Field Gulls
“Hello, Seattle!” A simple, yet effective, closing line from the great Mike Tirico last night as the Seattle Seahawks sent a message to the NFL that they are no longer one of best kept secrets in the NFL, but they are one of the best teams, period. A 38-14 destruction of the Washington Commanders doesn’t accurately describe the mismatch that we saw last night.
The Seahawks executed offensively to a level of precision that would have made even Mike Holmgren smile. Mike Macdonald’s defense made DC’s offense look inept and slow. The Seahawks went to Washington and took a desperate Commanders team and Ivan Drago level broke them, figuratively and literally.
So what does it all mean? Let’s break it down.
As we hit the halfway point of the season, the conversation about this team’s playoff potential feels real, and so do some of its best players having shots at awards.
I think considering the season he’s having and how much he is needed right now in Tampa Bay, Emeka Egbuka is the heavy favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. That being said, Grey Zabel and Tory Horton need to be mentioned as guys waiting in the wings.
Zabel and Horton were two of my biggest draft crushes, going back to their tape in 2023. If you were to redraft last spring’s NFL draft today, I believe Zabel would go in the top 10 and that Horton would be a top 50 pick easily. Zabel has become the steady presence along the interior offensive line that this franchise has needed. He is getting better every game, and has still not allowed a sack.
Horton will never get the opportunities that Egbuka is going to get, but all Tory does is score touchdowns. He leads all rookies with six total touchdowns, as he continues to look like a future star.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba is having a special season, as his eight receptions and 129 yards receiving showed the world on primetime how he’s become the smoothest receiver in the league. If you were to extend JSN’s numbers to a 17 game season, he’d have 123 catches for an NFL record 2,014 yards and 8.5 touchdowns. To put it into perspective, 2021 offensive player of the year Cooper Kupp had 145 catches for 1947 yards and 16 touchdowns. He’s obviously not being forced to the ball the way Kupp was in his Super Bowl season, but Smith-Njigba is making more happen with a chunk less receptions.
Unfortunately it is just hard to see wide receivers win MVP in this league, but JSN should absolutely be the favorite for Offensive Player of the Year. If the touchdown opportunities start to pick up, he could make an MVP run, but he’s got stuff competition.
That stiff competition comes in the form of his teammate Sam Darnold. One of the best stories of the past two years continues, as Sam continues to...
