Well, it wasn’t quite the first-team drubbing I was expecting, but Russell Wilson & Co. put up 20 points in two and a half quarters en route to a 27-17 victory!
This was as Seahawky as a game gets, right on down to the slow start offensively! You tend to expect a few things out of a Seahawks game. The offense will be shaky early, with penalties and missed throws, then they ramp it up the closer it comes to the end of the game. Well, for the #1’s, the end of the game was midway through the third quarter, so it’s not surprising in the least that they scored on 4 of their final 5 possessions. Wilson finished with a couple awesome touchdowns – one on a deep crosser to Richardson, one on a scramble play to Lockett – and the defense firmed up after allowing the Cowboys to score the game’s first touchdown.
We knew going into the game that the Cowboys had one advantage: offensive line. It didn’t stop the Seahawks from knocking Tony Romo out of the game on the third play, on a vicious-yet-clean hit by Avril that dinged up his lower back. But, with their backup in, they were able to protect well for the most part and establish a solid running game with their rookie phenom, Ezekiel Elliott. As such, it’s difficult to pick apart the pass rush too much – they worked hard for everything they managed to get – but it doesn’t look like this team will be led by its front four this year.
Even though rookie Dak Prescott had solid numbers in relief of Romo, I didn’t see much in the way of breakdowns in the secondary. He just had so much time to throw! What may have been more surprising is that Russell Wilson did too. Our offensive line is LEAPS AND BOUNDS better than it was this time a year ago! Holy cow, were they good last night! I’m not sure the Cowboys have much in the way of a pass rush themselves, but it wouldn’t have mattered with last year’s line. Wilson had a grip of time to throw the ball last night, and it showed in how our offense performed once they cleaned up the penalties.
All in all, not much to hate on about last night’s game. Also, not a ton of individual standout performances. I saw a couple of effective corner blitzes, which isn’t something you see a lot of out of this defense. No picks, but we were able to force a fumble with our backups. The Seahawks still might be the deepest team in the NFL. Get ready for the league to poach a bunch of our guys when it comes time to cut the team down to 53.
Kelcie McCray had an awesome game. He might be the best third safety in the league right now!
Wilson crushed it, and Boykin had a nifty 16-yard touchdown run to conclude our scoring.
Christine Michael continued to show how difficult it’s going to be to NOT have this be a running back platoon. If Thomas Rawls isn’t 100%, I wouldn’t be shocked if Michael takes the bulk of the reps in the regular season.
The top 4 receivers all made an impact (though, I’m catching just the SLIGHTEST whiff of Wilson trying to force it into Baldwin’s hands at times, when the play doesn’t necessarily call for it; that’ll be something to watch going forward). No one really made a play on that 5th receiver job, though. Next week will be HUGE for Lawler, Antwan Goodley, Kasen Williams, Kevin Smith, and the rest.
Defensively, I also liked Bobby Wagner’s game. And Quinton Jefferson made some nice plays up the middle. Too bad about Jarran Reed’s toe injury keeping him out. Get well soon!
Next week, it’s all about the kids. Time to fill out he back of this roster and get to work! Everyone made it through Game 3 healthy, which is the biggest victory of all.
Steven A. Taylor’s Long Snapper Corner
I saw another low snap on a punt, but Jon Ryan parlayed that into a 65 yarder, so maybe those low snaps aren’t all bad? Still, it wouldn’t shock me in the least if Gresham returned.