Fewer adsCreate community posts<\/a>Comment on articles, community postsRec comments, community postsNew, improved notifications system!<\/p>\n Sam Darnold does some ghost-busting<\/p>\n As I\u2019ve already written about this evening<\/a>, Darnold was almost faultless, and this was a rare night in which he had to shoulder more of the load than normal. The Seahawks defense got shredded on early downs and the running game mostly disappeared after the first quarter. Darnold had to be at his best in order for the Seahawks to win, and that\u2019s exactly what happened.<\/p>\n With all due respect to DeMarcus Lawrence, who\u2019s been touted as one of John Schneider\u2019s best free-agent pickups, I think Darnold gets the nod given the decision to trade Geno Smith. He\u2019s a bargain relative to the top starters in the league and he just played like an elite, franchise quarterback.<\/p>\n Jaxon Smith-Njigba dominates again<\/p>\n By halftime, the possible Offensive Player of the Year had 7 catches for 115 yards and a touchdown. He finished the night with 10 catches for 153 yards and a touchdown, continuing his astonishing breakout year as a top-flight wide receiver.<\/p>\n Rashid Shaheed finally breaks one as a receiver<\/p>\n It was Shaheed\u2019s only catch, but it set the tone for a night of explosive Seahawks passing offense. If you recall in the first meeting, Shaheed was open for a touchdown but Darnold\u2019s pass was a little undercooked and knocked away by Emmanuel Forbes. Shaheed was open behind Darious Williams on the first drive and Darnold put it on him for 51 yards.<\/p>\n Cooper Kupp haunts his former team<\/p>\n It was a quiet first half for Kupp, then he woke up in the second half. Kupp had four catches for 36 yards and what is technically the winning touchdown in the third quarter. His first Lumen Field touchdown in a Seahawks uniform was vital, and three of his catches were for first downs or touchdowns. I joked (badly) that I didn\u2019t want to see Kupp sporting a Mariners uniform with a championship berth at stake, but clearly that was overridden by the fact that said uniform was Ken Griffey Jr.<\/p>\n Kenneth Walker III sets an early tone, comes through as a receiver<\/p>\n K9\u2019s day getting a somewhat increased workload as a running back started strongly but faded due to blocking struggles. No one will laud 19 carries for 62 yards and a touchdown as astonishing, but Walker was making Rams defenders miss in the hole and powering through tacklers for some hard-earned yards. It\u2019s what Walker did as a receiver that should excite everyone; four catches for 49 yards technically made him Seattle\u2019s second-leading receiver on the night.<\/p>\n What, again?! Bobo was getting late-season healthy scratches and not even on the field for passing downs for much of the season. Suddenly he has a big third-down catch in the NFC Divisional Round, and a filthy touchdown on his only catch in the NFC Championship Game. Maybe #MoreBobo was just being saved strategically.<\/p>\n Dareke Young seizes the opportunity on the second occasion<\/p>\n Young could\u2019ve had a turnover early in the first half when Xavier Smith muffed a punt but Dareke moved to the side, presumably to avoid fair catch interference. He didn\u2019t make that decision the second time Smith dropped the ball, and Young\u2019s takeaway was cashed in for a touchdown on the next snap. Another hallmark of Seattle\u2019s superb special teams.<\/p>\n Michael Dickson was outstanding<\/p>\n Five punts for Dickson, five punts inside the 20, two of which were muffed. Even the punt at the end of the game that forced Kyren Williams into a fair catch at his 7 was huge, as 93 yards in 25 seconds with no timeouts is almost impossible to pull off. The All-Pro punter was on his game.<\/p>\n Devon Witherspoon salvages a nightmare night with clutch plays<\/p>\n Through three quarters, I had never seen Witherspoon get bossed like that by wide receivers so thoroughly. He couldn\u2019t keep his footing, he was getting pushed around by Davante Adams and Puka Nacua, and it looks like his size disadvantage would prove to be a liability. Then the fourth quarter happened and he had two end zone pass break-ups on the game-deciding drive, plus the tackle on Puka Nacua on the final play to keep him in bounds and run the clock out.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the hallmark of a resilient, winning football player. Devon Witherspoon climbed into the Winners column for stepping up on the two biggest drives of his life.<\/p>\n Nick Emmanwori was the best player on the Seahawks defense<\/p>\n Bar none. Not even close. Five tackles, three TFLs, three PBUs, and maybe the game-shifting sequence before halftime when he broke up a pair of Stafford throws to force the Rams to give the ball back to the Seahawks. Instead of preserving a 13-10 halftime lead or maybe going up 16 or 20-10, the Seahawks had the 17-13 advantage going into the break. All of that started with this electrifying rookie out of South Carolina.<\/p>\n Klint Kubiak cooked Chris Shula<\/p>\n Could we be looking at two future NFL head coaches this offseason? Well, Shula can get going on whatever interviews he may have, but Kubiak is here to stay for at least another game. Kubiak had Shula\u2019s defense in a blender, and for a group that loves to disguise coverages, their coverages got undressed by a Kubiak masterpiece. The deep shots came back, the screens put their slow linebackers in space, and Shula struggled for answers all night.<\/p>\n I also commend Kubiak for staying aggressive on Seattle\u2019s final drive, which drained most of the remaining clock away. Seattle threw the ball repeatedly and found consistent success even at the risk of stopping the clock or turning it over.<\/p>\n John Schneider, you\u2019ve done something legendary<\/p>\n I\u2019ll let this speak for itself<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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