The Seahawks went into Detroit and did their thing. The Lions scored an early TD to go up 7, but Seattle took over from there, ultimately winning 28-14. Things could’ve gotten hairy there towards the end – especially after a bullshit pass-interference call that put the Lions in the red zone with a chance to bring the game to within 1 score with time left to get the ball back – but Justin Coleman jumped a route to snag an interception. And Michael Dickson ran what was supposed to be a safety out of the back of the endzone 9 yards for an unlikely first down to salt the game away. To the premise!
What I’m Geeked Out About After Seven Games
It’s like deciding who my best child is. Or my favorite Halloween candy! Twix? Kit Kat? Snickers? Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups? Mounds? Skittles? The red/pink Starburst only? Reese’s Fast Break? Whatchamacallit? Do they even have that one in Fun Size? Milky Way? Peanut M&M’s? I LOVE ALL MY BABIES AND NOW I ALSO HAVE DIABETES!
Look, I’m just gonna be selfish here. As you’ll no doubt read about later this week – because you know you love reading about me and my fantasy team troubles – I was able to pick up Chris Carson in a week where Ezekiel Elliott was on a BYE, and he single-handedly won me a fantasy football game. You’ll see who I was gonna pick up if I didn’t get Carson and suffice it to say it was a 20-point swing in an 11-point win.
Carson ran for 105 yards on 25 carries, as he was this team’s unquestioned #1 running back. More importantly, he scored a touchdown and was in on most goalline and red zone plays. This is huge, not just for my fantasy team. Mike Davis is a serviceable and perfectly fine #2 running back. If the Seahawks needed to start him next week, I’d be comfortable with him getting 20 carries. He definitely also strikes me as a guy who gets better as the game goes along (and therefore requires a number of touches before he starts to get going). Chris Carson is just a BEAST tho. He’s faster than every other back on this team, he’s stronger than every other back on this team, he’s more elusive, he’s harder to bring down … you get the idea. Make a list of all the attributes you want out of a running back, and he’s at the top of every one!
Not only that, but if you compared him to the rest of the #1 running backs around the league, and I would argue he compares VERY favorably! He and everyone else are behind Todd Gurley by a comfortable margin, but in that second tier, I’d say Carson is right there … in raw ability and talent with the football. Now, he still has to stay healthy and prove it over a longer sample size. But, as for just the Eye Test? He passes with flying colors.
Other Things That Caught My Eye (In A Good Way)
Give me Russell or give me death! Do you want to see a football player’s stats? 14/17, 248 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs, 14.6 yards per attempt, 158.3 passer rating and 98.9 QBR. In the leadup to this game, I talked about how he needed to have an efficient game, and that while they don’t give up a ton of yards, the Lions are among the worst teams in opponent’s passer rating. Lo and behold, Wilson had a PERFECT passer rating!
How about that Ed Dickson? I never thought I’d say we missed him, and if Dissly hadn’t gone down for the year, I might’ve even argued to cut Dickson before he returned from the PUP list. But, he was back this week, and he hauled in a couple of VERY impressive catches. One for 42 yards (on a play-action on third & short where the Lions totally bought into a run and left him wide open) and one for a contested touchdown in the back of the endzone. I mean, I couldn’t even tell you what he did in a blocking capacity, but his first game in a Seahawks uniform is already my favorite over every other game Jimmy Graham ever had here! Ed Dickson is such an upgrade it’s not even funny!
David Moore had 4 for 97 and a TD, Lockett had 2 for 34 and a TD, Baldwin had 2 for 26, even Vannett had a nifty catch for 16 yards.
Defensively, there were a lot of stars. Frank Clark with a sack and a fumble recovery. Shamar Stephen with another sack. Some good pressure from Dion Jordan and Jacob Martin and Jarran Reed.
It was also good to see K.J. Wright back, who had a nice game.
Let’s Talk About Competitions
It’s pretty clear who’s stepped up and who’s gone by the wayside. No Penny in this one. Not much out of Brandon Marshall or Jaron Brown. I want to say Mingo’s playing time is greatly reduced with the return of Wright. Naz Jones was once again a healthy scratch.
Also interesting: George Fant’s conversion to 4th string tight end. Or, shit, is he 3rd string at this point? He was on the field a ton as a de-facto 6th offensive lineman, but he was also lined up out wide seemingly just as much as he was on the line! He’s even running routes out there a little bit! I can’t imagine he has great hands, but what if he did? What if Wilson actually threw him the ball? Wouldn’t that be wild?
Other Things That Caught My Eye (In A Bad Way)
Not a lot, to be honest. Tedric Thompson had a couple shoddy plays, but also forced a fumble on that kickoff. I didn’t like seeing Bradley McDougald leave the game with what appeared to be an injury, but I guess he was just sick so that’s okay. He might be the most important player on this defense at this point, with no Earl, and with the way he’s been playing at a super-high level this year. The dropoff from him to Delano Hill is pretty steep, so never leave us Bradley!
There still isn’t a ton of pass rush to write home about, but there’s some, and with the way our back-end is playing, “some” might be “just enough”.
The gauntlet rolls on with a game against the Chargers. 6 of our last 9 games are at home, so giddyup 12’s!