The Seattle Seahawks fell behind again early on away, but this time the win over the Arizona Cardinals was much more comfortable than the one against the New York Jets.

After a 7-0 hole, Seattle’s offense came to life with 17 points on its first three possessions and never looked back. The Seahawks led by at least two possessions in the final 32 minutes of the game, all the way to a 30-18 victory over the Cardinals. Perhaps just as important as the win was that there were no season-related injuries like usual at that cursed Glendale Stadium. I look at this as two wins in one.

It’s the time of winners and losers!

---

winner

Zach Charbonnet

With Sam Darnold’s five-touchdown game and Puka Nacua’s latest masterclass, I’m pretty sure Charbonnet has no chance of winning NFC Offensive Player of the Week, but maybe he can win Ground Player of the Week (which is left up to a fan vote ). . A week before his game-winning touchdown against the New York Jets, Charbonnet had by far the best game of his NFL career. No Ken Walker? No problem. How about nearly 200 yards of total offense after coming into the game with 470 yards all year?

Charbonnet was patient with his blockers, rebounded off tacklers all game, and showed a level of quickness in the open field that we haven’t really seen much. This was an excellent performance from Charbonnet as the season was all but on the line, and he was instrumental in this explosive (relatively speaking) Seahawks offense.

Offensive line led by Sautoa Laumea

Geno Smith was pressured just five times out of 30 dropbacks and sacked ZERO times after giving up five sacks in the previous matchup. Even with the positive pass protection, there weren’t too many big plays on the field, but Seattle was able to keep Geno clean and at least allow him to find his checkdown. I’ll take that over weekly breakdowns that don’t give him a chance from the first moment.

Sataoa Laumea was my standout performer. The rookie right guard was a bully in the run game and scored Charbonnet’s second touchdown. I don’t think he allowed any pressure either. If he keeps this up, I don’t see how Anthony Bradford gets his starting job when he returns from IR. Maybe there was a method to the madness of sitting Laumea and letting him develop in practice rather than throwing him into the fire.

Ernest Jones IV

Extend it. There is every reason to extend Ernest Jones’ contract and not give him free agency. He caught his first interception as a Seahawk to set up Seattle’s first touchdown and continues to excel in coverage and against the run. This could go down as the best midseason trade of John Schneider’s career; At the moment, Quandre Diggs is at the top.

Coby Bryant

Bryant, beaten for a touchdown on the first drive, recovered with his third interception of the season. Apparently it was reporting from someone not named Bryant, and Coby came to the rescue. Do you know who should get the credit for moving Bryant from the slot corner position to the safety position? Yes indeed. Pete Carroll and his old colleagues.

Bryant has been reinvigorated in the starting lineup and has earned his playing time against Rayshawn Jenkins and K’Von Wallace.

Tyrice Knight

Knight led the team in tackles, but I’m much more focused on his pass coverage. The rookie recorded two passes defensed, one of which was against a tight guard Trey McBride. From Wright to Knight? Maybe the Seahawks have a future at weakside linebacker.

Leonard Williams

Williams didn’t score a sack on that occasion, but still had two tackles for loss and batted down a pass from Kyler Murray. In Seattle’s best run defense moments, Big Cat, Jarran Reed and Byron Murphy II (who currently appears to be more of a run-stuffer than a pass rusher) were at the center of the action.

Devon Witherspoon

When he wasn’t making great tackles in the open field, Spoon was at least slowing players down so his teammates could attack them together. He was unlucky not to get his first sack of the season against Kyler Murray, but his pressure led to a clean-up sack for Rayshawn Jenkins.

Derick Hall

Hall officially recorded a tackle. He also caused the Bryant interception by pressuring Kyler Murray while he was being held. A fourth down conversion by Arizona was canceled due to Hall’s arrest. I think Hall took a total of three holding penalties, so he may not have had the stats, but he was impressive well beyond the box.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba

At this rate, he could be WR1. Not even 1A anymore. JSN led the team with five catches for 82 yards and the first road touchdown of his career. He has definitely developed great chemistry with Geno Smith and is showing good results after some initial issues with crashes.

Ryan Grubb

The Seahawks’ offense had been floundering for most of the season, but (aside from the penalties) this was as clean as Ryan Grubb’s unit looked all year. Subtracting defensive touchdowns, this was Seattle’s first 30-point outing on offense under Grubb. I’m still concerned about the difficulties leading to big plays, but there was a coherence to this game plan that hasn’t been seen in recent weeks.

I believe that Grubb was deserved to come under fire and that he didn’t handle the offensive issues well compared to other Seahawks OCs. However, when the OL actually works, there is some semblance of what offense he wants to run. I would say he also made some adjustments after leaving, in terms of more duo runs, GT counters, and under-center looks. Now it’s all about making multiple plays with the same looks to eliminate the predictability.

With 409 yards and 7/15 on 3rd downs, you can’t really argue or complain much, can you?

Geno Smith

Another turnover-free game for Geno, who didn’t stand out but was effective. He was 24/30 for 233 yards and a touchdown, and it could have been three if Pharaoh Brown hadn’t misfired on the first drive and then a drop by Tyler Lockett in the third quarter. Smith didn’t force anything and took advantage of what the defense gave him, while also making some clever shots on goal. It was a composed performance from Geno with few mistakes.

Kenny McIntosh

McIntosh finally got more playing time. He had seven carries for 38 yards (plus a few short receptions) and collected three first downs on nine touches. For me it was positive that he had some kind of influence on offense. Perhaps there will be more touches to come even if Kenneth Walker returns?

Jaelon Darden

Seriously, it’s because he doesn’t fumble or do anything bad on his few kick/punt returns. This is where I stand with the Seahawks special teams.

Michael Dickson

He put the Seahawks on his healed back. Four of his five punts landed inside the 20, significantly flipping field position. This was Dickson at his best.

loser

Tyler Lockett

When Lockett couldn’t make that fade in the end zone with 1-on-1 coverage, I almost shed a tear. This is a game that Vintage Lockett makes practically constantly. It would have been a touchdown to make the score 31-10 Seahawks. Instead, Lockett ends the day with no catches and one goal. It’s been five years since his last catchless game and it’s only the seventh of his great career.

It doesn’t look like the situation will change any time soon. Lockett has only had 7 catches for 65 yards since the bye week. Seattle has less of a WR trio and more of a duo. JSN strengthens itself just in time for Lockett’s demise.

Run defense

This is a minor quibble, but the Seahawks’ run defense wasn’t particularly sharp compared to previous weeks. James Conner had 90 yards on 18 carries and a few rushes. It was definitely the Seahawks’ worst rush defense performance since the Buffalo Bills game, and Josh Jacobs comes to town next week behind a good Green Bay Packers offensive line. Hopefully things will get better quickly.

Final remarks

• AJ Barner shot a man on his only goal of the game. You love watching it.
• DK Metcalf continues his streak of never having a 60-yard reception against the Cardinals, which is hard to imagine. He still had four grabs for 49 yards.
• I don’t understand why Geno Smith’s intentional grounding penalty was upheld. He was hit while throwing and AJ Barner was nearby. We’ve seen that the standard for “in the area” in these situations was very liberal, and yet wasn’t that good enough? That was probably my only criticism as a referee in a game that was generally well officiated.
• Wasn’t thrilled with the laconic approach to the two-minute exercise before half-time. Seattle was great in two-minute situations and the Seahawks deliberately played for a field goal and ended up punting.
• Michael Wilson’s touchdown was the only explosive pass the Seahawks defense allowed all game. Mike Macdonald has found the formula for defense and in my opinion this is at least an above-average unit.
• The Los Angeles Rams’ win over the Buffalo Bills is a disappointment because now there’s a new element to the Seahawks’ playoff pursuit that I wasn’t expecting. If the Rams win (which, honestly, is very possible given the schedule), they win the division. If we just ignore the Cardinals, the Rams are now back in the picture and looking ferocious on offense. It could well take until Week 18 for the Seahawks to make the playoffs. That’s another reason why the Green Bay Packers’ game is so important, because a 9-5 win not only keeps them atop the league, but also opens up the possibility for Seattle to use a wild card option. And given Seattle’s 5-1 away record – Glendale was like Lumen Field Southwest – maybe it’s not the worst thing in the world? I would still rather win the division and give the Lumen Field fans a home playoff game again. I know next Sunday night will feel like a playoff atmosphere.