the franchise who should have won that game that left Gillette Stadium with a W. In their first road game of the season, the Seahawks took down the New England Patriots in overtime 23-20 in a come from behind win.
After a solid first half and being able to move the ball on a consistent basis, it was the complete opposite after halftime. For much of the second half, the Seahawks struggled to have long possessions, and score mainly due to how dominant the Patriots were on the ground. If Seattle wants to be seen as legitimate contender in the NFC, the run defense will need to look closer to what they did a week ago compared to what we in Foxborough against the Patriots. New England was able to run for 185 yards on 36 carries with their backs controlling the ball for nearly 36 minutes. Although I do not expect this to be a constant theme with Mike MacDonald at the helm like it has been in years past, it is something that will need to be cleaned up urgently by the staff if the Seahawks plan on contending for anything serious this season.
Despite the limited possessions in the second half, a clutch blocked field goal by the special teams helped set up a potential game-winning or tying drive at midfield for the offense, and facing 20-17 deficit with four minutes to go, the table was set for one of the NFL's most clutch quarterbacks today to deliver that he did. Yes, you read that correctly, it is not an exaggeration or overreaction to call Geno Smith one of the most quarterbacks in the NFL today. Last season, Smith led the NFL in fourth quarter or overtime game winning drives in with five, and on Sunday in New England got his first of 2024. Smith led back-to-back drives in the fourth quarter and overtime that set up two Jason Myers field goals, one for the tie, and one for the eventual win.
Overall, Smith completed 33 of 44 passes for 327 yards with a touchdown, and that production was much needed, especially with no Kenneth Walker in the backfield along side who's absence was much felt. If you picked up Zach Charbonnet off the waiver wire in your fantasy league this week and inserted him in your starting lineup, you were probably more than happy with 18 points, but if you watched the game closely, you will have seen how much worse the Seahawks run game was without number 9 in the lineup. Charbonet managed just 38 yards on 14 carries, averaging less than 2.8 yards per rush and although he did score a touchdown, I fully expect the Seahawks to lean more on the passing game in Walker's absence, especially with how talented their receiving corps is and how productive they were today.
Second-year receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba enjoyed the best game of his career so far, hauling in 12 catches and surpassing 100 yards for the first time as a pro. However, even with those great numbers, he wasn't even the best player in the Seahawks wide receiver room today, that honour would go to D.K. Metcalf who torched the Patriots defense all day. Metcalf dominated throughout the game as he recorded 10 catches and led the game with 129 receiving yards, including a 56-yard touchdown pass from Smith in the first quarter. Although he wasn’t as productive today as he was last week, the veteran Tyler Lockett still needs to be taken seriously by defenders and his presence helps round out what might be the best receiving trio in football.
Two weeks into this new era of Seahawks football, of course there have been times that have wanted to make this Seahawks pull his hair out, such as giving up two safeties in one quarter last week, and not being able to get the Patriots off the field quickly enough in Week 2, I think it is already obvious that this coaching and culture shake-up was much needed in this organization after 14 years with Pete Carroll.
I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, but with the 49ers placing Christian McCaffrey on IR and the Rams dealing with multiple injuries to key players, including to their top receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, it's starting to feel like a division title and a home playoff game could be a realistic possibility this season for the Seahawks.
Next Up: Week 3 At Home Vs The Miami Dolphins (1-1)
Game Balls:
MVP: D.K. Metcalf
Offensive Player Of The Game: D.K. Metcalf
Defensive Player Of The Game: Julian Love
Comments