The Seattle Seahawks had a legitimate chance to beat the New Orleans Saints on the road today, despite being underdogs coming in. In the end they just made too many mistakes to keep up on the scoreboard and the Saints wound up winning, 39-32.
Here are nine takeaways from today’s game.
1
Geno Smith continues to throw heat
After a certain point we can rest assured that Geno Smith’s performance is not just a fluke or a string of good luck. Facing a much tougher defense than he did last week, Smith still put up another solid line. He went 16/25 for 268 yards, no picks and three touchdown passes – two of which were absolute pinpoint bombs to Tyler Lockett. His passer rating was just shy of 140. These Seahawks have a knack for finding creative ways to lose games, but Smith isn’t remotely the problem.
2
DK Metcalf had a tough day after good start
Metcalf got off to a good start in this game, burning the Saints for a 50-yard touchdown to begin the scoring for the Seahawks. As the afternoon wore on Metcalf’s game dived off, though. He dropped a couple of passes from Geno Smith and lost a fumble, his second of the season.
3
More bad luck for Rashaad Penny
Rashaad Penny’s bad luck with injuries has resurfaced yet again. Penny had 54 yards on eight carries when he got hurt in the third quarter and had to limp off the field. He was then carted off to the locker room. Odds are we will see a lot more of rookie Ken Walker in the backfield starting next week…
4
The Ken Walker show begins
Walker responded to his opportunity by posting the most explosive run of the season so far for the Seahawks. At a critical juncture, Walker took the ball to the house for a 69-yard touchdown run – the first of his NFL career. In the end he had 88 yards on eight carries.
5
Seattle's run defense is officially a myth
Another week, another poor performance by the Seahawks run defense, which is so non-existent it’s officially graduated into Easter Bunny and Santa Claus territory. This time it was Taysom Hill doing the most damage. He posted 112 yards and three touchdowns on just nine runs. Alvin Kamara added another 103 yards on 23 attempts.
6
Al Woods: Destroyer of worlds
One big exception to the rule for stuffing the run today was defensive tackle Al Woods. After ripping through the Saints’ front line for several early stops, they had no choice but to start double-teaming him. Woods finished the day with five tackles, one sack and one pass breakup. After Woods left in the fourth quarter, Bryan Mone came in and held down the fort at nose tackle. Clearly this is one position Seattle doesn’t have to worry about.
7
Ryan Neal and Boye Mafe join the starting lineup
Pete Carroll wasn’t ready to commit to changing his lineup earlier this week when he was asked about potential personnel changes. When gametime came Carroll made two key moves, though. Safety Ryan Neal joined the starting lineup, replacing weak link Josh Jones. Neal came through with a clutch third down stop and a PBU in the end zone. Rookie outside linebacker Boye Mafe also got his first career start in place of the injured Darryl Johnson.
8
More promise from rookie CBs
Every game rookie cornerbacks Coby Bryant and Tariq Woolen are giving us reasons to be excited about the future of this franchise. Once again they came through in New Orleans. Bryant forced his second fumble of the year and was robbed of an endzone breakup. Meanwhile, Woolen recovered the fumble and posted his third interception of the season. Seeing these two young cornerstones thrive takes some of the sting out of a loss like this.
9
Another big special teams gaffe
No one play swings any game. That said, some stand out more than others. Today the most costly snap for Seattle was a devastating special teams gaffe by punter Michael Dickson in the second quarter. Facing fourth down from deep in Saints territory, Dickson elected to run the ball rather than kick. He fumbled, setting New Orleans up for an easy score at their own 13-yard line. Those kinds of mistakes will crush your chances in one-score games.
