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October
25, 2022
Vaulting into first place in the NFC West, the Seahawks used a balanced,
explosive offensive attack and an opportunistic defense to race out to a
17-point lead and earn a convincing 37-23 road upset victory over the Chargers
on Sunday.
As
expected, Seattle had no shortage
of stars on the field on both sides of the ball in the most complete game by
the team so far this season. Here are my top five grades and other
notable performances from an impressive win at SoFi Stadium in Week 7:
Austin
Blythe
Overall Grade: 86.0 (Run Blocking 82, Pass Blocking
90)
In his
first season at the pivot position for the Seahawks, Blythe has battled
inconsistency, particularly as a run blocker where his smaller stature can lend
itself to struggling to create push at the point of attack. But the savvy veteran put together
his most complete game thus far against the Chargers, executing several quality
reach blocks in the run game and using his wrestling athleticism to get onto
defenders at the second level to help aid Walker's monster day out of the
backfield. Most importantly, in addition to his usual value as the main
communicator for a young offensive line calling out blitzes, stunts, and other
line calls, he didn't allow a single pressure in pass protection on 31 snaps,
limiting interior pressure on Smith all afternoon. Playing better by
week, Blythe seems
to be settling in with a scheme he already was well-versed in and his improved
play continues to have a
positive ripple effect on the rest of the unit.
