This is a guest post by Curtis Allen
Just when you thought the first half season of Seahawks football could not be more tumultuous, we hit the bye week.
The Seahawks were neither buyers nor sellers at the trade deadline and fans were treated to two surprise departures and the return of a potentially stabilizing force at Right Tackle.
Tyrel Dodson was waived in a surprising development, a sign the Seahawks definitely envision more playing time (and perhaps a big future role on the defense) for Tyrice Knight. Connor Williams chose to retire, putting the team back where they were in Training Camp: Hoping Olu Oluwatimi would grab the starting job with both hands. Jalen Sundell can be a development project as the primary backup.
The news got much better when it was announced that Abe Lucas would indeed return. The lack of information around the knee injury, the fact the Seahawks took every single day of the PUP activation window and the unclear comments about how much he will play against the Niners was not quite enough salve to calm fans down after one of the stranger weeks in recent team history.
It is actually a bit of a relief that we can just watch a football game.
So let’s do that.
Since facing the Seahawks in Week Six, the Niners have a 2-1 record, losing to Kansas City and beating Dallas and Tampa Bay. All three games have been relatively close. In a way, the Niners are a picture of this NFL season: a lot of close football that signals parity across the league.
More than ever, it feels like games can be reduced to who can either make a key play, or avoid making mistakes. Which leads us to our first point.
Play Clean Football
This might be the tallest order for the Seahawks. The Niners are so talented and so well-coached that they force teams into mistakes. This Seahawks team is prone to making them.
In Week Six, cut the mistakes in half and you have a ballgame:
— Geno Smith overthrowing Tyler Lockett and into Malik Mustapha’s hands for an interception
— Julian Love misjudging a pass to Deebo Samuel and giving a clear path to the end zone
— DK Metcalf unable to get his feet down in the end zone on a critical third and goal throw
— Laviska Shenault fumbled a kickoff and the Niners recovered
— Several poor angles by Rayshawn Jenkins in rush defense
— A soft route by DK Metcalf that led to another interception
— A disastrous punt return attempt by Dee Williams that should have been ruled a muff
There were some good things too. Geno Smith led long scoring drives. The defense held the Niners to field goals while the game was still within reach. Tyler Lockett had some tough, Lockett-esque catches. They just couldn’t overcome so many errors.
The good news is, the Niners have been guilty of mistakes recently. Nearly fatal ones.
In the Kansas City game, Brock Purdy threw three interceptions. In the Dallas game, the defense committed drive-extending penalties on Cowboy touchdown drives. Against the Bucs, they missed three field goals, muffed a punt that led to an easy Tampa score and it took a gorgeous George Kittle touchdown catch and a clutch field goal to seal the win.
The Niners are talented enough and smart enough to overcome mistakes. The Seahawks do not have that wide a margin of error.
A personnel shakeup in the bye week can either mean a more focused, finely-tuned team or a team that will struggle to adjust to the new players on the field.
We will find out.
Win the Battle of the Running Game & Quarterbacks
Oh, is that all?
It has been the key factor in their matchups. Running the ball and stopping the run has been the cause of nearly every loss against the Niners.
There have been a number of problems, from predictable playcalling (they came out in a ‘run-run-pass’ formation in their early drives) to lack of solid run-blocking to little to no creativity.
The Seahawks were dedicated to using Kenneth Walker in Week Six but could not get much by focusing on the left side of the offensive line:
Last week, Tampa mercilessly attacked the right side of the line and had success running there. Bucky Irving was extremely effective there:
They didn’t just run the ball; they had little flairs to keep the defense off-balance — such as a little quick pitch to Irving for a touchdown. Fred Warner has the cutback lane covered but Malik Mustapha takes a bad angle and Irving has an escort to the end zone.
The Seahawks need to break free of their pattern of just plunging it into the line. Open up the playbook and take advantage of the Niners’ aggressiveness.
As for defending the running game? The best thing the defense can do is tackle well. The Niners are the NFL’s toughest offense to bring down with the first man. With Christian McCaffrey back, they are even tougher.
In the Tampa game, every scoring drive the Niners had featured a missed tackle that cost them big yardage. Run fits are important. Defeating blocking is important. But they are nothing if they cannot bring runners to the ground.
Ernest Jones, Devon Witherspoon and Tyrice Knight need to have a great day tackling.
And the Quarterbacks?
Brock Purdy (21.0%) and Geno Smith (22.3%) have almost faced the same pressure rate through nine games. Purdy has the benefit of a top-notch running game, Geno Smith does not.
Purdy has turned from a game manager to a playmaker at the Quarterback position. He has an underrated ability to keep plays alive in and around the pocket, giving receivers time to uncover. Combine that with his accuracy and ability to throw downfield and he has really ascended as a passer.
Just like in the rush defense, this game needs to be a return to form of the early-season pass rushing. The team that was in the top-five for sacks and pressures. Boye Mafe and Derick Hall having effective games would be a huge boost to this team. Purdy can be forced into mistakes and get a bit spooked later in the game from an early pass rush that is effective.
Uncovering some of the tricky looks we talked about for Week Six would go a long, long way towards disrupting this extremely potent offense.
What about Geno Smith? He said this week beating the Niners is ‘very personal’ while acknowledging that he and the team need to snap their losing streak against them to get where they want to go.
He has to bring one of his best performances of the year in this game. Stepping up to the podium after not playing well in a loss and taking accountability and saying he knows he must be better is all well and good. Being better on the field makes those words matter.
What can he do in this game?
Be confident. Make quick decisions. Find short passes that take advantage of the pass rush’s aggression to burn them. And one more thing – run when you have a lane. Brock Purdy’s effectiveness has been greatly enhanced by his willingness to get those 3-4 yards he needs for a first down to keep drives alive. It was a backbreaker when Russell Wilson did it. Smith has the ability and legs to do it. He needs to trust his reads and make the plays he sees.
It might be fair to say this game may be a turning point for Smith. A clean, sharp game that gets the Niners on their heels and makes them adjust and take notice could paint the way to a spot on the 2025 team and possibly a contract extension.
He has talked so much about being accountable. Being more focused. Creating plays when he has the chance.
There is no better game to fulfill those promises than this one.
What Is at Stake?
The Seahawks’ odds for a playoff spot this year are not good. We know they have a tough schedule the rest of the way, especially with the Arizona Cardinals looking much better.
But this team needs to put together a tough, clean game that forces their division mates to know that they are not going to go down without a fight. Even in a loss, they can give those impressions and hold their heads high and start building something for 2025.
The team so far this season has tried so many inventions and groupings. Some a rousing success, others miserable failures. The process must begin to minimize those failures while keeping those successes.
What better time to do it than on the road with a hated division rival that has consistently beaten you?
