Oct. 23, 2022 at 7:07
pm Updated Oct. 23, 2022 at 8:20 pm
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — So who
could possibly have seen this coming two weeks ago?
When the Seahawks left New
Orleans on Oct. 9, losers to a Saints team with a backup quarterback who had
just played in London, the season looked dead in the water. Seattle had a
defense that seemed impossible to fix and an offense without its leading rusher
in Rashaad Penny.
Now here the Seahawks are,
winners of two consecutive games against teams that had winning records a year
ago and seemed to be ascending — Arizona and the Los Angeles Chargers — only to
find themselves dominated by a Seattle team somehow thriving even without
Russell Wilson, in first place in the NFC West at 4-3 following the 37-23
victory over Los Angeles.
It might not mean much yet, as player after player said after
the game Sunday, but it means something considering the low expectations that
greeted Seattle this year.
On to the grades.
Offensive line
Smith was sacked just two
times, hit just four and the Seahawks averaged 6.3 yards per carry. That pretty
much says it all for the job of the offensive line. But as another example,
Khalil Mack, who entered the game with six sacks, had just two tackles and the
recovery on the Eskridge fumble in largely being a non-factor as Seattle’s two
rookie tackles — Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas — again played well. Center Austin Blythe paved a
huge hole for Walker on his 12-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.
Grade: A.
Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com; on
Twitter: @bcondotta. Bob Condotta covers the
Seahawks for the Seattle Times. He provides daily coverage of the team
throughout the year.