Seahawks with a clear path

Of all the sports jargon crammed into the prodigious melon that sits atop my shoulders, the phrase “control your own destiny” just might be my favorite.

It sounds so totally spiritual, summoning images of a captain at the helm, steering a course to white-sand beaches and turquoise waters.

Or – in the case of sports teams – the playoffs.

And the fact that the Rams lost (at home) to Carolina Panthers put Seattle in control of its own destiny within the division though not the conference.

Before we get to the list of things we learned from this week’s game, I want to take a quick run through Seattle’s playoff situation.

If the Seahawks win out … Seattle would win the NFC West by virtue of having a better overall record than both the Rams—whom Seattle plays on Dec. 18—and the 49ers, who’ve already lost four games.

If the Seahawks win out and the Bears lose at least one game … Seattle would win the NFC West and be the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC playoffs. Should Seattle and Chicago both win out, the Bears would win the tiebreaker based on a better overall conference record.

1. There be monsters in the middle of Seattle’s defensive line

    

   One is Leonard Williams. The other is Byron Murphy. Both have seven sacks through 11 games. They also happen to be the only two defensive tackles in the league who currently have more than 6.5 sacks, and they are two very big reasons that Seattle has one of the highest pass pressure rates in the league while having one of the lowest blitz percentages.

2. It is, in fact, possible to slow down Jaxson Smith-Njigba

    

   Jaxson Smith-Njigba carries the heaviest share of his team’s offensive output of any receiver in the league. In my opinion, Christian McCaffrey is the only non-quarterback who’s comparable. It’s significant, then, that Minnesota held Smith-Njigba was held to two catches totaling 23 yards, his lowest output in since Week 1 of last season. That’s 27 consecutive games. Some of this was due to the coverage Minnesota deployed. Some was due to the pass pressure. The Vikings blitz. A lot. They do it from a lot of different angles to the point that a former NFL player I know refers to their defensive coordinator as Crazy Ass Brian Flores.

3. Pity the rookie who faces Mike Macdonald’s defense

   There were some people around the Vikings who felt that Max Brosmer, an undrafted rookie, was a real find for the team, and maybe he will be. But he was absolutely overwhelmed in his NFL debut, getting intercepted four times. Given the fact that Minnesota failed to score while Seattle’s defense turned one of Minnesota’s five turnovers into a touchdown, it’s tempting to say that Seattle could have won this game without taking an offensive snap. I’m not sure that’s the case, however. What is clear is that Macdonald’s defense is incredibly confusing for an opposing quarterback.

1. Did Minnesota fashion a blueprint other teams can use?

   The Seahawks do not pass that often compared to other teams. When they do pass, however, they prefer to throw deep. The big plays have been something of a signature, and on Sunday, Minnesota kept the top glued on.

2. Are the Bears actually good?

   I probably shouldn’t be asking this given that Chicago is 9-3 and would be the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs if the season ended now. I recognize that they run the hell out of the ball, something I attribute to an offensive line that also provides formidable pass protection. But I have been thoroughly unimpressed by quarterback Caleb Williams. I think he’s incredibly inefficient, and Chicago’s defense gives up a ton of yards. So how are the Bears winning? Turnovers. They are +17 in that category. The next-best team is Tampa Bay, which is +9. I firmly believe Chicago’s turnover rate is unsustainable. However, I have been saying that for more than a month now and the Bears have kept it up.

3. What the hell were the Rams thinking?

   It has been more than a full season since Seattle acquired Ernest Jones, and I still can not for the life of me figure out why the Rams were so eager to shove him out the door. If you don’t recall, they traded him along with a 2024 sixth-round pick to the Titans in exchange for a 2024 fifth-round pick. The Seahawks acquired him at the trade deadline, trading a 2024 fourth-round pick and Jerome Baker to a Tennessee team that was going nowhere. Jones’s arrival in Seattle coincided with a huge defensive improvement. On Sunday, he intercepted two passes, one of which he returned for a touchdown. He has intercepted five passes, tied for second-most in the league. He has 83 tackles, which is most on the team despite the fact he missed two games. To review: The Seahawks landed a linebacker who became the bedrock of this defense upon his arrival, the Titans turned one (1) fifth-round pick into a fourth and a sixth-round selection and the Rams … well … the Rams have that fifth-round pick and they seem to recovered nicely by acquiring Nate Landman in the offseason.