What’s up, friends and fellow 12’s?! Welcome to this week’s edition of Talking Touchdowns.
Oh excuse me, I meant to say Talking Touchdown. Yes, that’s right, touchdown…singular. This week we only have one TD to talk about because the Seahawks scored just one TD in Sunday’s incredible 42-7 loss to the Rams.
They say it’s healthy to have a good cry to reduce emotional stress caused from a pitiful performance from your favorite NFL team. Alas, it’s time to saddle up as the Seahawks head to Dallas to take on the 8-6 Cowboys. Yee Haw!
Seattle Seahawks vs. Los Angeles Rams
Literally nothing went right for the Seahawks on Sunday. Offense was bad, defense was bad, special teams was bad. Even our golden boy, Russell Wilson, was bad. He fumbled the ball twice, threw the ball backwards for a loss of 23 yards and gave up a safety after being called for intentional grounding. Not to mention, he completed only 14 of 30 passes for 142 yards. The ever consistent, eternally reliable QB finally proved that he is in fact human.
Don’t get it twisted. In Russ, I trust. I don’t place all of the blame on #3. Unfortunately, he was under pressure on 61% of his dropbacks and sacked seven times for a loss of 71 yards, that’s once for every member of the Rams nasty front 7. Left guard Luke Joeckel alone allowed two sacks, two hits and three hurries. It’s quite difficult to complete passes when you are being harassed on nearly every play.
Prior to Sunday’s game Seattle’s run defense allowed just 3.1 yards per carry in their previous nine games which was an NFL best. However, they allowed Todd Gurley to rush for 152 of the Rams 244 total rushing yards. Fast forward to this week where Ezekiel Elliott returns from his suspension. Seattle is missing four Pro Bowl defenders and a fifth played through a hamstring injury. So what is the sum of Zeke minus 4 Pro Bowl defenders plus Dallas home field advantage? Math was never my subject.
Seattle Seahawks vs. Dallas Cowboys
Dion Jordan and Frank Clark each got to Goff, not that it really mattered. However, Dak Prescott has been sacked 27 times this season. Dallas’ O-line is not what it used to be and Seattle’s front 7 is not what it used to be. Still I give the edge to our pass rush for this one.
Dak to Dez is an undeniable and sometimes unstoppable connection. Dez Bryant has undoubtedly earned himself a future trip to Canton with his ability to find the endzone and make unbelievable catches. Dallas has another future Hall of Famer in TE Jason Witten, who in his 15th season in the NFL, continues to be a threat. He’s built like Jimmy Graham, and we know how hard it is for corners to stop Jimmy in the endzone. So Seattle will need corners Shaq Griffin, Justin Coleman, Neiko Thorpe and Jeremy Lane to take a page from Richard Sherman’s book on “How to be a Shutdown Corner.”
Dallas’ defense has an edge that few defenses around the league do. Linebacker Sean Lee is indispensable to this team not only for his physical skill but he is able to read the opposing QB’s calls and set his defense up for the exact play about to come their way. With him in the game, it gives the Dallas defense a chance to be one step ahead of their opponents.
Game Prediction
And now for my game prediction, I am all about optimism so for that fact alone I’m going to reluctantly give the W to the Seahawks this week. You’ve got to imagine that last week’s brutal loss will light a fire under Seattle’s behind!
Go Hawks!
[NFL-Seahawks-footer]Photo Credits:
- Los Angeles Rams on Wikimedia Commons by SportsLogos.net
- Cowboys star on Wikimedia Commons by Opertinicy
- Russell Wilson on Wikimedia Commonsby Larry Maurer
- Todd Gurley on flickr by Christina VanMeter
- Ezekiel Elliott on Wikimedia Commons by Keith Allison
- Jared Goff on wikimedia commonsby Jeffrey Beall
- Dak Prescott on flickr by Keith Allison
- Dez Bryant on Wikimedia Commons by Keith Allison
- Jason Witten on flickr by Keith Allison
- Richard Sherman on flickr by Keith Allison
- Sean Lee on Wikimedia Commons by MC Glasgow
