Seahawks: 6 takeaways from a convincing win over the Chargers
The Seahawks are in a groove and playing far better than most people expected them to coming into this season. With a 37-23 road victory over the Chargers today, they improved to 4-3 on the year.
Here are six takeaways from today’s win.
Ken Walker is going to be a thing
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After a few games of watching Ken Walker run, we can definitively say that he has a future in the NFL. Walker’s most impressive attribute is his ability to consistently make the first tackler miss with his footwork. Combined with his explosiveness, Walker is a home-run threat every time he touches the ball. Against LA he racked up 168 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries.
Geno Smith was productive again
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The Seahawks also got another quality outing from their veteran quarterback today. Geno Smith was accurate, decisive and made several eye-catching throws into tight windows and the one interception he was credited with wasn’t his fault. He finished the game with a solid line of 20/27 for 210 yards, two touchdowns and a 105.5 passer rating.
DK Metcalf and Nick Bellore were injured
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It wasn’t all good news coming out of SoFi today, especially as it related to injuries. Wide receiver DK Metcalf left the game early after being carted off the field and he was ruled out soon after with an apparent knee injury. Fullback and special teams leader Nick Bellore was also knocked out of the game later on due to a concussion.
Marquise Goodwin thrives, Dee Eskridge struggles
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With Metcalf sidelined by his injury, Seattle needed other receivers to step up. One who answered the call was Marquise Goodwin, who responded with one of the best games of his career. Goodwin posted two touchdowns and 67 yards on four catches. The results from second-year wide receiver Dee Eskridge were not as encouraging. He dropped a pitch pass and was later flagged for holding. Eskridge managed just four yards from scrimmage.
Seattle pass rush comes alive again
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The Seahawks beat the hell out of Kyler Murray last week, getting to the Cards’ QB for six sacks. While they weren’t quite as successful today, they were able to produce consistent pressure on Justin Herbert. He was sacked three times and hit eight times. More importantly, he was forced to get rid of the ball quick, neutralizing his cannon of an arm. Herbert ended the day having averaged only 5.7 yards per pass attempt.
Run defense continues to improve
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Another encouraging sign for this defense was how they stopped the run. After getting gashed several weeks in a row they showed some improvement last week against Arizona and that continued today. Seattle did a good job bottling up both Austin Ekeler and Sony Michel. As a team the Chargers only had 53 rushing yards and averaged 3.5 yards per carry.
