Weren’t you entertained? Okay, what about confused? Angry? Amazed? Delighted? Relieved? You probably felt a wave of emotions during the Seattle Seahawks’ 26-21 win over the New York Jets. The Seahawks started poorly, steadily improved, then faltered and finished well. It’s hard to describe how unhinged this game was from start to finish, but it’s still a win, and an important one at that.

It’s time for winners and losers for this crazy victory.

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winner

Leonard Williams

Is there a defensive lineman who plays as well as Big Cat? There can’t be too many. Look at his stats from the last two weeks. This is All-Pro quality. He could have saved the season with his pick-six and contributed to the ice of the game with a sack on the second-to-last play of the afternoon.

That doesn’t even include his blocked PAT, which I don’t think mattered since the Jets got a 2-point conversion anyway, but he really does everything for Seattle.

Julian Love

He doesn’t get the attention or stats of Williams, but he plays elite football at the safety position. That pass defended by Davante Adams right before fourth down was outstanding, as was his open-field tackle on Isaiah Davis when it could have been a big gain on the screen. Along with Big Cat, Devon Witherspoon and Ernest Jones IV, Love was one of the best defensive players during this three-game winning streak. I’m glad John Schneider gave him this contract extension.

Zach Charbonnet

He’s had a hard time doing much offensively lately, but he had 28 yards on 4 carries and the game-winning touchdown. It was good to see that Charbonnet actually had a hole to run through and bounce off the tackle to secure the winning points. For his own sake, he probably needed it given the lack of productivity and unusual pass-pro personalities.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba

He could be WR1 after all. This was his “quietest” game since the bye and he still caught four passes for 74 yards and had a 5-yard rush. JSN is now just 171 yards away from a 1,000-yard season and 30 of 100 catches. I love that he’s getting more downfield targets and providing separation, something I was worried about early in his career. You don’t have to be a speedster to be a threat further down the field.

DK Metcalf

It wasn’t a great game for Metcalf in terms of box score, but he still put in an impressive performance despite not being at 100 percent. His 4 catches for 66 yards could have included a touchdown if Geno Smith hadn’t beaten him on the last ball he caught. Metcalf also incurred two pass interference penalties, one of which came on the game-winning drive. The only thing I will criticize him for is the bobble that took away his first down.

AJ Barner

A second touchdown for the rookie after essentially the same play. He continues to grow as a receiver and could be TE1 next season depending on how the Seahawks view Noah Fant.

Tyrice Knight

Last week, his first fumble recovery (for a touchdown!) was wiped out due to a replay reversal. He still got his first sack in this game against Kyler Murray. This week, Knight recorded his first true fumble recovery. More milestone moments for the rookie linebacker.

Jason Myers

On a miserable special teams day, Myers hit a 54-yard field goal, giving him his seventh shot from more than 50 yards of the season. He increased his previous franchise record by one and continues to have an excellent year.

loser

Jay Harbaugh

The Seahawks’ special teams have generally played better in recent weeks, except in the return game. This performance was a criminal offense. Terrible kick return coverage all game, another blocked PAT (third blocked PAT or FG this season), and we’ll get to Dee Williams and Laviska Shenault Jr.

These special teams errors would result in a game loss against approximately 30 other NFL teams. Harbaugh’s group needs to fix the problem because it was never supposed to get this bad.

Dee Williams and Laviska Shenault Jr

Williams must be gone. There’s no reason to draft him next week and hope he develops into an acceptable punt-and-kick returner. He lost three fumbles and would have lost a fourth had it not been for an incorrect replay review in the San Francisco 49ers’ home loss. Williams doesn’t even offer big kick or punt returns to make up for the many mistakes he made.

Shenault Jr at least managed a kick return touchdown and occasionally made good plays as a returner and gunner, but even he made three errors on kick returns. Seattle currently has two returners who have nothing to offer on offense or defense, which is a terrible place to be.

Josh Jobe

Probably the only defensive player who should receive this label. He was hit on a touchdown to Davante Adams and by Adams on a big third down early in that drive. Garrett Wilson also turned it over and it would have been a TD if Aaron Rodgers hadn’t airmailed an easy throw. I don’t expect every player to be an All-Pro, and especially not someone who was on the practice squad two months ago. I’m not too upset and I think he’s had a positive outcome this year.

Ryan Grubb and Scott Huff

That whole goal line sequence was enough to make me mad at Ryan Grubb. I know he’s had similar issues with the Washington Huskies the last few seasons, and that was in the back of my mind when the Seahawks went all out on the floor in the third quarter.

Fade route to DK Metcalf is a wasted play. Why are you even trying this? That’s not his game. Slant to DK with Sauce Gardner covering him, it seemed to make sense to prove Sauce as a corner. Another wasted game. The only play I attributed solely to Geno Smith was the miss against Noah Fant, which threw him just a little outside.

But that 4th and goal? Holy shit. Half court sprint with everyone covered? Absolutely crazy. Geno can’t stand the sack, but this was a completely dead move from the start. Is Smith not allowed to sneak anymore?

I am convinced that Grubb was not the first choice as OC. I also believe this may be a year-long partnership if things don’t improve drastically. Other Seahawks OCs had bad OLs and didn’t struggle as much. Grubb makes adjustments — more under center, a little more play-action, etc. — but nothing seems to be working.

Meanwhile, Scott Huff has avoided a lot of trouble because of his OL’s performance in crucial situations. Being bullied like this every week severely limits your offense and what it can and cannot be called.

Final remarks

• Geno Smith felt a little bad without playing bad. Against his former team he was okay without being particularly good. Some of his completions seemed a bit inaccurate and the touchdown miss against Noah Fant was a bad mistake. Smith still managed some good shots (mainly against JSN and DK) and he officially has another game-winning drive, however assisted with a penalty. The good news for Geno is that for the first time in a month he hasn’t had a personnel change.
• That play fell by the wayside, but Kenneth Walker III failed on his first carry. Laken Tomlinson recovered and saved us from losing the ball in the opening game. It’s the first fumbled carry of Walker’s career.
• Sataoa Laumea appeared to be solid in the pass pro game, but had a false start, a holding penalty and a block assignment mix-up in the running game. As usual, it comes down to All-22 to check how well he played, but it didn’t feel like Geno Smith was under siege in pass protection.
• Tyler Lockett continues to play a relatively minor role in the offense, meaning this is effectively a two-receiver team right now.
• I didn’t like that Mike Macdonald increased the PAT by 4 on the go-ahead touchdown. Go for two to increase the lead by six so a TD doesn’t necessarily give the other team the lead. I liked his decision (probably aided by Michael Dickson’s injury) to continue in 4th and 6th place even after the Laumea penalty. Don’t let Jason Myers screw it up. Go and win the game.
• Regardless of this particular matchup, the Seahawks need a Chris Carson-type running back. Walker and Charbonnet were both very vulnerable to being tripped up on ankle tackles that I think players like Marshawn Lynch and Carson would have gone through at full strength.
• A month ago, the Seahawks looked done. Now they’re in the driver’s seat in the NFC West. Beat the Arizona Cardinals (and suffer a Los Angeles Rams loss to the Buffalo Bills) and there are four games left in the season. Seattle has been game-damagingly sloppy to some degree all season, and that needs to stop, or at least minimize, to maintain this lead. But make no mistake: This is the best chance the Seahawks have had to win the NFC West since 2020. I don’t care how it happens, I care that it happens, and the Seahawks have done well to bounce back from the Rams’ devastating loss and rise from worst to first.