What we learned in Week 5

Before we get to what we learned from Seattle’s most recent loss, I would like to pause for a moment to acknowledge the thoroughly crazy nature of the NFC West.

The San Francisco 49ers banged up beyond belief yet are 4-1 and in first place. This past Thursday, San Francisco was missing quarterback Brock Purdy (for the third time in five games) and did not have any of its top four receiving targets with Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings out and George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk on the injured list. Yet the 49ers beat the Rams in overtime with Mac Jones and Kendrick Bourne.

The Seattle Seahawks might be undefeated except that the defense, which appears to be very good, has an alarming tendence to cake its pants in the final half of the fourth quarter.

The Los Angeles Rams are great except their top running back fumbles, Josh Karty’s kicks are constantly getting blocked and L.A. appears to have a discernible lack of talent at cornerback.

Then there’s the Cardinals, who have become allergic to winning football games. Their loss to Tennessee last week was absolutely hilarious (unless you are a Cardinals fan). They lost a touchdown because their running back let go of the ball before crossing the goal line. What should have been a 72-yard touchdown run became a touchback. Then, after intercepting a pass, the Cardinals defender fell to the ground on his own, lost the ball, which was then recovered in the end zone by Tyler Lockett for a Titans touchdown.

You can’t script that kind of hilarity.

This very well might be the best division in the league. It’s also, in my clinical opinion, totally drunk. Hammered.

All right, now let’s get to what we learned from Week 5.

1. The Seahawks ground game is up and running.

   At least it did in the second half. The Bucs have a legit run defense. Entering Sunday’s game, they were allowing the fifth-fewest rush yards per game, second fewest per carry. Kenneth Walker gained 20 yards on four carries in the first half and 66 yards on the six carries he had in the second half.

2. Seattle is better off with Riq Woolen than without him.

   It’s not like the Seahawks were shutting Baker Mayfield down before Woolen was injured with just over 9 minutes remaining in the third quarter. The Bucs passing attack did become more aggressive after he left, though, starting with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Emeka Egbuka on the second play after Woolen was injured. Egbuka was being covered by Woolen’s replacement — Nehemiah Pritchett — on the play.

3. Sam can cook.

   As Sam Darnold cut up the Bucs in the second half of Sunday’s game, I found myself thinking back to Seattle’s victory over Pittsburgh in 2015. The reason I remember that game is that it was the first time Russell Wilson won a game for Seattle in which the opponent scored more than 24 points. This had been something of a question up until then: If you really needed it from Russ, if the defense couldn’t stop the opponent, could he go and get it for you? Could he win a shootout?

   Now, I want to be clear: I’m not saying this is predictive of what Darnold could accomplish in Seattle. Darnold has way more NFL experience than Wilson did. Wilson had already won six playoff games and been to back-to-back Super Bowls by the time he won that shootout against Ben Roethlisberger.

   What I am saying is that Seattle should be encouraged because Darnold was able to keep pace on Sunday. He even put Seattle in position to win.

1. What happens to Seattle’s defense in the fourth quarter?

   The Seahawks have held the lead at the 2-minute warning of the second half in each of the five games they have played this season. The fact that they have lost two of those games and needed to kick a last-second field goal to avoid overtime in one of the three games it did win speaks to a potentially fatal flaw in what appears to be an otherwise solid defense. Usually, I would say this tendency to below leads relates to a lack of pass rush. However, Seattle has been one of the better teams in the league when it comes to applying pressure.

2. Is there an issue at kicker?

   Justin Myers has missed three field goals in five games this season, which has caused me to sniff the metaphorical milk carton to decide whether or not he’s gone bad. I’ve decided he can go back in the fridge. He’s still good. However, the next time I feel compelled to give a test sniff of this particular kicker, it will be a sign that he needs to be thrown out. That’s just how it is. If you have to ask a second time “Is this still good?” it most decidedly is not.

3. Why haven’t the Seahawks recovered a fumble yet?

   Seattle is one of five teams in the league that has yet to recover an opponent’s fumble this season. In fact, none of their past four opponents have even put the ball on the ground. On the flip side, Seattle has fumbled seven times, losing five. Now I’m not going to tell you that is luck. Forcing a fumble is a skill as demonstrated by the work defensive players put in, punching at the ball. Holding onto the ball is also a skill. However, I’m unwilling to believe that this current trend will continue.