It has been long over a week since I have last took to writing on this blog. After a thrilling NFC championship victory over the talented Los Angeles Rams, I wanted to let things breathe a bit, and bask in the delight that the victorious Seattle Seahawks would be facing off against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX. What a joy this week has been with Seattle so much in the national spotlight.

The news of the Seahawks potentially being sold after the Super Bowl didn’t affect me much. We will see what comes out of it down the road if a sale in 2026 does happen, but generally, I am not concerned about it in the slightest.

I didn’t even find the news of Klint Kubiak looking like he’s going to get hired by the Raiders that upsetting, as much as I have wanted to see him remain here as offensive coordinator. If he does leave for that organization to be their new head coach, I will wish him well.

As the years go by, I feel less inclined to post about every news related thing in the Seahawks orbit, and I have gotten to a point where after writing a piece about a game played (which is customary on this blog), I feel little pull towards coming up with something mid week before the next one is to be played. The older I get, the more lazy I feel inclined to be, and in that, I try to limit time to this blog for only writing this that are really at the forefront of my mind.

Well, this Super Bowl LX certainly is very much on the forefront of my mind, and so is some other Seahawks related biz that I am happy to share some thoughts and feelings about. Let me just free flow these overriding feelings I got about the Hawks, this game, and some other things out there that have made some big news.

These 2025 Seahawks are my favorite iteration of all the Seattle Super Bowl Teams

I understand it if someone wants to accuse me of recency bias, and I mean absolutely no disrespect to the Legion Of Boom, Marshawn Lynch, Pete Carroll, or Mike Holmgren, Shaun Alexander, and Matthew Hasslebeck, but I deeply vibe on this present day Seahawks. This is my favorite Seahawks Super Bowl team, and it may not be close.

Part of it might be due to my vigilant defense of Mike Macdonald when many Twelves seemed reluctant about his hire, and lukewarm warm on his stamp on the team up until the past month or so. Another reason is probably also my strong defense of the front office moves John Schneider made this past offseason, and seeing that his actions were right ones, after all, in the face of so much national and local criticism.

Another much deeper part of it has to do with redemption storylines of players that few in the national media believed in once they became Seattle Seahawks in 2025. This is probably the greatest reason why I love this iteration of the team this year.

I have a long list of receipts from high profile NFL experts and insiders to trashed all over John Schneider for trading away Geno Smith, and replacing him with a much younger Sam Darnold last offseason. Mina Kimes, Ben Solak, Nick Wright, Sheil Kapadia, and many others all get paid handsomely wax on about their thoughts and feels about NFL players and front office moves, and when they all parrot off of each other by saying that they “aren’t sure what the plan is in Seattle” it pretty much directly implies that at they all seem to feel that they know more about football than John Schneider does, and by that very nature, it can make a person such as myself root harder to see them all proven wrong, which is exactly what this team, and these players have done this year. All of them.

It turns out that Sam Darnold is quite a bit better of a NFL QB than Geno Smith is, and his 2024 year with the Vikings wasn’t a fluky outlier one, after all, as many of these sorts suggested that it was. It also turns out that he seems to be one of the nicest dudes in the league who is very easy to like, and all the players on the Seahawks seem to genuinely have love for the guy. I don’t know if that could’ve ever been fully said about Geno Smith in his time here, or Russell Wilson and his. Personally, I like the quarterback of the Seahawks to be this type of person.

It also turns out the DeMarcus Lawerence, at age 32, still has quite a bit of juice left in his tank to be a badass edge rusher, and tone setter against the run. It seems to be that Cooper Kupp, despite what critics have said about him, still provides a lot of critical value to an offense even if he isn’t quite the same player he was a few years ago.

It appears, also, that Byron Murphy isn’t a bust at defensive tackle, that AJ Barner is a talent at tight end, that Ty Okada is more than a depth player, Drake Thomas is actually a pretty good linebacker, and that Seattle has finally found a decent center in Jalen Sundell.

It also seems true that Jaxon Smith Njibga is a bit more than just a slot receiver, and the Seahawks were fine to move away from DK Metcalf, after all. Congrats, JSN for winning Offensive Player of the Year last night!

These Seattle Seahawks are not a team loaded with big names and superstars. They have some recognizable names of players who have been in the league for a minute. They have Leonard Williams, Julian Love, and Sam Darnold who New York fans know well. They have Cooper Kupp who folks remember as a Super Bowl MVP some years back. They got DeMarcus Lawrence who Cowboy fans know very well. Now, NFL fans know JSN pretty well thanks to his massive breakout season.

But this team is loaded up with so much good smart talent across the board. They have athletic smart offensive linemen like rookie Grey Zabel, and tackles Abe Lucas, and Charles Cross. They have a badass inspirational linebacker in Ernest Jones. Their secondary is loaded at safety and cornerback. Their running back is an explosive playmaker. Their defensive line is fierce and comes at offenses in waves.

Despite what so many doubters and critics were saying about them back in August, this a badass roster, undeniably so. So, excuse me if I feel like dunking on all these experts who dumped on Schneider months ago.

This team is talented, they are ego free, they play together for each other, and.. wait for it..

They do not care.

I love this. I absolutely do.

I have watched Seahawks football religiously for four decades of my life. This is my favorite group of guys to represent the Seahawks in a Super Bowl. Win or lose come Sunday, that feeling I have for them will not change a bit.

I am not much concerned about Nick Emmanwori’s ankle situation

Nick Emmanwori is going to play in this Super Bowl. I was sure of this when news broke late Wednesday that he hurt his ankle in practice, and Mike Macdonald confirmed it that he’ll play in his presser yesterday.

When it gets to the week of the Super Bowl, unless you really do have some sort of significant break on something, you’re suiting up and playing. Days before the last time the Seahawks played in the Super Bowl, Kam Chancellor tore his MCL in practice, and they put a big fat brace on that thing, and he played through it.

Emmanwori is too valuable to this Seahawk defense to not play in this game. In my opinion, outside of Leonard Williams, I think he’s the best player on the defense, and his presence in the hybrid nickel/safety/linebacker role is plays is the straw the stirs up the whole drink. They will tape up that low ankle sprain, shoot him up with some high end pain killer stuff, and he will be lining up to limit run plays, cover tight ends, and potentially rush Drake Maye.

There is a legit question to how well he holds in there, and what their backup plan will be if he has to come off the field, but my expectation for him is that he will be good to go, and he will play well enough in this game to potentially garnish MVP considerations should Seattle hold off the Patriots. I’m not really worried about him.

What I expect in this game on Sunday

I expect it to feel like a dog fight, but I feel that if Seattle does how they have done for most of this season, they will do enough to win this game. I know that there are narratives brewing about Mike Vrabel making sure his defense makes Sam Darnold see ghosts, but I think a lot of that is fueled by overly confident Patriot fans who only really remember Darnold from several years ago when he was a young QB on the dysfunctional Jets team playing against peak Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.

Darnold is a much different quarterback now with good built up scar tissue, and a much deeper stronger understanding of what NFL defenses will try to do against him. I suspect that Vrabel will very much try to send pressure at Darnold early and often, and I do not know if the results are going to be what Patriot fans are going to want to see.

I think this happens with blitzes and man coverage. In that, I suspect that Klint Kubiak and Darnold are also aware this is likely coming, and much of the prep this week is coming up with proper beaters against man coverage blitzing.

The last time a team really tried this approach against Seattle was the Atlanta Falcons, who at the time late in the season, were league leaders in sacks and pressures. Sam had one of his best games of the year on that day in early December throwing for 250 yards, three touchdowns with a passer rating of 111.7. The Rams tried to do more of this against him in the NFC Championship game, and he was able to out duel Matthew Stafford in that fateful match.

I respect that New England’s defense is likely better than the Rams or Falcons defense, but according to Pro Football Focus, Sam Darnold was one of the best quarterbacks this season throwing against blitzes. So, while I think we could see him getting got a few times by the Patriot defenders this Sunday, I think it is likely that he is going to get his, as well. The tape and analytics suggest that he will.

So what does this mean for others in the Seahawks offense?

I think we are going to have to need Seattle’s offensive line to show up big in this one, and they have been playing well enough as of late to think that they will be up for the task. I suspect that we are apt to see a big game out of Ken Walker as a receiver, and runner, and I think we could see big contributions from Cooper Kupp, and AJ Barner, as well.

My feeling is that if New England opts to use a lot of man with blitzes, it will be with the design to take JSN away as much as possible (questionable how effective that will be), and the result of sending DBs and linebackers is that K9, Kupp, and Barner could be left available for easy dump offs. K9, Kupp, and Barner all have skillsets to get the ball in their hands and get up field for YAC, and K9 has the ability to house the thing if one guy misses him in space. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kubiak devises ways to get JSN the ball against pressure blitzes, as well.

All of this is contingent on the offensive line holding strong, and Darnold staying strong in the face of pressure. I think the QB and line are going to be up for this task in this one very vital game. That’s not my heart talking. That is my gut vibe.

Defensively, I think Seattle will be tasked to contain Drake Maye and not let him beat defenders with his legs. I suspect that we will see the Kyler Murray and Brock Prudy rush plans. Don’t let him get outside, and force him to stay in the pocket, and if he tries to step up against Leonard Williams, and Byron Murphy to pass or escape up field with his legs, have linebackers there to meet him.

I trust that Mike Macdonald will have his defenders ready for this, on top of covering downfield which New England will obviously try to use Maye’s arm to target after seeing what the Rams did with Matthew Stafford, and his receivers. The thing of it is, though, I don’t see Maye having the same degree of success Stafford had.

I respect that Drake Maye has taken massive steps forward this year, and clearly looks like he is on his way to being an elite NFL quarterback. I get that he sees coverages well, and doesn’t turn the ball over a ton, and is a strong armed accurate playmaker. I also see that there are two rookie offensive linemen on the left side of the Patriots offensive line, and the Seattle Seahawks have the best defensive line in football right now. You cannot tell me that a high caliber defensive minded coach such as Macdonald isn’t going to be looking for ways to exploit New England’s offensive line deficiencies in this one, and get to Maye early and often, if Vrabel decides the path to victory is Maye throwing a lot.

For as much talk as there is about how Sam Darnold can hold up against New England’s pass rush and blitzes, I think there could be more chatter about how Maye and his rookie offensive linemen hold up against Seattle’s wave of rushers. Based on what has happened in the playoffs, I am anticipating that Seattle is going to get sacks in this game, and I think we are going see them get some turnovers off of pressures, as well.

In fact, I do sorta see this game rounding into a bit more of a defensive battle. I know both offensives are explosive, but I don’t see this super high scoring like some suggest it will become. I think both QBs are likely to make plays and also get gotten at times.

This feels like a game that could go down to special teams, and what offensive line holds in better. Right now, I feel better about Seattle on both fronts. I really think that if Seattle does what they have done throughout this year, they should do enough to win.

But we shall see.

Quick thought about Klint Kubiak leaving for Vegas

I didn’t want to see him go, and I was hoping for him to stick it out as OC a bit longer in Seattle, but I am used to not getting everything that I want. Barring some sort of change of heart or breakdown in negotiations, I think he’s as good as gone right after the Super Bowl.

I really hope that the Seattle offensive players rally in the game against a good New England defense and send him out of Seattle a Super Bowl winning play caller. I am sure he has every intention of going out this way. It will matter to him greatly for his legacy as an NFL coach, but also having that pelt on the wall in Vegas once he is in charge of running that ship and commanding a locker room that is starved to win.

What I suspect will happen next for Seattle is to maybe not cast as wide of a net as possible like they did last year when they fired Ryan Grubb to eventually land on Kubiak as the replacement. In hiring Kubiak, I think it is pretty clear that Macdonald has chosen the Kubiak/Shanahan offensive system as his preferred way to operate with the football. There are coaches throughout the league who are versed in this system. They run shades of it in Green Bay, Minnesota, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, and of course it is run in San Francisco.

I am guessing that Macdonald and John Schneider are quite happy with Sam Darnold and will look to build further around him. It makes sense to look in Minnesota at his old QB coach, but I suspect that they will look more internally this time around, and I would think that pass game coordinator Jake Peetz, who was a valuable remember of Sean McVay’s staff in LA, who knows Cooper Kupp very well, has spent two years building a relationship with Macdonald here, and has soaked in a year working with Kubiak designing plays for Sam Darnold, possibly has the inside track on the gig.

It could go to run game specialist Justin Outten who is credited with the second half of the season surge of the run game. It could also be given to QB coach Andrew Janocko who has followed Kubiak around to multiple stops, and probably knows his system well. I just have a vibe that Peetz might be the guy Macdonald feels most comfortable with, and they will try to hang onto Outten to become the official run game coordinator.

They could, of course, try to lure Arthur Smith away from the Ohio State gig that he just accepted. There was a rumor that Macdonald wanted to bring him to Seattle when he was going through the interview process, but Smith chose to not wait it out and took the Pittsburgh gig instead. Smith runs a wide zone scheme very similar to Kubiak’s. I just don’t know if he’s the right personality fit for what Macdonald has built here with his present staff, and I think there will be a feeling maybe that there is just as good of a solution from within the staff, but we shall see.

Whatever happens, I don’t see Macdonald drifting away from this scheme that paired so well with his defense this year. I think he will look for someone to best carry the thing on. This would make most sense to me.

Thoughts about the Seahawks potentially being sold in 2026

Anyone who regularly follows this team knows that eventually Jody Allen is going to have to sell this team. The trust of her late brother Paul demands it to happen and the proceeds to be put forth into his various charities.

In 2024, a provision in the team’s lease with the stadium ran its course that would have provided that ten percent of any sale of the team go to the State of Washington. This was a protective measure that local government put in to prevent the team to be sold to some ass wipe who would look to relocate the team like Ken Behring tried to do in the nineties.

Now that this provision is almost two years up, I think the league is putting some pressure on Jody to put the team up for sale. The league is run by billionaires and they want to see the value of their own assets go up. A sale of the Seattle Seahawks will most certainly do that.

There is suggestion out there that the Paul Allen trust states that Jody must prioritize finding some local buyer solution, and if one cannot step up, an out of town owner must commit to keeping the Seahawks in Seattle. This is partly why I am not personally concerned about someone buying the team in order to move them out of the region. The other part is that I simply do no see her as the sort of would sell this team off to just anyone, especially in the wake of what happened with the SuperSonics, and Behring with team way back when.

There is tons of big money in Seattle and the PNW. It doesn’t even have to be one person stepping up and buying the team like some suggest Jeff Bezos is angling to eventually do. Jody could find a local ownership group, and this is a growing trend in professional sports. It could be a combination of Bill Gates, McKenzie Scott, and a couple of former players and Jody herself that comprise the ownership group all fulfilling the local angle.

It could even just as simply be as easy as Bezos buying the team outright, and maybe also being the one who brings an expansion Sonics team back to Seattle in the process, as well. I know that he is a polarizing figure, and feathers would be ruffled for some if he owned them, but he does not strike me as the type who would be a meddlesome owner. With all of his vast wealth, and enterprises that he is ambitious about, it sorta stands to reason that he wouldn’t be so needy as to spend the day to days around a team, but want good football people running it for him. That would be my hunch with a Bezos ownership, if he has heavy designs on the team, and this was the worst kept secret for a number of years now. We shall see.

My simple ask for any future owner (or ownership group) of this team is to not be a know it all impatient asshole, to not think you know more about football than good football people do, and to not be an embarrassment owner like the one in Cleveland, or a tight wad one like the one in Cincinnati. Be humble, and smart, be supportive and enthusiastic, and trust the minds of sharp football types like John Schneider and Mike Macdonald.

In short, be like the Allens.

Go Hawks!

First off, let me congratulate Mike Macdonald for an incredible second season as the Seattle Seahawks head coach, and earning his first playoff win in a shocking and decisive manner last night against a bitter divisional foe. It is no easy task to come all the way up the PNW, and replace a legendary head coach in Pete Carroll who was massively well liked by many inside this fanbase.

Many people deepened their fandom of the Seahawks because of Carroll, and the success he had here building up a winner, and cultivating an incredibly positive culture within this organization, and community. Kudos to Macdonald for taking the baton, and not only running with it, but flying past the competition in this NFC West division that has grown in recent years to really outclass Seattle and Carroll in many regards.

If you are a fair-weathered Seattle sports fan who has been reluctant to jump on the Seahawks bandwagon because of your unsureness of Macdonald, and perhaps his new quarterback, and other new faces, I invite you now to climb back onboard. This team and their head coach is special.

Now for the real meat of this piece. I have something that I would like to very publicly get off of my chest right here, and right now. I want to address my immense dislike and disdain for the San Francisco 49ers and many of those inside their fanbase that has grown increasingly more and more toxic over the years.

There are teams that I have strongly disliked over the years, and because of that, I will likely never ever root for them. This is no different than virtually almost every other diehard sports fan.

Growing up in the eighties a huge Seattle SuperSonics fan, I could not stand the LA Lakers and their flashy Show Time bull crap, and I still strongly dislike them to this day. I also have a strong dislike for the Yankees and the pure arrogance of their fanbase. I have a huge dislike for the Denver Broncos and the Raiders because of old ties to the AFC West when Seattle used to play inside that division.

Back in the nineties, I had a massive dislike for the Dallas Cowboys and their players who famously rented mansion a stone’s toss from their practice facility especially to do lines of cocaine off of the ass cheeks of pornstars and strippers and then gang bang them while their wives breastfed their kids at home. Every time I see Michael Irvin popup on my television screen, I want to turn the channel, and I detest Troy Aikman more than any other game analyst out there because of his Cowboy-ness.

This all said, let me be perfectly clear and unambiguous about my thoughts and feels about the San Francisco 49ers, and their fanbase. I absolutely, positively despise them with every single fiber of my being. There is not a cell or an atom that exists within my psychical being that doesn’t find the 49ers and their Faithful utterly repugnant.

I say this having some friends and family who are devote 49er Fans, and simply put, I do not like that side of them as much as I love everything else about them as people. This is the facts jack.

If you are a fan of the Niners because you grew up in Northern California, I will gladly give you that. However, I know people who grew up in this region way up North here, close to my age, that jumped on the 49er bandwagon back in the eighties when Joe Montana was maybe the most likable guy in football, and they were winning Super Bowls, and the Seahawks simply were not. It is one thing to like a team because you like a player on them, but it is something else to choose to continue liking them over the team that is within your own region.

The San Francisco 49ers have not had the Joe Montana and then Steve Young magic in over thirty years, now. On top of that, they are no longer a team filled with likable players such was the case in the eighties and nineties. In fact, for almost a decade now, this is an organization that chooses to cultivate a culture of players who act like arrogant trash talking thugs on the football field.

I respect that Brock Purdy is probably a pretty good dude, but this is not a team that lets their quality of play do the talking. Instead, they want to play the game doing underhanded shit on the field hoping to win a psychological warfare game against opponents. So, fuck them.

They now present utter joy whenever they lose a game to all viewers who are not San Francisco fans. As Jesus famously said, live by the sword, die by the sword, motherf*ckers. You play the game in a toxic way, and root in a toxic manner, eventually, it is going to come back around, and chew up your asshole on big national stages.

It is clear from the results of last night’s game that the Seattle Seahawks were ready to chew off the butts of 49ers, and embarrass them in front of the world. From my perspective, and every Seahawks fan who hates this team as much as I do, and I suspect that is well in the millions, this was absolutely a glorious sight to see all game long last night.

I hate this team so much that would rather drink out of a carton of rotten milk, and then look inside a toilet bowl at a massive un-flushed turd filled with corn chunks and pieces of under chewed carrots sticking out of it than see the 49ers win a ball game against the Seattle Seahawks. This is not an exaggeration at all. I have a degree of healthy hatred towards the Rams because of our divisional rivalry, and I suppose if the Cardinals got really good, I would feel it with them, as well, but my level of hate towards all things 49ers is just extra-extra.

Fortunately for myself, the Seahawks own the overall series record between these two teams 33-24 with the divisional round playoff fought and won by Hawks last night in Seattle. So, for the most part, when these two teams have played over the years, I have been a happy camper more times than not.

Now you might think this is a bit overkill sharing with you all of my deep dark thoughts about this certain Bay Area team, and their horrendous hoard of fans who like to think of themselves as some thuggish Bang Bang Gang, but I think it is actually quite apropos to be this honest about it all. After all, since the Seahawks refer to their defense as The Dark Side, I suppose it is a bit fitting that I harness my inner Sith, and reveal all my 49er hatred as vividly as possible.

I think my full unabashed hatred of the San Francisco 49ers all starts (and maybe even ends) with Kyle Shanahan, himself. I generally think that the 49er fanbase is a massive collection of thugs, and punks, and dimwitted wannabe instagram models who will be eventually working at Target once their sugar daddy tech bro boyfriends leave them for someone else younger and cuter, but that is either here, or there. Shanahan is the chief reason why I think the 49ers can collectively suck lightbulb sockets together.

I am sure that there is a side of himself that is a decent human being who doesn’t backhand his kids when they don’t do their homework right, but for me, I just see Shanahan coming across too much like a massive twisted up arrogant prick on Sundays for my likings. In fact, I believe the exact words that I used to describe him to friends in a recent thread is that he’s a punk ass bitch chump motherf*cking dill weed douche face, and because of that, watching him lose games is a joy almost greater than shower sex.

Under Shanahan, the San Francisco 49ers have gotten by in this league for about nine seasons now playing the game like a bunch of jerk faces. San Francisco players like Deommodore Lenoir, Fred Warner, and Juaun Jennings have been allowed to play dirty physical games on the field trying to stir up shit against opposing players, and it often feels like they are perhaps filling out mandates from the head coach, himself. Sure enough, out of this game last night, there is a viral clip of Lenoir head butting Seattle receiver Jaxon Smith Njigba after a play, and no whistle was ever blown. Classy.

In team sports, players are almost certainly reflections of their head coach in charge. For years in New England, the Patriots were very blue color no-nonsense emotionless cerebral guys, like Bill Belichick. The Seahawks under Pete Carroll were a collection of oddballs free to speak their minds, and played with tons of infectious passion, but had a lack of discipline that could leave you pulling your hairs out.

The 49ers under Shanahan are a collection of arrogant cocky assed pricks who think they are better than everyone else, and then they whine and bitch whenever games don’t go their way in result. That is all. That is it. You tell me what is worse to be as a collective.

Now, I know they have Brock Purdy, and George Kittle, and they are certainly fine fellas, and players. Belichick had Gronk in New England, so every teams has exceptions to their overall vibes. I just look at this 49er collective, though, and I am glad that they got their assed kicked by Seattle in this manner.

The only thing that will be annoying coming out of this total 41-6 beatdown by the Seattle Seahawks is the excuses that 49ers players, coaches, and fans will land on as to why they fell short. “Oh, we didn’t have Bosa and Warner, we didn’t have George Kittle.”

Please. Like Warner and Bosa pass block or run routes for Brock Purdy.

The Seattle Seahawks own the San Francisco 49ers right now, and I suspect that they will continue owning them for a while, even with Warner and Bosa coming back next year. The Seahawks are young, fast, strong, and talented. The 49ers are old and expensive and are becoming increasingly more injury prone.

Because of their draft position this Spring, the 49ers won’t pick high enough to take a left tackle to groom behind the very old Trent Williams, and because they have paid Brock Purdy a massive contract, they will no longer be significant players in free agency. They will have to cut expensive players to manage their camp. This is the reality of being good for a number of years, and having to pay your young talented quarterback.

What is worse for them is that the Seattle Seahawks have hired a head coach in Mike Macdonald that seems to know specifically how to successfully handle Kyle Shanahan’s vaunted offense, and make it struggle mightily. It is not unimaginable that if the 49ers have a down year next year, or a year of mediocrity against the Seahawks and Rams, Shanahan could find himself on a very hot seat if he cannot properly figure out how to score on Macdonald’s defenses that get thrown at him and Brock Purdy.

And let us talk about Purdy for a moment, shall we?

He is not a great athlete. He’s not got much of an arm, and he isn’t tall. It could be as simple as a situation for the 49ers and their delusional toxic fanbase that Macdonald was hired by Seattle because he knows exactly how to play and limit Purdy into being a very average to sub average quarterback whenever these two teams face up, and Seattle will always have that advantage over him, regardless.

This would be an ironic painful reality pill to swallow for the 49er Faithful because of all the 49er fans that want to trash talk about Sam Darnold being with the Seahawks, but at least Darnold is capable of making big time throws downfield that could test a high end defense in the league. I don’t think Purdy is necessarily physically capable of it. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Sean McVay in LA studies more of Macdonald’s defense to gain further insight on how his defense can play against San Francisco next year.

As for Sam Darnold and the Seahawks?

Yeah, I guess that oblique muscle of his was perfectly fine in this game. Sam managed well when he threw, but because the 49er defense was so piss poor at stopping Seattle’s run game, it really didn’t matter. Ken Walker had the game of the ages for himself carrying the rock and terrorizing 49er tacklers who looked like they were ready to give up with five minutes left to go in the third quarter. What an epic night for K9!

Nice to see Darnold win a big playoff game, though, so that stupid narration led by the likes of Mike Florio and others can now be stamped down a bit. I have said it before, and I will gladly say it again, the narration of Darnold in big games and the playoffs was the dumbest thing in NFL coverage this year. Sam Darnold has now played in two playoff games in his career, and is now 1-1 in both those two games. So, please, pretty please, shut the holy F up about Darnold in the playoffs.

Now, as it stands, a whole lotta shit talking 49er fans have to deal with the fact that Sam Darnold, the one time backup to Brock Purdy, played better football in the divisional round playoff matchup between these two teams than their prized overpaid quarterback. He played clean, efficient, turnover free football against this 49er defense that was supposedly going to make life miserable for him all game long, according to dimwitted Niner fans online all last week. Kudos for him for that.

In fact, Darnold did the opposite of what Purdy did. He took the check downs when needed. He moved the ball downfield, and successfully tested Robert Saleh’s defense. Yeah, kudos to Sammy D. Can’t wait for what Colin Cowherd has to say about that.

These Seattle Seahawks, though. Man, this is a badass team to be excited about. This defense is EXCITING STUFF! These special teams led by the return game of Rashid Shaheed is simply spectacular. This offense, whether by running the ball, or Darnold’s explosive downfield passing, is impressively explosive.

This is, without a doubt, the most dangerous and complete team Seattle has had since it last played in a Super Bowl a decade ago. I wrote a whole entire piece this last week about all the reasons why this team can win a Super Bowl this year, and I think we saw it on display against the 49ers last night.

There was all this pumped up narration about the 49ers heading into this game based on their win in Philadelphia against a dysfunctional Eagles team that blew that game as much as the 49ers won it. All this talk this week was about how close of a game this was going to be in Seattle and whether Sam Darnold wouldn’t crap his pants against Robert Saleh’s defense.

What a load of shit coming out of the mouths of Skip Bayless and his podcast crew about how Darnold couldn’t be trusted, and Seattle were frauds. What a bunch of horse shit from the experts elsewhere who said they favored San Francisco simply because of Shanahan’s experience over Macdonald.

How many Seahawk games did any of these guys actually sit down in watch?

The Seahawks have been beating the crap out of good teams all year long. They beat Jacksonville on the road, they beat the Texans, the Rams, the 49ers, Colts, and Panthers.

Whole lotta jackasses have egg on their faces after this one, and this is a statement of fact. There is egg on Florio’s face, on Eisen’s, on Skip Bayless, and on Stephen A Smith.

Even Richard Sherman, himself, didn’t foresee on his prediction podcast this Seattle beatdown over the 49ers. How the fuck did he, himself, not look at these two rosters and not see this outcome coming? Was he just trying to play nice to the 49er section of his fanbase? Was he just not that trusting in Mike Macdonald and Darnold over douche face Shanahan and his little Brock Purdy?

My goodness.

Great day to be a Seahawks fan, though. Hope they can keep this going next week whether it is the Rams or Bears we face.

This biggest single cherry on top of the Seahawks going to the Super Bowl and winning it this year would be for them to do it in Santa Clara at the Stadium that the 49ers play in. This would be the absolute final icing applied on the cake for this team this year.

Imagine what that would do for the psyche of the Bang Bang Nine Gang and that fanbase. Imagine their shame. Imagine the pressure placed on Kyle Shanahan next season to beat Seattle.

Imagine it all, indeed.

Go Hawks!

It is okay to start buying into the Seattle Seahawks. I give you permission. I know the head coach doesn’t sport a legendary name, and you may have bought into some lazy narratives about the team, and some of their players, but they have closed the season finishing 14-3, they won the NFC West division, and they will host every playoff game they play along with having a first round playoff bye to get healthier and better prepared. It is okay to buy some stock in them.

By beating the San Francisco 49ers last night, the Seahawks now have the best path in the NFC towards earning a Super Bowl appearance. This is a statement of fact.

They have a defense that is built to win a championship, they have great special teams, they run the ball pretty well now with two explosive backs, and they have a quarterback who knows how to lead them to wins late in games, if needed. These are things you want to have heading into the playoffs.

So much hype went into this game all week long, and in that hype, there was an absurd amount of it built up around Sam Darnold. Whether it was on Youtube, the radio, or television, or in print, seemingly everyone wanted to make this game in Santa Clara about whether or not Darnold was going to collapse against a division opponent in the last regular season game of the year, with the division on the line, much like he did last year in Detroit when he was a Minnesota Viking. All week long, this was the storyline that almost all wanted to make this game about.

Personally, I found this whole forced narrative about Darnold beyond annoying, and I spent the entire week hating it almost more than I hate seeing mayonnaise on my hamburger after I specifically asked for it to be held off. Ever since that one bad game of his against the Rams in mid November, it feels like people have constantly wanted to dumb on this guy, and with every interception or fumble he might have, it would just get further magnified.

This dude threw for over 4000 yards this year. In that, he completed 67 percent of his passes, and he threw 25 touchdowns against 14 interceptions. You take away that one bad game against the Rams when he threw those 4 picks, and all these passing numbers look pretty damn impressive on the year.

He was also voted into the Pro Bowl largely by players and coaches, but still there were those who just wanted to dumb on the guy, and throw doubt upon of him whenever opportunities came up. My goodness, what a bunch of mindless nonsense that constantly got spewed out about him this last week, and for nearly two months now.

And what has Sam Darnold done since that one gawd awful game of his in LA on November 16th? He’s bloody well guided the Seattle Seahawks to wins the entire rest of the way through the remaining season. That is what he did, and in that incredible TNF game against the Rams late in the fourth quarter and overtime, it was all Darnold leading the charge with his arm in the end.

Now, I know that last night’s win against the 49ers was largely due to the stellar play of Mike Macdonald’s defense now formally known as the Dark Side Defense of the Seattle Seahawks, but Darnold was a guiding force on the offense passing for the efficient numbers of 20 for 26 passes, 198 yards, and no turnovers while they ran the living snot out of the football right down the bang-bang-less 49er defense’s throat. Not the sexiest passing numbers, one might say, but this was not a night where Seattle needed sexy QB play. They needed quarterback efficiency most of all as they controlled the line of scrimmage and clock.

I am not here to say that Sam Darnold is some super elite quarterback, and deserves to be thought of that way, far from it, but I am here to say that he is a good quarterback, and that some of these narratives centered around whether he can win in big moments have been largely overblown. I think with these late season wins against the Rams and the 49ers, with everything on the line in both of these games, we can say that now.

Do turnovers tend to follow him around? Sure, but turnovers have also followed Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Drew Brees, Joes Flacco, and notoriously Brett Farve, all Super Bowl winning quarterbacks that were able to lead their team to wins despite their turnovers.

Some QBs just have this trait, and the question then becomes around them whether they have other traits for which help them overcome these mistakes. Personally, I think it is very possible that Sam will ultimately fall into this class that includes these particular QBs listed above. Shoot, Matthew Hasslebeck, back in the day, falls exactly into this group. So maybe chillax some about Sammy’s turnovers, mmmmkaaaay?

Minnesota won 14 games with Sam last year, and Seattle just picked up their 14 win of this season with him last night. There is no flukiness inside any of this, and while some lazy dipstick on ESPN might say that Seattle is winning despite Slinging Sammy D, I say horse crap to that, they are winning because of him paired with this defense, and ground game, and special teams. Fuck it, though. Enough on Sam.

Heading into this matchup in Santa Clara, I was not convinced in the slightest that the 49ers were a better team than Seattle. I recognized that their quarterback had been playing very hot the past few games, and their head coach is a great offensive play caller, but I was also aware that the Niners had been playing the easiest schedule in the league, and well, their defense minus their star players, just wasn’t very good.

I had a ton of confidence about the Seahawks matching up against San Fransisco, and I did not have that level of confidence a few weeks ago when the Seahawks faced Los Angeles for the second time. In truth, the Rams still make me a bit nervous, but these 49ers do not.

I had a feeling all week that all Seattle had to do to win the division on Saturday was to simply play their defense as they are capable of playing it, run the football, and not turn the ball over, and they would likely win. All this total horseshit hype about whether Darnold could win a shootout battle against Brock Purdy, I felt was largely a gigantic pile of mindlessness spewed out on ESPN, and other airwaves, and this game proved it to be just that, emphatically so.

There was no way that San Francisco was going to put up points against this Seahawk defense like they did last Sunday against the Chicago Bears. It just was never going to be that sort of game. I felt this to the pit of my stomach as I watched what this defense did to Bryce Young in Carolina last Sunday, holding him to under 60 yard passing while taking away the run.

The Seattle Seahawk defense has too much speed, power, and talent at all three levels of it, and they are playing with supreme confidence and discipline. I think they possess the best overall defensive line in football, and their secondary and linebackers are not too far off from that, either.

In two weeks time, when they play in the divisional round of the playoffs at home, they defense will also likely be healthy and more ready to whoop ass on whomever shows up to that game. I think this game of theirs down in Santa Clara in front of a bunch of shocked 49er fans was just a mere preview of what will be around the corner.

These are not the end of his regime Pete Carroll Seahawk defenders who are unsure and under prepared that Kyle Shanahan can easily exploit and punk in any sorta matchup. These are Mike Macdonald defenders, and it feels like they are still scratching the surface of what they can be together which leads me to this other thought coming out of this game.

I don’t know if the Seahawks make it to the Super Bowl this year, they might, but I can tell you with a lot more confidence that I think we are witnessing the beginning of the end of the San Fransisco 49ers being a special team in the NFC under Shanahan. This is just a real strong hunch I got, especially coming out of this game.

Yes, I know that the Niners were without their starting left tackle, they were down a receiver, and without two big name players on defense, but I think under Shanahan, the 49ers are trending towards old, expensive, and brittle much like the Seahawks started to trend under Carroll in 2017. On top of that, they paid Brock Purdy a ton of money, and I do not think he’s that much better of a quarterback than Darnold, truthfully.

In fact, in some ways, I think Purdy is more limited than Darnold, especially in the arm talent it takes to stay tough in the pocket and push the ball downfield, and believe you me, Mike Macdonald has intentionally designed his defense to keep Purdy inside the pocket where he is a much different quarterback than he is passing off of boot legs. The 49er Faithful probably doesn’t want to face this fact right now, but neither did the Seattle Twelves want to face facts about the limited nature of Russell Wilson back in the day as he started to age, and the league started to catch up to him.

In fact, if I were a 49er fan, I would actually be quite nervous about Mike Macdonald being the head coach of the Seahawks moving forward with Purdy at quarterback. Macdonald’s defense knows how to play him, and his players are only going to continue to get better in this scheme.

The Seahawks won by a low scoring 13-3 victory, but if Jason Myers had hit two manageable field goals, the Hawks would have come out of this game in a very lopsided AFC North 19-3 type looking victory. What would it have looked like if a couple of those field goal attempt drives turned into touchdown drives? It would have been an epically ugly blowout loss for the Niners at home with the division title on the line.

This week will consist of a pushed out narrative that the 49ers can bounce back from this game, and really, the Seahawks didn’t beat them that soundly. There will almost certainly be this type of campaign for them on ESPN and other outlets heading into wildcard weekend, but what if we just saw a teaser trailer last night for what matchups between these two teams will be like in the future moving forward? I don’t think it is an unrealistic reality to imagine, personally.

Moving into these playoffs, and beyond this year, it is also now entirely possible that Macdonald has even sent out a league wide blue print on how to play Purdy moving forward. This is just a statement of fact about football and the copycat nature of the sport.

In this fact, eventually, this Seahawk offense is going to gel together more under Klint Kubiak, and in that, we will likely see much better consistency next season. I think this is just another nature of the sport. Some offensive schemes take time to master, and the Kubiak-Shanahan scheme is very much one of those.

The Seahawks might win the Super Bowl this year, it could happen in a wide open league where it is debatable who the true dominant favorites are, but I truly suspect that the 2026 Seahawks will be a better team. In fact, I am certain of it based on the overall youth and talent on this roster.

In contrast, what happens to the 49ers when they have to start shaving high priced contracts off their roster to make Purdy’s large cap dollars work? How much longer can they go with Trent Williams, George Kittle, CMC, and Fred Warner? What happens when Darnold can go more toe to toe in a shootout against Brock after further maturity in Seattle’s offensive scheme?

The San Francisco 49ers might win a playoff game this year, they are a good team with tons of playoff experience, but I do not expect them to go far, and if they do meet up against the Seahawks in the playoffs, I suspect that they could face an even uglier butt kicking that they received from the Hawks last night. They just do not feel like a team that can match Seattle’s speed and strength, and you could see it all over their faces last night in the television broadcast. I don’t think a return of Trent Williams and Fred Warner changes the scenario much for them in a second matchup should both veterans be ready to play.

The 49er fanbase might be filled with a bunch of delusional toxic glue sniffers, but I suspect a lot of players inside that 49er locker room probably now sense, deep down inside, that Seattle is just going to now be a really difficult out for them moving forward. When that doubt starts to trickle through, Kyle Shanahan is going to really start to have his work cut out for him.

Think of it this way. Mike Macdonald was hired in Seattle to beat his offense with a defense that can take away what he wants to do, and Macdonald has hired an offensive coordinator who has insight on how Shanahan runs his offense.

What insight does Shanahan have on Macdonald? How is he going to beat a defense that is versatile, and complex, that is discipline, and plays fast and strong, and is deep on talent?

At least the Rams, with Matthew Stafford, have a quarterback with the experience, size and arm talent that can test a defense downfield from the pocket. Brock Purdy just is not that guy, and he never will be, ever. In fact, Sam Darnold might become that more that type of QB in Seattle over time than Purdy ever will in San Francisco, and this is just a fact based on his physical traits as a player.

So, yeah. I do think this game for the division title does potentially feel like a divisional passing of the torch. I am fully on board with that view.

As demonstrated in this game, all Seattle needs to do in these playoffs is run the football like they did, don’t turn the ball over, and just play their brand of Dark Side defense. They are fully capable of doing these things against a Rams, Bears and 49ers team that aren’t great right now on defense, an Eagles team that has issues on offense, and a Packers team that doesn’t feel particularly special.

I fully believe that it is not an insane thought, at all, that Sam Darnold, this year, could game manage Seattle to a Super Bowl victory inside a month’s time. I think it is entirely possible, and he has already pretty much done this week in and week out since that one mid November loss to the Rams.

This is what winning the division last night and earning the best record in the NFC has gifted me with. A strong sense that a Super Bowl is within Seattle’s grasp as much as any other team’s this year heading into the playoffs.

Whether that happens, of course, remains to be seen, but I do know very much believe that it can happen. What a delight. It it fun being a Seahawks fan right now.

Go Hawks.

Far be it from me to tell anyone how to be a fan. We all come in different sizes, shapes, and we all have different ideals about how we want our football team to play, and ultimately win football games.

Personally, as I watched the Bears and 49ers battle it out on SNF last night, I wanted to puke in my mouth a bit by the eye-poppingly lack of any semblance of defense being played on the football field in Santa Clara. I get it that the NFL is deemed a quarterback driven league, and it is is largely fueled by fantasy football, but if the Seattle Seahawks were a team this year that was mostly driven by their offense and they had a win a bunch of shootouts because their defense couldn’t reliably, oh, I don’t know, stop the run, cover, rush the quarterback, I think you would get a whole bunch of F bombs out of me on this blog, and live in person during games.

I know that the Seahawk offense has had its issues during the last six games after that narrow loss to the Rams in LA, I am aware of the Sam Darnold turnover moments, the slow first half starts, and the odd play calling from Klint Kubiak from time to time. I would also add that, despite these warts, Seattle has remained one of the more explosive scoring offenses in the league, and generally speaking, whenever you pair this level of explosiveness on offense with a top tier defense and special teams, good things happen, and you have a proper contending football team, overall. Hence, Seattle’s six game winning streak since Darnold threw four picks in a loss in LA in early November,

So, I guess, for myself, I don’t mind if Seattle is living with some warts on offense this year when they are playing defense like this heading into the playoffs. I am a fan who adores defensive minded winningness. Give me playoff teams that have Steel Curtain, 86 Bears, LOB style defenses every single time over Dan Marino Dolphin stuff I watched on the set as a kid. For me, Championship Football should always include a defense that scares the crap out of opposing fans.

So, that said, I don’t know what kind of world we live in where the Seattle Seahawks win 13 games in Mike Macdonald’s second year as head coach, and still it feels not enough for many fans, and those who work high profile jobs in the media. Vegas had the Seahawks penciled in for about seven wins this year, and to finish fourth in the NFC West division. There was little belief in Sam Darnold, JSN, Macdonald, and the host of many others on and around this team.

Yet here we are, with one game left to go on the season, Seattle has beaten every team on its schedule that they should have handled, they earned a few quality wins against playoff bound teams to boot, they picked up their 13th win yesterday, and still so much talk has to be around whether they can get their shit together on offense enough for the playoffs, especially regarding Sam Darnold (a dude who has earned himself pro bowl recognition by way of votes from players and coaches, and has led one of the most explosive downfield passing attacks on the year). Good Lord in Heaven. I don’t know if this is millennial or Gen Z Seahawk fan entitlement, or what, but I can only imagine what social media would have been saying during the days of Matt Hasselbeck and Dave Krieg, if it were in existence back when.

I am to the point to where I no longer give a shit about whether you have issues or concerns about Sam Darnold and this offense. I just don’t, and I find the narratives around him both lazy and somewhat pointless, frankly. This is year one of a brand new offensive scheme that takes time to master. The Rams and 49ers have been playing in their variants of this scheme for years, and all their coaches and players know it inside and out. It is futile to compare the Seahawk offense to theirs.

If Sam Darnold’s back to back 13 regular season wins in a row with two do nothing to impress you, nor does his pro bowl nod, or anything else about him, then fine. I can tell you this, though. I think the team really likes him.. a lot, and because of that, I don’t think he’s going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, if I were to guess anything, I would put my money on the likelihood that we are in the infancy of the Darnold era in Seattle more than anything else.

So instead beating some dead horse about him, perhaps it is time to warm up to him a bit more, in general. You know, maybe get past some of the turn overs that have happened, and think a little more on the critical fourth quarter drives he’s made for this team this year. In 16 games he’s played this year, he has shown a nice knack for that, and one that I fully think can carry forth into the playoffs.

Yet, I have to say, in all honesty, it is disappointing that after yet another quality road win for the Seahawks this year, I see and hear stuff on the internet that forces me into taking a defensive position regarding this team, and this quarterback. It even went so far as finding myself in a Threads exchange with Mina Kimes after I saw her posting the famous three headed kiju dragon meme where she took a shot at the Seattle offense that, in the end, did put up 27 points on the road against a team fighting for their division title.

It seems like it is not enough anymore that your team scores enough points to get the win. For today’s NFL fans and those who cover the game, it has to be style points. God forbid your quarterback fumbles the ball in wet conditions, or throws a pick trying to take an aggressive shot at a touchdown. Nah. Badass stellar defense and a strong run game just isn’t sexy enough to get that all important W. The QB has to be at peak Joe Burrow levels, of else it just isn’t good enough.

So instead of celebrating how good Seattle’s defense played (which was absolutely badass in every way), and how fantastic Zach Charbonnet ran the ball (which was superb), we need to hear analysts talk about how much they don’t trust Sam Darnold who has put up numbers this season very similar to Josh Allen, and Justin Herbert. Well, fine. Maybe they can trust Big Cat Williams and a Seahawk defense a bit more.

After all, it wasn’t that long ago when your dad sat you in front of a Seahawks game about a dozen years ago and said to you that defense wins championships, and if memory stands correct, I believe that he also said that it is important to run the ball, as well. So maybe hang your hat on that after this game in Carolina, if Darnold’s Herbert-esque numbers aren’t impressing you enough.

For myself, these Seahawks have exceeded my expectations this year. At the start of the season, I had them pegged for about eleven wins if things broke well, and a wild card spot, and they have done better than that. With one game left to go, they will meet the 49ers in Santa Clara for the division title next Saturday.

You can lament all that you want to about how much better that 49er offense looks over Seattle’s. You can have all the fear and concern you feel you need to have about Darnold in that matchup, as well. You do you.

For my part, I would much rather have the Seahawk defense over the 49er one, and I am a big believer in defenses winning titles. We shall see soon enough what comes out of that matchup. WE. SHALL. SEE,

Personally, I am both excited about this game and a bit nervous. With a concussion injury to Rashid Shaheed, it does feel like the 49ers will have caught a key break in terms of Sheed’s impact on Seattle’s offense and special teams. That said, there is very little about the 49er defense that I find impressive, and I do think that Seattle’s defense matches up against Brock Purdy significantly better than anything else he’s played against this year.

Of course, I would love nothing more than this team winning the division on the road in Santa Clara this Saturday, but if that does not happen, and they are a wildcard team, I really like how this team is built this year to win on the road in the playoffs. This is a road warrior team that has only lost on the road twice in Macdonald’s two years of coaching them, They win with defense, special teams, and an explosive offense that features a quarterback who has played his better ball this year in the fourth quarter of games with everything on the line.

So there is that, too.

In the meantime.. Go Hawks.

What. A. Game.

Bad night for the for the Sam Darnold Can’t Win A Big Game Crowd, right?

Sammy wasn’t perfect in this game. Of course, it didn’t help that he was without his starting left tackle, Grey Zabel was weirdly giving up easy sacks and false starting, and Cooper Kupp coughed up the football running towards the end zone that took points off the board, but to say Sam had an up and down game would be understating his night, slightly.

The two picks he threw had fans frustrated and wondering if ghosts were appearing again. By the time the second one happened, my text thread was blowing up, and I was about to put my phone in the freezer to get away from the fray of angst and frustration, and the dumb narratives about him that I was surely going to hear all Christmas week.

Fortunately, when the Seattle Seahawks needed him most to make the plays in the fourth quarter, and especially at the end of overtime with a high powered touchdown throw to Jaxon Smith Njigba in the back of the end zone, and then a gigantic knock off two point conversation throw to Eric Saubert for the shocking win, he delivered.. big time. This delivery in clutch time can never be taken away from him, and because of it, this will be a Seattle Seahawk football game that I will remember for a very long time.

The Seahawks beat the Rams, and they are 12-3. They clinched the playoffs in Mike Macdonald’s second season as head coach, and control their own destiny towards winning the NFC West division, and having a first round bye in the playoffs with an opportunity to host two playoff games before the Super Bowl. That is how big this win was for them last night.

So, yeah. Bad night for the Darnold Doubters. I am sure that they will hang onto their priors, though, and bide their time. People can stay devoted to lazy narratives.

My other overriding thought coming out of this game is just the sheer outstanding showing of utter, unrelenting, resilience the entire Seahawks team showed after they went down big, 30-14, against the Rams midway during the second half. By the time the Rams went up 30-14, the chances of Seattle winning that game was next to nothing, but the way the Seahawks fought, and clawed back into this game to get it into overtime was nothing short of incredible.

The dynamic punt return for a touchdown by Rashid Shaheed after Darnold threw his second INT of the game, and Seattle’s defense valiantly forced a Rams punt, in retrospect, was the spark that lit the fire. When Darnold hit Cooper Kupp for a two point conversion, thus making the score 30-22, the game felt mildly more interesting.

Then the defense held Matthew Stafford and company at bay, again, got Seattle the ball, Shaheed contributed, big time, with yet another dynamic play, this time an end around run, and then Darnold brilliantly hit a wide open AJ Barner for a touchdown to make it 30-28. Then the wildest, weirdest two point conversion ever happened when Darnold threw a backwards pass to Zach Charbonnet that was tipped and initially called incomplete, but was recovered by Charbs in the end zone, and by rule of a backwards pass equalling a fumble, was a live ball, and thus ruled a successful conversion attempt tying the game up 30-30. Wow.

In that moment, it felt like the entire Mount Olympus of Football Gods looked upon the stadium full of sad sack Seahawk fans and said “there you go, Puka Nacua is a bonafide punk ass bitch, and here is a chance given for your team to beat his ass.”

Eventually, the teams found themselves in overtime after neither offense could take advantage of scoring the go ahead points in the final moments of the fourth quarter to put the game away with a win. This is why I started this piece off talking about Sam Darnold playing big in the big moments of overtime, and why it needs proper reflection of what actually happened in overtime.

The Rams got the ball first with an opportunity for Seattle to match points. This was by Seattle’s design when they won the toss. Mike Macdonald wanted to put faith in his banged up defense that found themselves minus safety Coby Bryant, cornerback Riq Woolen, and DB sensation Nick Emmanwori, but really, he wanted his offense to have final possession with four down territory should Matt Stafford and company score a touchdown, which they did when the back end reserve defenders couldn’t hang with Puka.

Seattle needed Sam Darnold to not only lead a touchdown drive, but also to successfully pull off their third two point conversion to win it instead of going for the tie. Sam could not have picked a better time to show ice in his veins against a defense that sacked him multiple times and picked him off twice in regulation. So, yeah. Let me say it again. Bad night for the Sam Can’t Win The Big Game Crowd.

This wasn’t a playoff game, but it was a vital game for the Seahawks to clinch the playoffs and be in the driver’s seat for the division title. There is still, obviously, two game left, and anything can happen, but I would have to think that this sort of dramatic victory is likely going to infuse this team with loads of confidence heading into these last two matchups against Carolina, and San Francisco on the road.

In fact, I would think this result for the Seahawks puts significantly more pressure on the 49ers to now find wins against good Colts and Bears teams before their season finale matchup against Seattle in Santa Clara in two weeks. It is an assumption that the game in Santa Clara would be for the division but the reality is that if Seattle beats Carolina, and the Niners lose one of the next two games, the division could already be sowed up for Seattle, especially if the Rams drop their MNF game against the Falcons, and the NFL has been weird like that this year.

For the Seahawks to win this game, though, I felt like they needed to run the ball effectively, and be explosive downfield with passes off of it on top of making life hard for Stafford. Well, I would have liked to have seen a lot more hardship placed on Stafford, but Seattle ran the ball for 171 yards in this one against a pretty good defense, and the downfield passing eventually found itself off of that. So, this is a good sign for the team moving forward regardless of how the defense played.

I think this was the quieter story of the game why Seattle came out on top in this one, and the hero in all those rushing yards? Ken Walker, who I blasted days ago for looking inept against the Colts, but my K9 enthusiast friend Matt assured me would have a big game.

I don’t know what to make of K9, to be honest. He has the rare explosiveness to be one of the very best backs in the league, but he can also be wildly inconsistent, but let me give proper credit when full credit is due. If truth be told, his running and catching in this game might have been the biggest key to this whole entire dramatic Seattle Seahawk victory. Klint Kubiak stayed very patient with the run, even in crucial moments when they needed multiple scores late to tie it up. The Rams defenders couldn’t tee off on Darnold like they were able last time around because of the danger of K9 and his 100 yards and a TD on 11 carries. This was felt in overtime when Seattle had the ball, in particular.

For Seattle to be a factor in the playoffs, they are going to have to be better at running the football, and more consistent at it. Right now, I feel like Charbonnet is the more consistent runner, but the allure of making sure you mix in plenty of K9 is entirely understandable, especially in the wake of what he did in this game. Let us hope as Seahawk fans there is more of it. They will need it, if they want to make a run at a title this year.

For now, let’s enjoy this epic Thursday Night Football win. What a glorious holiday present to behold for the Twelves.

It has been ages since I have seen a better game played in the regular season for the Seattle Seahawks. I am not just thinking of the LOB years. I am thinking all the way back to 1990, when Dave Krieg was playing, and he was sacked seven times in Kansas City by Derrick Thomas, and yet threw the game winner in the final moments when Thomas was trying to haul him down for his eighth sack. That was 35 years ago, and yes, I am old as fuck to remember it, vividly. That was an epic win for the Seahawks then, and this was an epic win now.

Oh, yeah. One other thing final thing worth mentioning.

I think those wolf gray rival jerseys that the Seahawks were wearing with those sparkling green helmets looked absolutely DOPE, and I could give a rat’s flying ass if they are somewhat Oregon Ducky looking. Get over it Husky fans. Let’s keep ’em.

Go Hawks!

This was a weird game. I won’t belabor all the weirdness involved with my favorite team facing off against a 44 year old formerly retired future Hall Of Fame QB who hasn’t played in five years, but this was a weird ass game.

Before I comment on the officiating, let me first say that Seattle seemed very unfocused on offense throughout most of that first half, and even the defense felt a little be like they were maybe going through some motions. It is not hard to imagine that the huge divisional matchup against the Rams on Thursday Night Football had perhaps been filtering into the minds of some of the players throughout this week, and into this game. They played like it, anyways.

When a wide open JSN dropped an on target pass that Sam Darnold hits him with in stride, you could sense that maybe this was going to be one of those games. Seeing fullback Brady Russell also drop a Darnold pass that hit him in the mitts later in the game was also eye rolling, and so was AJ Barner lining in the neutral zone negating his own big first down catch.

This game felt sloppy and unfocused, unnecessarily so for Seattle, and that is how you lose a game to a struggling team in December that is playing for their season. Darnold looked hesitant, at times, but I don’t think he was always helped with Klint Kubiak’s play calling. Seattle was passing with ease against Indy’s backup cornerbacks, yet Kubiak chose to stay with a run game that, frankly, wasn’t working.

The Seattle offense looked surprisingly bad running the football, and they looked flustered not getting any rhythm going. At times, the blocking didn’t look great, but I thought K9, in particular, ran hesitant, and uninspired. He continues to be one of the more frustrating players for me to watch, and this was, again, a game where the less dynamic Zach Charbonnet felt like the better, more dependable runner.

I also don’t know if going back to Jalen Sundell at center over Olu Oluwatimi was a factor in how bad Seattle ran the ball, but it is interesting that when Olu had been starting, Seattle tended to run better. I suspect that the reality at center this year for the Seahawks might be that while Sundell offers the better pass blocking, Olu is the more effective run blocker. What they might need moving forward into next offseason is to find a center who does both really well.

As it stands now, Seattle found ways at the end of this game to win it 16-18 in the final moments, and they have now won 11 games, the number of wins I projected for them at the beginning of the season. While watching them play like this yesterday won’t inspire tons of fan faith in them, there is every chance that they finish the year with more wins than this, and at this point, I would think it’s still probably a safe bet. That said, I believe that all this loud recent chatter over them being a potential Super Bowl favorite is, in my opinion, premature, and I say this being as big of an optimist as you will find when it comes to the Hawks.

They are a better team than they were last year, I have no doubts about that. They are better at offensive coordinator, and quarterback, and they are even more improved on defense. They still are the little brother in the NFC West division to the LA Rams and the San Francisco 49ers, and until they best those two teams in this regular season, and in the playoffs, that will not change.

The good news is that when they are on their A game, I think they can now do it. I didn’t think that much over the past few years, so improvement feels like it is genuinely happening under Mike Macdonald, and that is something to feel good about.

It is just that this game against the Colts kinda left me resetting in my mind that, despite all the DVOA stats that suggest this is a Super Bowl contending team, the reality is that there is a lot of young players on this team trying to figure out to be consistent NFL winners, and this Kubiak offense is still very new, therefore, is still working out the kinks and growing pains. In contrast, the offenses of the Rams and 49ers are fine tuned machines, and for as much of a Sam Darnold enthusiast as I tend to be, the Niners and Rams both have starting quarterbacks who have actually won in the playoffs and found themselves in Super Bowls. That is a clear advantage for them.

In this game, I think that the proof was in the details. If you want to be a top shelf tight end option for an NFL quarterback, you have got to know where to line up before the ball is snapped. If you are going to pull on a tricky athletic run block, you can got be able to be precise as a blocker on the move, or the play will look stupid. If the ball touches you hands, you have to catch it. All this must be automatic.

Fortunately for Seattle, their top level defense held in enough in this game against the wise old sage in Phillip Rivers, and Rivers really did show is where he is at as a passer. He’s got an A+ game between his ears, but his arm is a pop gun now, and he never was a threat to move to begin with. As the game wore on, this reality caught up to Indy fans, and Rivers.

They will be lucky if he can get them to nine wins with this remaining schedule, I’m afraid. He is a Hall of Fame level QB, has seen many things that an NFL defense can throw at him, but asking him to step on the field for the first time in five years, and deal with Nick Emmanwori blanketing his best target option, and snuffing out the run is an ENORMOUS request.

If fact, I think it definitely took the help of the NFL refs to keep this game competitive for them. It has been a long time since I have watched an NFL football game, and genuinely wondered if there was a fix in on it, but this game had me thinking it, LOUDLY, and that is not good for this league to have games like that. Not with online betting, and FBI investigations going on in the NBA, and other sports.

The numerous blatant PI no calls on Colts defenders that happened against Seattle receivers prevented the Seahawks from scoring touchdowns, and the late fourth quarter PI call that gave Rivers, and the Colts new life for a potential game winning drive were all eyebrow raising in the week that was filled with Rivers love and hype. I will just leave it all at that, and let you come to your own conclusion, but for me, I think everyone in sports media last week was recognizing the Disney level feel good story of Old Man Rivers coming out of retirement to save the Colts season.

Would it be great for the league to have this storyline in late December? Absolutely, it would. There is no debating its value in generating viewers and interest.

There is also no way anyone can prove that the NFL illuminati told the refs how to call this game, but it felt very clear to me that Seattle was not just fighting to overcome their own occasional screwups, it felt like the officiating was also very clearly working against them, as well, and objectively, there is no way anyone can argue against that. There was undeniably that at play, and that will be a talking point about the game this week.

But great on Seattle’s MOB defense for holding Jonathan Taylor at bay, and forcing Rivers into a number of hurried off target throws. Also credit Darnold and the offense for playing better in the second half to get critical field goal scoring drives to go up twice in the fourth quarter, and most of all, huge credit goes to Jason Myers for being most stellar when Seattle needed to win this game by getting six field goals. He was, unquestionably, the player of the game for Seattle.

I hope someone out there bought Myers drinks and maybe even a lap dance after the game. He earned it.

As it stands now, the game this Thursday against the Rams will be enormously hyped and it should be. Whichever team wins it will most likely win the division. I have a feeling like Seattle will be more ready and focused for that one than this one yesterday.

My biggest most optimistic view coming out of this game against the Colts is that perhaps this is the game a young Seahawk roster needed to feel before Thursday Night Football. Yesterday, the played down to an inferior opponent, and almost blew it. On Thursday, I look forward to them playing up to a very worthy one.

Go Hawks.

When you favorite NFL team travels on the road across country and properly lays to waste an inferior opponent, 37-9, such as the Seattle Seahawks did to the Atlanta Falcons, it can feel like a bit of a challenge summoning up interesting things to write about, afterwards. After all, Seattle was favored by 6.5 points to win this match, and the Vegas betters seemed see some pretty clear writings on the wall.

I think many fans could sense this was going to happen, as well. Seattle has been beating down a lot of struggling teams this year. Atlanta has a very talented pass rush, and some really nice skill players on offense, but a geriatric immobile Kirk Cousins was going to stand next to no chance against the speed, talent, and discipline spread across Seattle’s soul devouring defense.

I knew it, you knew it, and Vegas certainly understood it, as well. The question was how was Sam Darnold and the offense going to perform against Atlanta’s heavy blitz, but there was no question on how Seattle’s defense would hold court. This defense is that good.

As we get further into the 2025 football season, and we see before our eyes the greatness emerging out of Mike Macdonald’s Seahawk defense, fans are starting to search for nicknames for it. The Legion Of Boom is long retired, and cannot be brought back, but people are drawn to wanting to name this group of fellas, and it is understandable. They are playing that well together in dominating fashion.

Some nicknames within the Seahawk orbit that have been tossed around are the Death Zone, and/or MOB Ties. Seeing what this defense has done to Kirk Cousins, Aaron Rodgers, Trevor Lawrence, CJ Stroud, Jayden Daniels, Kyler Murray and many other overwhelmed veteran QB’s this year, however, I am almost inclined coin them The Super Soul Sucker Defense. Seriously.

The funny thing is, I don’t even think they are playing their best football yet as a unit, and that is a scary thought to opposing teams who have to meet them in the playoffs. Up to this point, Mike Macdonald has been working himself into Coach Of The Year consideration having to start third string players at safety and linebacker, and getting them to play like quality level NFL starters. Now, he is slowly starting to reincorporate pro bowl safety Julian Love into the mix, and he is getting top level defensive tackle Jarran Reed back.

When Love gets his feet back under himself better as the leader of this secondary, watch the fuck out on Sundays. They will hit another gear of defensive football.

Offensively, I believe Klint Kubiak just needs to not get too cute with play calling, and they have the talent at quarterback, receiver, tight end, O line, and running backs to be both efficient, and explosive enough to stress out any oppositional fanbase moving forward. They might have somewhat of a blemish on the interior of their offensive a bit, and I still question whether Ken Walker is an ideal running back for the zone blocking scheme that they want to deploy, but the talent and abilities are certainly there for them to remain explosive, and for Kubiak to scheme ways in which they can be complimentary explosive.

This game in Atlanta, if anything, showed that Seattle’s offense can match a good defense so long as it doesn’t overthink who and what they are, and how they can compliment this stellar, kick ass, soul chewing up defense. Sprinkle in some stellar and timely special teams play, and this is what you get; a solid, thorough beat down win on the road that is worthy of dreaming of bigger things about.

Here are some random thoughts I have about some key players in this game.

Sam Darnold might have had his best game as a Seattle Seahawk

Yup, I said it, and I stand by my words.

I know that for most of the first half of this football, Sam Darnold looked flustered, but I also know that Atlanta has a defensive front and secondary that can do that to quarterbacks, and I love how Sam and Klint Kubiak adjusted to it right before halftime, and carried it throughout the second half of that game. I also know Sam has had games this year where he put up prettier numbers. The games he had against the Commanders, the Bucs, and the Saints were flashier, for certain, but this one might have been my favorite game of his on the year.

The way unfavorable circumstances revealed themselves early in this one, some questionable play calling by Kubiak in the opening offensive series, the pressure that Atlanta was sending at him, the sacks, and the INT he threw when the ball bounced off of Elijah Arroyo on third and long, it was a delight to see Sam overcome these by making big time plays with his arm, and legs with the game on the line heading into the half, and then carrying through with it in the third and fourth quarters. As mentioned above, the real question heading into this game was how Sam Darnold was going to perform against an exotic Atlanta pass rush that does a lot of the stuff that the Vikings pass rush did to him last week, and in totality, I thought Sam did really well against it once adjustments were made. This is a positive sign moving forward, I believe.

Credit also Kubiak for making great second half adjustments dealing with Atlanta’s pressure heavy defense, getting a good balance of run and pass, and especially getting Sam throwing on the move with play action. However, after a slow start to the game, it was clear that yesterday’s Sam Darnold seemed a lot like the one who was kicking major ass against the Buccaneers and Commanders over a month ago. He was efficient, decisive, and accurate, and it felt like he felt in total command.

This is the type of game I wanted to see from him. I knew the Falcons would send a bunch of pressures his way because they are a league leader in generating sacks, but I also wanted to see more from Sam than just hanging in, and surviving against it like he did against the Vikings last week. I wanted to see him beat it, and he did for 20 of 30 completions, 249 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 23 rushing yards. Bravo.

Rashid Shaheed finally had his coming out party and it couldn’t have come at a better time

Much like Darnold, I am a big believer in Rashid Shaheed, and I am bullish about his long term potential as a Seattle Seahawk. I understand, however, why a degree of fans have been growing impatient in seeing what the big to do is about him as a player post midseason trade.

For me, I felt like it was only a matter of time before he and Darnold would start melding more together, and it was good to see it finally happen in this one. As the game unfolded, it could not have come at a better time.

Even before he opened up the second half of the game with that electric 100 yard kickoff return for a touchdown, he was making impactful conversion plays as a receiver on offense. He made critical catches when the Atlanta defense was covering Jaxon Smith Njigba, and as the game wore on, he was posing enough of a threat that JSN started to find his opportunities open up in the second half when the offense started to take over the game much like their defense was.

I cannot stress enough how much exciting potential exists in this offense when Darnold and Shaheed start vibing with each other. It would further open up opportunities for JSN, and Cooper Kupp, and others. Seeing Shaheed take this step forward with four games left to go on the season is really exciting stuff.

It is clear that when Seattle traded for him, they had a vision. I suspect this vision is likely very similar to the one they had years ago when they traded for Percy Harvin. Shaheed can do things as a receiver, a runner, and a returner that few in the league can do to the level he can. If this game is but a glimpse of things to come, Seahawk fans are in for a very special treat down the round.

Nick Emmanwori was the best player in the game yesterday and it wasn’t close

All due respect for Shaheed’s brilliant kickoff return, JSN doing JSN things, Sam having a solid bounce back game, Spoon and Ernest Jones making plays all over the field on defense, but this game for me, quite literally, felt like the Nick Emmanwori Show. Let’s process his contributions to the day.

He took points off the board for Atlanta with a critical blocked field goal after Darnold’s INT. He made critical stops in the run game, and in coverage. He made a critical second half interception when the game was still somewhat in reach for the Falcons, and he had a late game sack Cousins that looked like vintage LOB era Cliff Avril coming off the corner.

He finished the day with 5 solo tackles, a blocked field goal, an INT, and a sack, which are impressive stats to look at by any measure, but to see and feel him on the field is to understand his true impact with the frenetic chaos that he throws at quarterbacks, receivers, and running backs. This guy is such a unique x-factor, that I don’t believe you can properly pin a position label on him. He is a safety, a linebacker, a corner, and an edge rusher all in one.

Seattle operates primarily out of a 4-2-5 defense; that’s four down linemen, two linebackers, and five defensive backs on the field. Emmanwori lists as a safety, but the fact of the matter is that he is almost position-less. He plays nickel corner, linebacker, safety, and now they are using him as a rush linebacker, as well. At 6-3, 220 pounds, with 99th percentile athleticism, size, and speed, and strength, he is becoming Macdonald’s ultimate chess piece as a defensive play caller, and he’s just getting started at what he can become.

He is becoming so unique to Seattle’s defense that I wouldn’t be surprised if their front office looks to draft and develop players who compare to his profile behind him just to add depth to this position that is position-less. That could be easier said than done, however. He is that much of a true unicorn player, or so it seems.

I have spent many times on this blog applauding Seattle’s selection of left guard Grey Zabel in round one last Spring of the draft, but the truth is that when Seattle traded up to the top of the second round to grab Emmanwori, they essentially landed two blue chip first round pick players. When you factor the fact that Emmanwori is a tireless worker behind the scenes picking up all of these roles that Macdonald gives to him in this defense, it absolutely blows my mind when I future trip out on what he and this defense can be for the next decade of Seahawk football.

As it stands today, I am just basking on what I see out of him on Sundays. Bring on the Colts, and Rams.

Football Players Make Football Plays

Long time former Seattle Seahawks head coach and legend Chuck Knox had a bunch of pseudo zen tough guy sayings that would come out of his mouth in the eighties that were colorful and soundbite worthy. As an impressionable teenager, one of my favorites was his sayings was “football player make football plays” in reference to the hard hitting blue collar approach of his eighties Seahawk teams that largely over performed against seemingly stronger competition.

Personally, I think Mike Macdonald has a bit of that old school Chuck Knox mentality about him. He doesn’t need a roster full of the flashiest guys. Instead, he wants guys who will play hard, and who will take the art of football playing very seriously.

Knox was a football fundaments driven head coach. He believed that the teams that blocked better and tackled better would win most games most often. I see this same mentality with Mike, but with maybe a bit more creativity on defense.

I think we are seeing this stamp of his play out with the Seahawks this season. We see countless times Seahawk players making timely plays, and it is not by accident. It is being coached up, and the guys are serious minded enough to have it show through at critical times in games, as was the case against the Falcons.

Jarran Reed is a really good football player, and it was highly instinctive of him to knock that football out of the steely grips of Bijan Robinson for a fumble recovery. Julian Love is a great football player who came into the game after a month on IR to make a critical pass defense early. Ty Okada is a great football player who, even with Love back on the field, found opportunities to make an impact against the Falcons offense. JSN is a fantastic football player getting the better of shutdown corner AJ Terrell, and so is Shaheed.

I could make a very long list of players on the Seattle Seahawks who are great football players who make great football plays. It is a testament to the front office, and the coaches, for sure, but it is mainly a testament to them.

This is the type of team I want to root for. This is kinda like the Chuck Knox team that made me first fall in love with Seahawk football as a kid many years ago now.

In truth, I don’t need flash. I don’t need kissing babies. I don’t need cool soundbites that go viral.

I don’t even need to feel a facade of rich athletes who do great things for the community. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it is great if they do, but what I want, most of all, is to feel like I am watching a bunch of very smart, talented, really good football players that make good football plays on Sundays. I want to feel them as a dominant kick ass collective on offense, defense, and special teams.

I feel like we are getting this here in Seattle now, and it is just that start. I am excited about what this new standard of football can be here moving forward. Beat the teams who you are supposed to beat, and play tough opponents really fucking tough. I think that is kinda what this guys are as a team.

Final thought

Can these Seattle Seahawks win a Super Bowl this year?

I dunno. Part of me feels like they can, and another part of me believes that their offense might need another year to fully catchup to their defense. This is year one of Kubiak as the play-caller, and the zone blocking scheme, in general, takes time for blockers and runners to truly understand the nuances of it, and build proper chemistry. Seattle’s run game, while improving, still feels too frenetic for my comforts, at times. Then there is the competition they face in a tough NFC.

The Rams, Eagles, and even the 49ers have more recent pedigree on their side along with their talents, but I wouldn’t put it past these Hawks to be a surprise entry this year the way the entire league feels wildly wide open. Their defense feels championship worthy now, and there are tons of metrics going in favor of Seattle that Super Bowl winning teams have had in the past.

Darnold critics will say that you can never win a Super Bowl with him, but ultimately, they don’t know anything about it. It is just an opinion, and nothing more.

The Tampa Bay Bucs won a Super Bowl years ago with journeyman quarterback Brad Johnson. The Ravens won a Super Bowl in that same time frame with game managing Trent Dilfer, and the Eagles won a Super Bowl with backup quarterback Nick Foles. Even last year with Jalen Hurts, who has still has some limitations as a pure passer, the Eagles found ways to win another one.

For me, I think Sam has shown enough growth in these last two seasons for me to believe that he is a very good tier two quarterback in this league, and that is the same tier I would place Hurts in, and for what it is worth, I would also place Brock Purdy is this tier, as well. In fact, I believe if you placed this version of Sam in that Frisco offense with CMC and George Kittle, with Kyle Shanahan dialing plays, he would be lights out on Sundays for them, no question in my mind about it.

If I had to bet the farm on a wager, however, I would say that Seattle is still a year away from true championship contention, but they have four games left to change my views on that. I am excited to see what comes out of it, either way.

I will say that I really truly dig this team a lot this year. I love how this defense is trending, I love how Baby Harbaugh is coaching special teams, and I love the explosiveness I see on the offense. I love Mike Macdonald’s vision for this team. They have a lot of things that are working well for them that Super Bowl teams have had, and that is exciting stuff to think about, indeed.

These are good times.

Go Hawks.

There are things that the NFL media world does to hype up games that I think land firmly within the realms of ridiculous. The “revenge games” designated for discarded starting quarterbacks are a prime example.

Despite a really good breakthrough season last year, Sam Darnold was likely never going to be in the long term plans for the Minnesota Vikings. Not when they spent a top ten pick on JJ McCarthy after they signed him to a meager one year contract in free agency back in 2024. Perhaps they shoulda used the franchise tag on him for 2025, though, given how this year has gone for the Vikes, and McCarthy, but that is a whole other subject to consider, and waste time writing about.

The Seattle Seahawks took advantage of Darnold breaking out in Minnie last year as soon as they saw that he wasn’t going to get the franchise tag. I will never believe that trading 35 year old Geno Smith to the Raiders would have ever happened had they not seen the opportunity to get six years younger at quarterback for a player that was seen as comparable, at worst, and possibly even an upgrade, at best.

And for those who like to keep taps on Sam in Seattle, and Geno in Vegas, the Seattle Seahawks have very clearly won that slight gamble at quarterback. You can say what you want about Darnold’s performance against his former team yesterday, but he did not throw the five interceptions that Geno just did in a brutal loss against the Chargers.

So, that said, to get back onto my original point, I never really viewed this game at Lumen Field against the Vikings as Sam’s Revenge Game as others would label it. The Vikings had to see what they had in McCarthy, and Sam needed long term commitment from a franchise. I always viewed his move out of Minnie to the PNW as a very win win thing for him and his former club.

Another narrative that was pumped all throughout the NFL, the Vikings, and even the Seahawks media world last week was this idea that the Minnesota Vikings might have found their “Brock Purdy” in undrafted rookie quarterback Max Brosmer, who was going to make his first NFL start in place of concussed McCarthy. The truth of the matter is that media types were probably searching for ways to hype up what was set to be a very lopsided game in Seattle, and they saw an opportunity to pounce on some positive vibes the Minnesota coaches had on Brosmer during the preseason, and such. However, the levels that it was taken to all this past week was ridiculous, to say the least, though.

All last week, on various podcasts, on airwaves, and written throughout the press, there was this noise coming out of Minnie that Brosmer was this potential hidden gem as an intelligent, accurate, quick processor at quarterback and the Viking coaches felt great about his potential. Some were even trumpeting this match as a potential trap for the Seahawks with the Vikings knowing how to get to Darnold, and the Seahawks not knowing enough about Brosmer.

Dianna Russini of The Athletic was quick to cite quotes from scouts and coaches who were comparing Brosmer to Purdy. Hey, gotten get out on top of the news cycle in the slim chance Brosmer actually steps out onto Lumen Field and punks on of the best NFL defenses on the planet in Seattle on Sunday, amiright?

Even more outlandish, Steve Mariucci went onto the NFL Network and recklessly predicted that Brosmer would throw for a whopping 485 yards against the same Seahawks defense that gave all world Matt Stafford fits two weeks ago. Frankly, I don’t know what I am more offended with, the absurdity to pump up Brosmer to poor destitute Viking fans, but the total disregard for Seattle’s stellar defense. There was no F’ing way this poor kid was going to have this sort of game in Seattle. No F’ing way. What total utter horse crap.

Here are the stat lines for the “Minnesota Purdy” yesterday. He 19 of 30 passing attempts for 126 yards, no touchdowns, and he lofted up 4 interceptions, and was sacked 4 times by Seattle Seahawk defenders. His passer rating in his first NFL start was a whopping 32.8. JJ McCarthy may not ever be the answer at QB for the Vikings, but I am here to break anyone’s bubble who needs it that Max Brosmer very likely is not the answer, either.

While Darnold, himself, didn’t have a stellar outing, the truth of the matter is that he didn’t need to have one, he just had to game manage effectively enough against a talented defense, and he did just that. Some folks will criticize Darnold for struggling against the blitz pressure sent at him, but for the most part, I thought he handled it well enough, especially with the adjustment’s Klint Kubiak made in the second half of the game. My impression on the early sacks, including the sack fumble, is that the blockers in front of him were not handling it well, and some of the play calling wasn’t perhaps, either, but by the second half, everyone settled in better.

Sometimes, this is why you pay the big bucks to a mature, capable, veteran NFL quarterback. You expect him to understand the type of game that he is going to be in for, and if he has to game manage against a very tough defense, knowing that his defense is going to have a day against an inexperienced rookie QB, then you expect him to manage it well. Sam did just that, and Mike Macdonald said as much post game.

It was painfully obvious for the opening two offensive series that this was going to be a day of potentially an epic defensive battle. The game very clear from the onset after kickoff that it was going to be that type of game.

Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores calls the same level of defense in Minnesota that he did in New England when the Patriots punked the LA Rams and Jared Goff in a Super Bowl matchup a number of years ago. He calls fronts that make it tough to run on, and he loves to send blitz pressures early and often on quarterbacks. In the world of NFL defensive schemes and coordinators, he is his own unique beast to deal with as a defensive mind.

In fact, if I am the owner of the Vegas Raiders and I want to make my star pas rusher Maxx Crosby very happy, I am seriously considering making a move in 2026 to make Flores my next head coach over 74 year old Pete Carroll. Flores got a bum deal when he was head coach of the Dolphins, and if any defensive mind out there needs another shot at being a head coach again, it is this guy. If I need to restart a franchise from the ground up, I am definitely looking at him over a hall of fame level guy in his mid seventies.

Sam Darnold knew what was coming with Flores, and he knew he had to give up his impulses to play hero ball against it. For the most part, he did just that.

Brosmer, on the other hand, is an undrafted quarterback for a reason, and again, it was utterly ridiculous for NFL media minds to build him up the way they did. He stood absolutely no chance against a dominant Seattle Seahawk defense, and the times he tried to for big plays downfield were brutal for any Vikings fan to watch.

Here is the very easy storyline of this football game. The Vikings defense absolutely played its ass off, but the Seahawks defense played better, and the Vikings quarterback played significantly worse than the Seahawk QB did. This was the game in a nutshell.

It was total lopsided domination led primarily by the kick ass Seattle Seahawk defense that can send pass rushers in waves, dial key blitzes against the pass and run in ways that can be overwhelmingly successful, and they have linebackers, safeties, and corners who are all really, really good in coverage. They are a year and a half into Mike Macdonald’s unique 4-2-5 defense, and they are absolutely humming now. This would have been a tough matchup for a lot of experienced NFL QBs, let along an undrafted rookie.

The Seattle Seahawks beat down the Vikings 0-26 because their greatness on defense matched against a massive disadvantage Minnesota had at quarterback. Any team that has concerns at quarterback probably doesn’t stand much of a chance against Seattle’s pass rush, and coverage. It’s too bleeping kick ass to match up against it.

If I am Kirk Cousins in Atlanta studying the Seahawks defense this morning, I am seriously considering pulling a Caddyshack Rodney Dangerfield “oh, my arm, may arm” stunt to get out of playing them next Sunday.

But that is neither here, nor there in terms of yet another beat down win the Seahawks put on an inferior opponent yesterday against the Viking.

The heroes of this game are the entire Seattle Seahawk defense led by bad ass middle linebacker and heart and soul team leader Ernest Jones with two interceptions and a pick six, the badass defensive tackle duo of Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy, and defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, especially. D Law had a game as a pass rusher and run stuffer that felt, single handily, game wrecking for the overmatched Vikes who were trying to give it their all in this one.

As it stands now, the Seahawks hold a 9-3 record, tied with the Rams for first place in the division. They are beating all the teams on their record that they should beat, thus far. This is the sign of a very good football team, and there is nothing to think that this won’t continue through the rest of their five games on the year.

They are also winning games with perhaps now the very best defense in the league. In truth, this is how I vastly prefer my team to win ballgames. I am not a fantasy guy. I don’t care about the stats my star receiver gets on my team, or running back. While it is fun to see my starting QB put up gaudy numbers whenever it happens, I don’t need it. I want to see the defense of the team I root for wreck games and players of the opposition, and the Seahawk defenders do just that.

This game against the Vikings, a shutout loss that Minnesota has not felt in two decades of football, should be a message to all teams the Seahawks face on their remaining schedule as they aim for the playoffs. Fear them. Be afraid.

They are coming for you. They are dialed into a complex playbook, they play fast, furious, and various. They hit, cover, and tackle, and they know how to pass rush.. a lot.

I also like how complimentary the offense is becoming in finding more success with their run game. As this game against a very strong Vikings defense went on, quietly the Seahawks offense had another positive day running the rock, and this is now our games in a row that the Seahawks have ran pretty well.

Great defense paired with a dependable run game is exactly what you want to see out of your team as it gets into December, and aims for the playoffs. For all the style points that Jaxon Smith Njigba gets as a pass catcher in this offense, and Darnold often gets throwing the rock, it is good to know that this team is looking more built to win defensive battles whenever needed.

I like that a lot. I will take that. If you are a fan of the Seattle Seahawks, you should be pretty darn happy to see this level of football materializing before your eyes.

Go Hawks.