Winners and Losers from an uncomfortably close Seahawks win over Colts

The Seattle Seahawks almost had one of the most embarrassing losses of the season. Key word is almost.

Credit to 44-year-old Philip Rivers for not looking woefully out of his place in his first start in five years (well, up until his final throw of the game), but the Seahawks would’ve been summarily and maybe justifiably dismissed as serious Super Bowl contenders. They had to gut this victory out against a desperate Indianapolis Colts side and did so without scoring a touchdown.

Let’s get to Winners and Losers for Seahawks 18, Colts 16.

Winners

Jason Myers is our hero

Six field goal attempts, six makes, and a valuable win thanks to the leading field goal maker in the NFL this year. What more needs to be said? Also huge props to him for not botching the final kickoff and forcing the Colts to burn time with a return that was inefficient in terms of field position and time off the clock.

Rashid Shaheed is getting more involved in the offense

Shaheed’s punt return decisions could use some work, but we’re finally starting to see that chemistry build between Shaheed and Sam Darnold. He finished with 5 catches for 74 yards on 7 targets, continuing his strong offensive performance from last week. The game-winning drive was just about all Shaheed: kick return + a pair of catches to get Seattle into field goal range.

Mike Macdonald’s timeout usage was masterful

By calling timeouts the minute the Colts crossed midfield, Macdonald preserved time for the Seahawks in case the Colts made a field goal without picking up another first down. Had the Colts had another first down, the timeouts wouldn’t have mattered, but his defense stopped Jonathan Taylor on 3rd and 7 and left Sam Darnold with enough time to score again. I’ve been critical of Macdonald holding onto his timeouts too much at the end of halves, but he nailed situational football on this occasion. I might as well give Brian Eayrs a game ball since he’s a research analyst for Seattle and informs Macdonald of these choices.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba is back above the century mark

Chasing Calvin Johnson’s record looks like a lost cause unless he really unleashes hell on Earth over the final three weeks, but he still had 113 yards on 7 catches. His one bad play was an uncharacteristic dropped pass on a Sam Darnold dime over the middle. JSN is still far and away Seattle’s best offensive weapon and he continues to have one of the great seasons in Seahawks history.

Cooper Kupp gets more involved

Kupp caught 5 passes for 46 yards, which may not seem like much, but it’s his first time with that many catches since October. There’s still a little bit of life left in Kupp as a chain mover who rarely makes negative plays with the ball in his hands.

Sam Darnold delivers when it matters most

Was that a great game from Darnold? I thought he was good enough; he didn’t really put the ball in harm’s way (outside of yet another fumble, this time on a scramble) and essentially led two game-winning drives in a quarter. Apart from wanting a 3rd and 2 completion to assure the Colts never get the ball again, he executed that one-minute drill very well. Darnold is showing some accuracy issues a bit that weren’t there at the start of the season, which I partially attribute to an offensive line struggling a little bit more as of late.

Nick Emmanwori was the best defensive player

The rookie keeps wowing. He recorded a “sack” that was mostly Philip Rivers falling, getting up, then falling again with Nick in the area ready to deliver the boom on a man twice his age. Emmanwori also sniffed out a screen pass for minimal gain in the fourth quarter, recorded a tackle for loss, and recorded two passes defensed early on. If this is E-Man’s floor then he’s going to be a perennial Pro Bowl talent. His ceiling? One of the best defensive players in the NFL.

Leonard Williams keeps dominating

I didn’t think the Seahawks defensive line was all that great today, eespecially with some of the successful run plays allowed and lack of pass rush, but Big Cat had several runs stops, two tackles for loss, and two QB hits/pressures.

Coby Bryant is a closer

Four interceptions on the year for Coby, and now he’s picked off 44-year-old Rivers and 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers.

Losers

Klint Kubiak’s offense is running on borrowed time

Over the last 12 quarters of play, the Seahawks have had a burst of points in the 2nd half against the Atlanta Falcons and that’s about it. One offensive touchdown versus the Minnesota Vikings, none in the first half against Atlanta, and none in the whole game versus the Colts.

The lack of a cohesive dropback passing game without play action is glaring. Sam Darnold is the best in the business by EPA/play when using play action and average at best without it. When the Seahawks are put in unfavorable game scripts, Kubiak’s group has a hard time digging themselves out of tough situations. They’re seemingly fine in tempo/hurry-up situations, but it’s clear to me that the Seahawks offense is struggling in prolonged stretches that could prove catastrophic in the playoffs.

The running game may just be a lost cause

No explosive runs for the Seahawks. None. The offensive line got whipped up and down the field and struggled to open holes for either Kenneth Walker or Zach Charbonnet. On this day, Charbonnet was more effective with 31 yards on 8 carries to Walker’s 17 on 9, but combine those two and you get three yards per carry. That ain’t gonna get it done.

I’m not sure there’s really anyone to pinpoint, either. Seattle just lacks the people movers to dominate in the trenches and create space for their backs.

Brady Russell replaces Robbie Ouzts and blows his audition

Dropped an easy pass and made no impact in his limited snaps as a blocker. Either play Ouzts (despite his lack of effectiveness as a fullback) or don’t play a fullback at all. Russell is definitely not a fullback and his hands are as bad as they were in preseason.

Josh Jobe struggles on a day when the Colts barely had a passing attack

Jobe gave up the only touchdown on a crosser to Josh Downs, was fortunate not to get beaten deep on a play where Downs lost track of the ball, allowed a back shoulder crosser to Alec Pierce that allowed the Colts a chance to get into field goal range, and was the victim of a BS pass interference call. Ultimately, I think Jobe is a good player but he’s lived a charm life in terms of some plays breaking in his favor when he was otherwise beaten (see: Darnell Mooney touchdown last week). Riq Woolen should be getting the main snaps in base defense over Jobe; this isn’t to bench Josh as much as it’s to play Riq more.

Pass rush underwhelms against banged up Colts offensive line

Indianapolis lost their starting right tackle before the game started and then Bernhard Raimann went down in the first half. Rivers was getting the ball out quickly as expected, but the conservative pressure plan meant that Rivers was rarely put in bothersome spots throughout the afternoon. I know I sound like a broken record, but the Seahawks defense would really be upgraded by having a standout edge rusher and not a by-committee approach. Boye Mafe is almost destined to be elsewhere next season.

Adrian Hill’s crew only let one team play aggressively

I don’t get how Josh Jobe’s PI was PI but Jaxon Smith-Njigba could get hugged before the two-minute drill without a whistle. In fairness, the penalty count was light and not lopsided, but if you’re going to let physical play happen then make it happen both ways.

Final Notes

• Rylie Mills got his first NFL snaps, which surprised me. I didn’t expect him to go in cold with zero training camp and preseason reps. I’m curious to see what the snap counts were and whether this was pseudo-load management to not overwork the main guys ahead of Thursday’s game.
• A.J. Barner continues to be a security blanket as a receiver for Sam Darnold, but I’d like to see him utilized more in the intermediate passing attack.
• Zach Charbonnet has had pass protection issues three straight weeks, which is uncharacteristic given that’s been a strength of his. The one sack allowed was to Laiatu Latu, and while he’s Indy’s best pass rusher, Charbonnet’s rep was sub-optimal.
• The Colts didn’t have a great offensive performance. They averaged 3.7 yards per play, barely moved the ball after halftime, but the key for them was field position. Seattle’s offense failed to flip the field on multiple occasions when backed up, and Rashid Shaheed’s just gotta not fair catch punts inside his 10.
• Seattle’s streak of not allowing a 100-yard rusher continues. If the leading rusher in the NFL can’t do it, who can? Hopefully not Kyren Williams, who came really close in the first Seahawks vs. Rams tilt.
• Perhaps the biggest win for the Seahawks was having few injury issues outside of Abe Lucas and Derick Hall, both of whom returned to the game after heading into the medical tent.
• Beat the Rams and you’re in the playoffs. The No. 1 seed is still in sight, but getting into the playoffs is the first thing to do and winning on Thursday night clinches a spot with room to spare.