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Week 4 Preview
The Chargers Have Found Their Number, and It’s 16
The Chargers come to Lumen Field on Sunday at 0-3, and they have scored exactly 16 points in every game this season. Not about 16. Exactly 16, three weeks in a row, like a kid who memorized one answer and hands it in for every question on the test.
16
Points the Chargers have scored in each of their three games this season. They lost all three.
Buffalo was the weird one. Los Angeles’ defense took the ball away five times against the Bills, and the offense turned all of that into a 24-16 loss. “We’re 0-3, we’re not where we want to be,” Justin Herbert said, which was the most accurate throw anybody on that offense made all day.
Seattle lost the opposite way. The Seahawks outgained Washington 437 to 258 and still flew home with a loss. The offense gave the ball away three times, Washington turned those into 21 points, and the defense didn’t force a single takeaway. One team can’t stop giving the ball away. The other can’t do anything once it gets the ball. On Sunday one of them has to fix it.
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One team can’t stop giving the ball away. The other can’t do anything once it gets the ball.
Seattle opened as a 6.5-point favorite against a team that hasn’t made the trip up here since 2018. Macdonald said Monday he could “feel the resolve” in the building. I believe him. I also can’t stop replaying one play-action throw to AJ Barner, and I’m guessing Darnold can’t either.
My take: a defense that forces five turnovers is a real defense, and we shouldn’t hand it free chances. Give it nothing and let the Chargers’ offense find out whether it knows any number besides 16.
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AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
Julian Love did what Macdonald called “extensive work” Monday morning, and “it went well.” He’s day-to-day, and Wednesday tells us whether the calf agrees. Getting one Pro Bowl safety back would feel like finding your keys after tearing the house apart. Seahawks.com
Three years ago, Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s NFL.com draft bio listed “likely to be viewed as a slot-only option” as a weakness. This season he has 365 yards and five touchdowns lined up out wide, the most in the league. That bio should come with a correction. Seahawks.com
“He’s an A-plus guy,” Macdonald said of Jadarian Price, adding “He’ll attack this.” For context, Kenneth Walker III lost four fumbles in 954 touches over four seasons here. Price has two in 32. Attack it with both arms, kid. Seattle Sports
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
Josh Wallace intercepted Bo Nix on third-and-6 at the Los Angeles 11 on Sunday night. A pass interference flag wiped it out, and Denver scored to go up 30-26 with 47 seconds left. After rewatching it, Sean McVay said the Rams won’t “play the victim card.” Very mature. Also easy, since nobody outside Los Angeles was offering them one. Seattle fans know exactly how a goal-line moment can ruin you. At least we saved ours for a Super Bowl.
NINERS
Sunday’s win gave Kyle Shanahan 166 games as the 49ers’ head coach, tying Bill Walsh for the most in franchise history. Walsh used his 166 to win three Super Bowls. Shanahan has used his to reach 166. His next game makes the record all his, so somebody should bake a cake and have a fourth-quarter plan ready in case they need to hold on to it.
CARDINALS
Arizona held the ball for 38 minutes and 44 seconds in Santa Clara and scored 30 points, which it hadn’t done since 2024. It lost anyway, because San Francisco needed a little more than 21 minutes to score 36. The Cardinals aren’t controlling the clock. They’re renting it. We already saw what they do when they don’t have the ball much: 151 total yards against us in Week 2.
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
Seattle took this Stanford cornerback in the fifth round of the 2011 draft, 154th overall, and in 2013 he led the NFL with eight interceptions. Who is he?
Tap to Reveal the Answer
Richard Sherman. The 154th pick led the league in interceptions and then ended that same season with a Super Bowl XLVIII ring.
THIS DAY IN SEAHAWKS HISTORY
2002
September 29, 2002
Shaun Alexander Scores Five Touchdowns Before Halftime
Shaun Alexander scored five touchdowns in the first half against the Minnesota Vikings, four rushing and one receiving, setting an NFL record for a half. Seattle won 48-23. The Vikings probably still get nervous every time they see a halftime scoreboard.
Got a Question for The Rooster?
Send it in: cap math, depth-chart grievances, or whether 16 counts as a personality. The best (and weirdest) questions get answered here, honestly and with too much feeling.
Sixteen is their number. Don't give them a seventeenth. — The Rooster