Field Gulls
Usually I wouldn’t place great importance on a non-conference game relatively early in the season. The upcoming Monday Night Football matchup at Lumen Field between the Seattle Seahawks and Houston Texans, however, feels a little different.
The Seahawks will have next week off due to their bye. It remains to be seen if Julian Love and Devon Witherspoon will play against Houston after missing the majority of the season so far. Conventional wisdom would tell me that even if Love and Spoon don’t play yet again, they should be ready after the bye week. Then there are players like Derick Hall and Robbie Ouzts, who may both be ready to suit up following the break. Seattle has done a commendable job winning games despite all of their injuries – frankly, their record should be even better. If they can squeak out another win on Monday night to enter the bye at 5-2 as opposed to 4-3, reinforcements should be ready to bolster the team as they look to make a run in the “second half” of their schedule.
That schedule also doesn’t look quite so daunting. Seattle has five November games: at the Washington Commanders on Sunday Night Football, home against the Arizona Cardinals, at the Los Angeles Rams, at the Tennessee Titans, and home against the Minnesota Vikings. The combined record of those teams at this point in the season is 13-16. Clearly, the game against the Rams will have huge implications for the NFC West. At the very worst, I think Seattle goes 3-2 during that stretch, more likely 4-1 with an outside shot at 5-0. Beating the Texans to get good mojo going into the bye has to happen first.
In order for that to happen, the Seahawks also have the chance to get another monkey off their back by winning at home and trying to regain the homefield advantage that used to reside in the Pacific Northwest. No one, Mike Macdonald included, can explain why the Seahawks have played so much better on the road. Lumen Field (Qwest, CenturyLink in the past) was a dreaded trip for opponents for much of the last two decades. That hasn’t been the case, recently. If Seattle wants to be a true championship contender, they need to take back the mystique. A convincing home win in front of a national audience is a good way to start righting that ship.
Do you know what would help Seattle achieve that goal and get this season really turning in the right direction? Running over, through, and around the Texans in a breakout game on the ground. The Seahawks offense has been surprisingly good this season with the continued emergence of both Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. They’ve been torching opposing defenses without much of a consistent rushing attack. Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak hasn’t thrown in the towel on that front, first game against the San Francisco 49ers aside. If the run game can really get cooking, that will take some pressure off...
