Russell Wilson is on a mission. His agenda is to crush NFL passing records this season, and to crush the souls of his remaining doubters while guiding his team back to the Super Bowl. Troy Aikman knows this. Through four quarters of football at Century Link Field, Aikman desperately held onto his soul, taking as many veiled shots as he could at the Seattle passer.

Troy Aikman’s time is nearly up. Russell has his soul in his sights, and eventually, Aikman is going to have to submit.. just like Pete Prisco and the others. Until then, Seattle fans have to endure him trolling Russ each time he and his friend Joe Buck call a Seattle game.

What a game to watch, though, right? I anticipated that this match was likely going to be a shoot out, and it proved to the case. I also thought that it was likely going down to the wire, and it did. This was pretty much the game that I was envisioning, and Seattle won because its star quarterback was able to make the plays that he needed to make for the team to pull ahead at the end, and Dallas lost because their star quarterback couldn’t. It was as simple as that.

A lot of Seattle fans are going to stress out about the state of this team’s defense, but at some point, I think you have got to tip your hat to the other team. Dallas was a league leading high scoring offense in 2019, and it looks like they are very poised to be that again this year. Yes, there is a lot that needs fixing on the Seattle defense, but I actually saw a few encouraging signs with that side of the ball that give me hope.

But let’s break down this game.

The Good

Russell Wilson may not have had his sharpest game of this young 2020 NFL season against the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboy defense had got him rattled a bit with some early hits and sacks, and a few times, his passes were a bit off while feeling pressure. Still, he went 27 for 40 passes while throwing 315 yards and 5 touchdowns with no picks for a QB rating of 130.7. Troy Aikman can suck on a gas pipe. Russ had another great game, it just wasn’t as sharp overall as it was against New England and Atlanta. Had DK Metcalf not fumbled away the deep pass Russell hit him with for an easy score, Russell Wilson would have thrown 6 touchdown passes in this game, and Seattle probably would have won a lot more comfortably. Think about that. Russell was sensational yet again.

Tyler Lockett also had a great game, and what nearly catching everything thrown his way. If this dude does not make the pro bowl this year, I’m going to bite someone.

Yes, DK Metcalf had the stupid fumble waltz towards the end zone that negated an easy touchdown grab, but he more than made up for it with the game winning touchdown catch off of Russell’s deep pass. DK’s potential in this league is mega stardom, and he is just merely scratching the surface. The Seattle superstar athlete that I compare him to is Sonic legend Shawn Kemp. That’s exciting stuff.

My game ball, however, goes to Ugo Amadi for stepping into the nickel corner role, and stepping up big time. He made numerous key plays, and I honestly thought like he might have been Seattle’s best defender on the field at times. This is just kind of a gut feeling that I have, but I think that as this season goes on, Amadi will be a big factor to Seattle’s success. He’s a player that just has an it-factor about himself, and I think he’s starting to really get it now. I’m excited to see it unfold.

The other young defender that I think has a special it-factor about himself is rookie defensive end Alton Robinson who in his very first NFL game had a number of flash plays in the backfield, and had that critical sack against Dak Prescott during that final drive. I want to say that Robinson has a bit of a Cliff Avril thing going on with himself. He was the one player on the defensive line that was consistently generating buzz among Seattle beat writers during training camp, and it showed in this game. Buy stock in this kid. I think he’s going to be a good one.

Defensive tackle Jarran Reed had a critical strip fumble sack that lead to a score. I noticed in the other two games of this early season, Reed was getting close on a few pressures, and it was nice to see him get home on Prescott. He was also the one who got pressure on Prescott when he threw that pick to Shaquill Griffin. We need him to keep this going, like big time.

Last positive for me about this game was seeing young players coming up from the practice squad making impactful plays down the stretch when they were thrust into action on defense. Most notable were Shaquem Griffin stepping in at rush linebacker, and, of course, Ryan Neal stepping in for the injured Jamal Adams and grabbing the game winning interception. I don’t know what Neal’s long term prospects are in this league and I’m not going to pretend to, but I will just say that what a stellar way for him to make a splash. It further proves that Seattle’s is still very much a draft and develop club, and they still believe in being committed to developing from within. I, for one, appreciate that philosophy greatly.

The Bad

DK Metcalf did that really stupid thing. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.

Injuries caught up to Seattle in this match. Loosing promising rookie linebacker Jordyn Brooks to a sprained knee is a blow. Chris Carson’s knee sprain is a huge concern, as are the knee sprains to starting guards Mike Iupati and Damian Lewis. Loosing superstar do everything safety Jamal Adams to a strained groin is also a major concern. My hope is that Adams will just miss a minimal amount of time. Hopefully none of these guys miss much time. I get it that injuries are a part of the game, but damn.

Cornerback Tre Flowers had an extremely rough game in coverage, and for a long stretch, it seemed like he could not do one single thing right. You know that you are having a rough game when you give up long passes for touchdowns, and then when the ball hits your hands and chest for an easy interception, it bounces off your being into the hands of the receiver you are covering for a first down. That’s when you know that you are truly stinking up the joint.

Shaquill Griffin had a pretty interception, but he also had his fair share of long explosive plays given up. It was hugely concerning to watch that, as well.

For the first two games I have been using the lack of quality pass rush as the main excuse for all the explosive plays that the team has been giving up, but listening to Pete Carroll and Griffin’s press conferences, it seems pretty clear, from the team’s perspective, there are communication issues and execution issues between these players in the back end. Needless to say, they have gotta clean this stuff up. I fully expect them to do this. The season is early, and even in the Super Bowl years, Seattle’s defense had stretches of having issues. It’s time to fix these issues now. So do it.

The Ugly

Listening to Troy Aikman take veiled shots at Russell Wilson, and the whole Let Russell Cook movement. Aikman clearly enjoys dismissing and discrediting Russell, and I’m not even really joking about it. He has always been eager to point out whenever Russell has a pass that is less than perfect, and I don’t think I have ever heard him steep deep praise on him whenever he sends one of his brilliant arching deep balls into the hands of his receivers. Instead, Aikman will go onto praising the receiver for the catch.

Think I am exaggerating? When bringing up the Let Russ Cook movement, Aikman noted the NBC analyst Chris Collinsworth has jumped on the Russell bandwagon, and he laughed with just enough of an obvious hint of sarcasm when saying that maybe it was his time to jump on board as well.

Whatever, man. Kiss your Super Bowl rings knowing that you were a glorified game manager for Emmitt Smith. Stop hating on Russ.

Moving Forward

This is going to be a busy week for Pete Carroll to sort through the long list of injuries that are now on his club. Hopefully, he will not have to IR anyone significant. It sounds like Chris Carson is not expected to miss much time. Fingers massively crossed there.

This is also a week in which they are hosting veteran defensive tackle Damon Snacks Harrison. It would be a great move if they can sign him, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they look to bring in veteran edge rusher Clay Matthews. Seattle still needs more of a rotation on it’s defensive line. Snacks Harrison would likely free up Jarran Reed to rush more. Don’t underestimate how vital that can be. Clay Matthews would add proven veteran talent to mix in with Benson Mayowa, and Alton Robinson. I honestly believe that these two simple signings would help this defense out significantly. A deeper rotation up front may also help the players on the back end play freer and with more confidence.

So, go get them, John Schneider. Get it done.

Go Hawks.