The Seattle Seahawks are coming off their bye week and heading to Washington to face off against the Commanders on Sunday Night Football. It’s hard to believe we’re already entering Week 9 of the season, but here we are.
Seattle comes into this Sunday night showdown sitting at 5-2 and atop the NFC West after getting some help from the Houston Texans. Before heading into the bye week, Jaxon Smith-Njigba was leading the NFL in receiving yards, and guess what, after the bye, he still is. Even after a week off, JSN’s 819 receiving yards remain at the top of the league. He has been the biggest bright spot of the Seahawks’ offense, and the league has taken notice, naming him the NFC Offensive Player of the Month for October.
The Seahawks’ secondary was banged up heading into the bye week, so you’d assume that extra week would’ve been enough time for them to get healthy. Well, that’s only partly true. Devon Witherspoon is expected to return this week after missing the last three games. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about Julian Love, who suffered a setback while recovering from a hamstring injury. Head coach Mike Macdonald said placing Love on injured reserve is a possibility, meaning he would miss the next four games if the team goes that route. On the bright side, Coby Bryant and Nick Emmanwori have stepped up in Love’s absence and each have made big plays in the secondary.
Heading into Sunday’s game, the Washington Commanders are also dealing with injuries of their own, the biggest being receiver Terry McLaurin, who has already been ruled out, and star left tackle Laremy Tunsil, who didn’t practice Wednesday and is questionable for the game. The Commanders sit at 3-5 after falling to the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night, but they were without star quarterback Jayden Daniels, who will be back this week. Washington made the NFC Championship Game last season before eventually falling to the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. It hasn’t been smooth sailing this year, but I still wouldn’t count them out.
As always, here are my three keys for a Seahawks win.
1. Smart Play Calling
Now, this may seem pretty broad, but if you’ve been reading these articles for a while, you know how critical I’ve been of the Seahawks’ play calling. The offense has played well this season, but there’s another gear I think it can reach. In past games, when things have gone well, Klint Kubiak has had a tendency to change things up or call the most basic plays when Seattle has the chance to put the ball in the end zone. This has led to the Seahawks settling for field goals or completely stalling out drives. I hope this was addressed during the bye week, because it’s what separates great teams from good ones.
2. Don’t Let Jayden Daniels Beat You With His Legs
Jayden Daniels is one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the NFL, it’s what makes him so dangerous and gives defenses headaches. The Commanders will be without Terry McLaurin, which will definitely hinder their passing game. That will likely cause Daniels to run the ball more and I’m not just talking about designed quarterback runs. My biggest concern is his scrambling ability. Daniels is a great escape artist and extends plays extremely well on third down. The Seahawks must contain him in the pocket and force him to find open receivers to move the ball. Letting Daniels run around and keep the chains moving could make for a long day for Seattle’s defense.
3. Stop Washington in the Red Zone
Remember how I said the Seahawks hold themselves back by settling for field goals? You know who doesn’t do that? Washington. The Commanders turn their red zone trips into touchdowns at the second-highest rate in the NFL. The Seahawks, on the other hand, have the fourth-best red zone defense, so something’s got to give. This could be the biggest key to the game, if the Seahawks can hold the Commanders to field goals in the red zone, they should have a pretty good chance to win.
The NFC playoff picture is super tight heading into Week 9. Both of these teams need a win for different reasons. The Commanders are trying to stay in the playoff picture, while the Seahawks are trying to pull ahead. Kickoff is at 5:20 p.m. PT in Washington on Sunday night.
