I’m going to jot some brief thoughts down seeing as I’m currently in the middle of the Atlantic ocean on a boat (apologies for the quality of the stream not being great — the expensive WiFi is absolutely useless).
Firstly, this was a great test. The Seahawks were really poor in the first half and I’m sure I wasn’t alone in wondering if this was going to be Seattle’s ‘Bills losing in Miami’ from a few weeks ago, or the Rams blowing their game in Carolina last weekend.
They were lucky to be tied 6-6 at half-time. Could they take advantage of this, play better in the second half and get the job done?
That question was emphatically answered with a blistering final two quarters, demolishing the Falcons.
I’m a big fan of this whole ‘blowing out the bad teams’ thing. It’s a refreshing change from the ‘we like close games, so suck it up’ attitude of the previous regime.
The big positives?
— Nick Emmanwori threatening to be an even more athletic version of Kyle Hamilton and Derwin James. This was an incredible performance. He might not have their polish — yet — but the potential is through the roof.
— Special teams coming through in a huge way again, including Rashid Shaheed’s first big contribution and Emmanwori’s blocked kick. Jay Harbaugh deserves major credit.
— The way Sam Darnold bounced back from a rough first half — and frankly, a difficult last few weeks — to show a lot more sharpness in that second half.
— The general toughness and pride in their performance of the defense. It’s an incredible group that can be the catalyst for a big playoff run.
I’m off for an old fashioned to celebrate.
