The Seahawks pulled out an inspiring 23-20 victory over the Arizona Cardinals last night in the closest game they’ve played all year. There’s an old adage that says these are the times we learn who we really are. When Seattle was faced with true adversity, certain imperfections started to become obvious- but their strengths looked like a force to be reckoned with.

Honorable mentions for studs go out to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who seems to get open every moment the offense needs a spark; Kenneth Walker, who silenced the doubters with two productive weeks in a row; Charles Cross, who Mike Macdonald said made his favorite play of the season to this point; and Uchenna Nwosu, whose 5 pressures and 2 sacks kept Kyler Murray off-schedule.

With those down, let’s move on to the three studs and three duds from last night’s thriller.

Sam Darnold

The Sam Darnold hype train is leaving the station this morning after last night’s show of poise and leadership. Collin Cowherd said his intangibles are as high-quality as Dak Prescott, while his ‘tangibles’ are much better- big arm, more athletic, and more accurate to all parts of the field. While his timing was a bit rushed in Week 1, he’s improved every week since. The gunslinging hero-ball tactics he learned in college and didn’t grow out of with the Jets or Panthers are dialed way back, and while he doesn’t throw it deep quite as often, stats on throws past the first-down marker are elite.

He’s become extremely well-rounded and defenses will need to try more trickery to stop him, opening up the run even further. His Week 4 performance will be headlined by a perfect back-shoulder sideline throw to JSN which set up the game-winner, but his 69.2% completion and 111.4 quarterback rating show a more mature version of Darnold whose upsides are amplified in Klint Kubiak’s balanced scheme.

Jason Myers

After nailing field goals from 44 and 31 yards out, respectively, Myers missed a 53-yarder with just 3:21 left in the game. This didn’t stop the team from calling upon him to kick the game-winner from 52 yards out with just :04 seconds left, and he drilled it to give the Seahawks the win as time expired. Head coach Mike Macdonald spoke to the vote of confidence they put in Myers in the postgame press conference.

“I’ve seen him play golf. He’s a stud, bro. We knew he was gonna make that kick. I think the whole sideline knew.”

Regardless of the missed field goal, it’s nice to know the Seahawks value their continuity at kicker in a season where three NFL teams- the 49ers, Giants and Falcons- have already had to replace theirs.

Ernest Jones IV

Ernest Jones put together a massive performance in State Farm Stadium last season and didn’t slow down in this one. His communication allowed the entire defensive front to work fluidly, and he also racked up six tackles, a sack and an interception. On a short week in which the Seahawks tackled poorly- PFF gave the team a 44.0 tackling grade- Jones was the rock in run support, and finished with an 80.3 tackling grade himself. In the long week ahead, tackling will undoubtedly be a focus for improvement, and Jones leads the way for the defense yet again.

Devon Witherspoon

While ‘Spoon’s coverage skills didn’t look bad on film or the stat sheet, he got beat on a few of Arizona’s most clutch plays to Marvin Harrison Jr. He stuck with him in his routes, but with 4:55 left in the fourth quarter on 2nd and 16, Murray placed a ball just over Witherspoon’s head which Harrison high-pointed to begin Arizona’s 14-point comeback in the final minutes. Then, on 3rd and 5 from Seattle’s 25-yard line, Murray hit Marvin on a back-shoulder slot fade to set up 1st and goal, which they punched in to tie the game 20-20. On both routes, Witherspoon’s massive length disadvantage (5’10” to Harrison’s 6’4”) made it tough for him to get his head around, and he gets beat by literal inches. Even when Witherspoon plays well, a big, versatile receiver like Marv can create a clear mismatch on him and win in jump-ball situations. His coverage skills are elite and can overcome this, but another team will likely try this down the schedule, and he’ll need to be ready.

Riq Woolen

Woolen’s rough start to the season continued on Thursday night as he got called for three penalties. Where his raw talent in speed and length caused optimism early in his career, teams are starting to attack his weaknesses in short-area quickness aggressively. Woolen has a harder time getting low and changing direction than any Seattle skill player since DK Metcalf, making it unideal for him to cover sharp route-running and tackle with good form. While his attributes are ideal in deep coverage, he can only cover big, perimeter receivers, and they know they can get him uncomfortable with sharp breaks. As it stands, Woolen is still a big-play threat and can get to a ball that hangs up in the air, but is a liability in run support and the short passing game. It’s unclear how Macdonald and co. will adjust for Woolen’s weaknesses, but they’ll need to be deliberate with his skillset going forward to raise the whole defense’s floor.

Coby Bryant

While Bryant grabbed an interception that Kyler threw right into his path, he had a poor rest of the night. His 39.5 PFF Grade was the lowest of all 19 Seahawks defensive players, marred by an ugly 22.6 tackling grade. Despite losing their starting running back James Conner in Week 3, the Cardinals rushed for 155 yards on 35 carries. The Seahawks’ run defense has shown signs of improvement but will need better tackling overall to control games against better physical teams. With tons of DBs playing well to start the season, Bryant will need to be a more consistent tackler to stay on the field in the coming weeks.

Check out our top takeaways from the win here. Follow @TheSeahawksWire on X and our website for the latest news during a long week before Seattle hosts the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5.