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Game Recap
Seattle Won by Seven and Everybody’s Mad About It
The Seahawks beat the Chargers 30-23 on Sunday and then talked like they’d lost. Fourteen penalties for 150 yards, a franchise record that topped the 148 from a 2018 overtime loss to the 49ers, per ESPN. Seven of them were 15-yarders, and four of those landed on Chargers scoring drives.
150
Penalty yards Sunday, a Seahawks single-game record. The old mark of 148 came in a 2018 overtime loss to the 49ers.
That’s how 27-6 in the third quarter turned into Los Angeles holding the ball with a chance to tie inside the final two minutes. The Chargers outgained Seattle 138 to 11 in the fourth quarter. Eleven yards. A 27-6 lead should be a nap, and instead I spent the fourth quarter doing breathing exercises.
“To have seven personal foul penalties is unacceptable on any level, however you slice it,” Mike Macdonald said, via PFT. Ernest Jones IV was more economical. His review: “Pissed.” He had an interception, a sack and 12 tackles, so he’s earned the right to be the angriest man in the building.
It took Uchenna Nwosu, a former Charger, strip-sacking Justin Herbert with 54 seconds left to end it, and Derick Hall fell on the ball. Same Derick Hall who’d been flagged for roughing the passer earlier in the half. The universe balanced its books in one afternoon.
Fine. A win is a win, and it’s the ninth straight at home. But the 49ers come to Lumen on Sunday at 4-0, and they don’t need anybody handing them free first downs.
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Backfield
Emanuel Wilson Got the Whole Backfield and Scored Twice With It
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George Holani got seven carries for 18 yards and one catch, per NBC Sports. Do the math and Wilson had 24 of the 32 backfield touches. That’s not a committee. That’s a guy and his understudy.
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That’s not a committee. That’s a guy and his understudy.
Remember, this is the same Emanuel Wilson who played two snaps in the opener. Now he’s the lead back on a 3-1 team, and with Price on IR for at least four games, the job is his until somebody takes it.
Somebody might try soon. Zach Charbonnet’s practice window is open, and the earliest he can play is Sunday against the 49ers. I’d love to see that problem.
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AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
Herbert threw an interception on the game’s first snap, then Darnold threw one right back on his first. First game to open with consecutive picks since at least 1978. Two quarterbacks, two plays, one shared commitment to chaos. Yahoo Sports
Leonard Williams hurt his ankle in the fourth quarter and didn’t return, but Macdonald said it “doesn’t look serious right now.” Williams spent the rest of the game jogging and running pass-rush drills on the sideline. Nobody needs to hold him out. Somebody needs to hold him back. Seattle Sports
JSN’s run at Randy Moss is over: five catches for 76 yards and no touchdown. Moss keeps 2007 to himself. Seventy-six yards now counts as an off day, and I’ll be honest, I could get used to that standard. Yahoo Sports
Ty Okada practiced all week and still sat out a fourth straight game, with Chazz Surratt (calf) inactive too. Rodney Thomas II started at safety again. At this point he’s not filling in. He’s just the guy. Seattle Sports
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
NINERS
San Francisco beat Denver 24-14 to go 4-0, and Kyle Shanahan passed Bill Walsh for the most games as the franchise’s head coach. Impressive. Also, all three 49ers touchdowns came in the second half, so for 30 minutes at their own stadium the unbeaten team couldn’t find the end zone. They visit Lumen on Sunday. Bring the second-half guys. Bring earplugs too.
CARDINALS
Arizona walked into MetLife as a road favorite against a Giants team on its second straight start from Jameis Winston, and lost 36-24. Jacoby Brissett threw three interceptions, and the last one went back for a Deonte Banks touchdown to seal it. That’s 1-3 and three straight losses. The Cardinals got to be favored for exactly one week and handled it like a guy handed the aux cord at a party: confident for about ten seconds.
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
Seattle drafted this Penn State running back third overall in 1983, and he ran for 1,449 yards and 13 touchdowns as a rookie. Who is he?
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Curt Warner. Those 1,449 yards ranked third in the entire NFL that season, which is a lot of road for a guy who’d just gotten here.
THE GOLDEN EGG
🏆
The best player on the field Sunday was also the most annoyed person in the locker room afterward, which is exactly what you want from the guy running your defense. Ernest Jones IV had 12 tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss, a pass breakup and an interception, per Yahoo Sports. Two plays after the pick, Seattle scored to go up 17.
Then he looked at 150 penalty yards and said one word: “Pissed.” A week after he chased down Marcus Mariota in the red zone at Washington, he’s playing like the middle of this defense belongs to him. It does. Here’s your egg, Ernest. Try not to throw it at anybody.
12
Tackles
1
Interception
1
Sack
Got a Question That Keeps You Up at Night?
Send it in. Penalty math, backfield conspiracies, whether Charbonnet plays Sunday, or why you still flinch at fourth-quarter leads. I’ll answer the best ones, honestly and probably with too much feeling.
Keep your hands to yourselves on Sunday. — The Rooster