News Seahawks Team Notes

[Seattle Seahawks]

Chiefs vs. Jaguars live discussion: Scouting the Seahawks’ next opponent

Monday Night Football makes a stop in Florida for the Kansas City Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars. Kansas City has clawed its way back to .500 after an 0-2 start, while the Jaguars are 3-1 and probably should be 4-0 if not for a shaky pass interference penalty on Travis Hunter.

We’ve got a little incentive to watch tonight’s game because the Jaguars are hosting the Seattle Seahawks in Week 6. Luckily the weather is not forecast to be unbearably hot or stormy for this weekend’s game, but humidity will always be a factor in that part of the country. Are the Jags for real? They lead the league in takeaways and handed the San Francisco 49ers their only loss of the season. The defense has been the main story for rookie head coach Liam Coen, but thus far Trevor Lawrence has been a steady performer and Travis Etienne Jr is quietly averaging over six yards per carry.

Will Jacksonville improve to 4-1 and share the AFC South lead with the Indianapolis Colts? Or will the Chiefs climb to 3-2 and make their 0-2 stumble a distant memory?

Chat away in the comments! The game kicks off at 5:15 pm PT on ABC and ESPN.

Source: https://www.fieldgulls.com/general/...iscussion-scouting-the-seahawks-next-opponent

 

[Seattle Seahawks]

Seahawks national power rankings roundup, Week 6: Seattle drops after Buccaneers loss

Last week, after the Seattle Seahawks beat the Arizona Cardinals, many national media sites moved Seattle into the top ten in the league. However, how will that change after the Seahawks lost a shootout in heartbreaking fashion against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5?

It is not too surprising to see the national media move the Seahawks down in their power rankings, however there could be some discussion as to how much they should be dropped. This week, four of the five media sites reviewed (Bleacher Report, Yahoo Sports, ESPN, and Pro Football Talk) all moved Seattle down. However, one of the sites (NFL.com) decided to keep Seattle at the same ranking. Let’s start with the bad news first.

The biggest drop for the Seahawks was by Bleacher Report who dropped Seattle down five spots, from 9th to 14th. However, despite this far drop, Bleacher Report maintains optimism for the Seahawks, noting that they came out on the wrong end of a shootout with Baker Mayfield, and that “there wasn’t a team that looked better losing in Week 5 than the Seahawks.” ESPN, who dropped the Seahawks from 9th to 11th also had a positive tune in their analysis, mainly pointing to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and his dominance this season. (“With 34 catches for 534 yards and 2 touchdowns, he’s [JSN is] 11th overall in fantasy points scored through five weeks.”)

Both PFT and Yahoo dropped the Seahawks down slightly as well. PFT dropped Seattle three spots from 10th to 13th ,while hoping that the Seahawks and Buccaneers will meet again in the playoffs so they can where the throwback uniforms again. Meanwhile, Yahoo dropped Seattle from 8th to 12th in their power rankings.

The one national media site who chose not to drop Seattle down was the one and only,NFL.com, who kept the Seahawks ranked 5th. In their reasoning, NFL.com stated that despite a late interception, Sam Darnold is looking great after throwing for 341 yards and four touchdowns with an 82.4 completion percentage. And because of this offensive success, the Seahawks look to be in a good position in the big picture, despite the loss to Tampa Bay.

Overall, despite the majority of the national media sites moving the Seahawks down, the genuine feel for the team remains positive, especially for the offense. After Week 4, the average power ranking between the five sites (NFL.com, PFT, Bleacher Report, ESPN, and Yahoo) was 8.2. After week five, the average power ranking between these same five sites is 11.0, just outside the top ten, and still within the playoff picture (top 14).

Huge tests remain for the Seahawks with both the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans next on the schedule before the Bye week. A record of 5-2 is possible after those two games. However, so is a record of 3-4. Two very different records and feelings are possible for Seattle. Time will tell how the national feeling around this team will be entering the week eight bye and into November.

Source: https://www.fieldgulls.com/seattle-...-roundup-week-6-seattle-drops-buccaneers-loss

 

[Seattle Seahawks]

It’s time for Mike Macdonald to try something different

Another week, another chart that has the Seattle Seahawks near the top of the NFL in quarterback pressure.

Yay! (right?)

Early on, yes, this was good. But after losing 38-35 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, there’s growing evidence that Mike Macdonald needs to make a defensive shift to keep up with how the league is countering him.

Baker Mayfield was allowed to run roughshod over the Seattle secondary, juking the likes of Nehemiah Pritchett and Ty Okada into oblivion. He even made Josh Jobe look mortal.

Emeka Egbuka shreds Josh Jobe and Ty Okada pic.twitter.com/4sMpz2FzZZ

— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) October 5, 2025

Let’s come back to that play later, because it’s emblematic of what has happened to Seattle. The premise for this article is simple: that for the remainder of the season, being excellent at QB pressure is not good enough.

Under Pressure​

Pushing down on me, pressing down on you….

Coming out of Week 5, the Seahawks have the fifth-best QB pressure rate. They have accomplished this feat with hardly any blitzes, and with hardly any individual winners.

How ironic is it that the #Seahawks have no one on the individual QB Pressures chart below yet they are top 5 in QB pressure rate? #12AsOne

Top 5 NFL Defenses in QB Pressure rate through 4 weeks:

33.8% – Broncos
29.3% – Vikings
28.5% – Bills
27.8% – Steelers
25.3% – Seahawks pic.twitter.com/MEsXvaBXbp

— Setting The Edge (@SettingTheEdge) October 1, 2025

The first problem is that 25.3% and fifth looks great, but it’s actually a massive decline from the first couple games. They took off at the beginning of the season pressuring quarterbacks at nearly 40% of the time.

Pressure Efficiency for NFL Defenses

X-axis: Blitz Rate
Y-axis: Pressure% pic.twitter.com/7tyLzrnrKU

— Seahawks Today (@TodaySeahawks) September 16, 2025

25%, then, is actually quite worrying. The Denver Broncos have remained incredibly consistent. Seattle’s down 13 points.

What happened?

Much of it has to do with the first chart above. The Seahawks – namely Mike Macdonald at the moment – have greatly embodied his philosophies of marrying rush and coverage, as well as “four rush as one.” They are very good at this, and there’s probably nobody better in the league.

What they decidedly do not have, are any individual winners. I think they had some individual winners, but Byron Murphy and Leonard Williams have been quieted somewhat the past two games.

Without an individual performer in the top-30 at pressure rate, the defense is completely reliant on a team-rush approach. Essentially, if Macdonald’s coverage holds up, or the specific stunt/simulated pressure package works, they impact the quarterback. Absent of that, there hasn’t been enough individual wins to consistently get good numbers out of any one player. The primary place we would hope to see this is from the edge, via Boye Mafe or Uchenna Nwosu, or Derick Hall before his injury. We haven’t.

As a result, teams have been able to easily devote the necessary attention to Williams or Murphy, and enjoy an above-average-yet-not-devastating amount of quarterback pressure from the Seahawks.

Which brings up the second issue. Occasional team pressure alone is not enough to win games.

Though the defense is fifth at QB pressure, they’re 12th in the NFL at sacks. That’s a marginal indicator: the pressure isn’t as often being converted into sacks. Here’s a far more devastating number: they’re allowing the fifth-worst completion percentage to opposing quarterbacks at 70.3%

And look at the teams around them. Not exactly a who’s who of ferocious defenses.

This gets much more at the heart of the problem. Pressure is not a one-size-fits-all statistic. Some type of pressure is more valuable than others. Good NFL quarterbacks can overcome the mere fact that a defender is within a yard at the point of throw, or caused him to navigate the pocket, or hit him immediately after the ball was released.

Hence, 38 points from Baker Mayfield, with only one sack and four incompletions the entire game.

Now I’d like to revisit the play to Emeka Egbuka from the top. It’s the third quarter, tied game and 3rd and 13. Baker Mayfield had 3.7 seconds to release this pass. That’s plenty of time in today’s NFL. It was a four-man rush from Seattle, with Mafe, Williams, Nwosu, and Murphy. That’s their best four or close to it, but all we got was a wholly ineffective stunt from Nwosu and nobody remotely threatened Mayfield.

This is where Macdonald’s crossroads comes into play. If it is true that Seattle generates a great deal of vanilla pressure, if it is true that they don’t win individual matchups quickly or often, if it is true that their pressure rate is declining, and if it is true that they’re allowing massively high completion rate to QBs, then I don’t think you will survive calling as few blitzes as he is currently calling.

Something else – someone else – has to come in and get more impact on the quarterback. Clearly the injuries to Devon Witherspoon and Julian Love were devastating, but this trend had already started to emerge. I don’t think we can entirely blame it on a banged up roster.

Teams are going to continue to learn how to deal with Seattle’s “pressure” because it’s not generating enough drive killers. They can anticipate exotic looks because it still ends up being just four guys. They can cover Big Cat or Murphy when needed.

Macdonald has been an exemplary adapter in his brief NFL career. It might be time to do so again.

Source: https://www.fieldgulls.com/seattle-...nald-try-something-different-seahawks-defense

 

[Seattle Seahawks]

Half dozen Seahawks defensive starters miss practice Wednesday

During the offseason, hopes among fans were high for a rejuvenated Seattle Seahawks defense in 2025, and those hopes have been realized on the field when the defense has been healthy.

Unfortunately, the caveat regarding health has been important, and as the group has watched a number of injuries take their toll during the first five weeks of the season, the performance of the unit has been correspondingly impacted.

Thus, as Mike Macdonald prepares his team for yet another cross country road trip to the Eastern Time Zone for a Week 6 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars, there was no shortage of defensive players on the injury report Wednesday. Specifically, a half dozen defensive starters did not take part in practice Wednesday, with a pair of other key defensive names limited.

Seahawks practice report lists Devon Witherspoon, DeMarcus Lawrence, Ernest Jones IV, Derick Hall, Josh Jones and Julian Love as injury-related non-participants

Riq Woolen and Nick Emmanwori were limited participants. pic.twitter.com/hAXZTFNt55

— Dugar, Michael-Shawn (@MikeDugar) October 8, 2025

The good news is that Jarran Reed had the day off for non-injury related reasons, so his status should not be in doubt for the game against the Jaguars. However, the same cannot be said for Derick Hall, Ernest Jones, Demarcus Lawrence, Julian Love and Devon Witherspoon, meaning that the Thursday and Friday injury reports could shed significant light on how the defense might look Sunday. Add in Tariq Woolen and Nick Emmanwori being limited, and it’s possible Aden Durde’s group could be in for a rough go of things against Jacksonville.

On the other side of the ball, the offense is largely healthy, with swing tackle Josh Jones not practicing due to injury. That should at least mean the offense is healthy enough to keep performing at a very high level, which could prove necessary should the defense once again be unable to stop the opponent, as was the case in the Week 5 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Source: https://www.fieldgulls.com/seattle-...arters-miss-practice-wednesday-jaguars-week-6

 

[Seattle Seahawks]

Seahawks All-22 review: The good and bad from the loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

A win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could have been very important for the Seattle Seahawks’ postseason projections. Unfortunately, it seemed to slip through their fingers, with the team losing on a field goal with 00:00 on the clock, after one of the most worrying defensive performances under Mike Macdonald.

All data used in this article was taken from PFF. Let’s review the film!

The Bad​

There is a problem in the pass rush​

If you’re a regular reader, you know how many times I’ve raised concerns about the team failing to convert pressures into sacks and, especially, not being effective in applying pressure on the edges. This issue was somewhat obscured once the defensive tackle’s work was yielding results. The injuries to Derick Hall and DeMarcus Lawrence brought this issue to light.

The Seahawks faced offensive linemen who yielded a lot of pressure when they played the Pittsburgh Steelers, New Orleans Saints, and Bucs. The team should have explored the side more with Broderick Jones, Taliese Fuaga, and Charlie Heck. Heck had yielded eight pressures in two games. The Seahawks forced five pressures on him, but only hurries and a sack on a blitz.

A total of 12 pressures and one sack was the pass rush production against the Bucs, who played without their right guard and right tackle. No hits on the QB; the pressure was inconsistent. This gave Baker Mayfield time in the pocket to attack a secondary full of backup players of questionable quality. Furthermore, it further exposed the Seahawks’ inability to keep the QB in the pocket, as warned in our preview article for this game.

Boye Mafe, #53, Right EDGE

Wins quickly using a euro-step move, but slows down (for no apparent reason) getting to the QB and misses the sack; pic.twitter.com/J1hE3AfBvV

— Alexandre Castro (@alexcastrofilho) October 8, 2025

On this play, Boye Mafe, still searching for his first sack of the year, uses a euro-step, escapes the right tackle, but seemingly for no reason slows down before reaching the QB, allowing Mayfield to escape and gain yards.

Byron Murhpy (#91, LDT) wins against double-team. The pressure gets to the QB but there is no integrity in the Seahawks' gaps and the QB manages to escape. pic.twitter.com/18CY2VHGOs

— Alexandre Castro (@alexcastrofilho) October 8, 2025

Here we have Byron Murphy with excellent footwork, beating the guard and putting pressure on the QB. However, once again, the Seahawks fail to keep the QB in the pocket, and Mayfield not only escapes the sack but also gains yards.

Derick Hall with great power move pressure the QB but Mafe is moved on the other side and creates a lane for Mayfield scramble. pic.twitter.com/ZsBMdrY5wA

— Alexandre Castro (@alexcastrofilho) October 8, 2025

Derick Hall manages to use power move right side, but on the other side, Boye Mafe, after attempting another euro-step, is moved by Tristan Wirfs easily, leaving the edge open for Mayfield to escape and buy time.

Seahawks DL unable to keep the QB in the pocket. pic.twitter.com/T0tOr71mZG

— Alexandre Castro (@alexcastrofilho) October 8, 2025

Final touchdown for the Bucs. The Seahawks decide to send only three to pressure. Mafe has some initial success, but again gives up a lane to Mayfield, who spent too much time in the pocket navigating his progressions. When you have Josh Jobe, Ty Okada, and especially Nehemiah Pritchett in your secondary, this can be fatal.

Execution and planning problems/adjustments in defense​

The Seahawks had 10 days to plan for the game and failed. Even knowing they would be missing players, the team had no alternatives to protect themselves. During the game, it became clear that the Bucs were exploiting the areas where Drake Thomas, Jobe ,and Okada were located. This changed somewhat when Pritchett entered and gave Tampa another option.

The Seahawks failed to adjust to this. They failed to slow down Emeka Egbuka and failed to find different ways to effectively pressure Baker Mayfield. These planning errors and lack of adjustments, as well as the absences, led to numerous execution errors, making things even worse for the Seahawks.

Seahawks disguise a Tampa 2 showing only one deep safety. This is a tough task for Ernest Jones. pic.twitter.com/0pbERLmsdO

— Alexandre Castro (@alexcastrofilho) October 8, 2025

Here, the Seahawks start the snap with a Cover 1 shell. Post-snap, the changes begin. Derion Kendrick will defend one half of the field, and Coby Bryant will drop between the two deep defenders’ zones, thus forming a Tampa 2. This will require Ernest Jones to quickly reach the numbers, a difficult task for the LB. The idea was that the disguise would slow down Mayfield’s processing and give time to Jones to reach it. However, the QB quickly recognized the opportunity and easily got the first down.

Josh Jobe was saved here. pic.twitter.com/QqBK2NuJLd

— Alexandre Castro (@alexcastrofilho) October 8, 2025

The Seahawks blitzed and dropped Byron Murphy and Nwosu into hook zone coverage, aiming to eliminate the short pass option in the middle of the field. However, Mayfield was targeting the zone with Jobe and Okada in coverage. The safety took a while to get downfield, and the pass was successfully completed. The key point of the play is that Josh Jobe would have given up a TD here, being quickly beaten by Egbuka at the line of scrimmage. Luckily, Mayfield got his first read on the play.

Seems that Nwosu and Thomas are in the same zone here. pic.twitter.com/k6y3vd7DsJ

— Alexandre Castro (@alexcastrofilho) October 8, 2025

The Seahawks call a simulated pressure that is a defensive tactic that creates the illusion of a heavy blitz while actually rushing only four players. Macdonald is a master at this, but he has been decreasing the use of this and stacked boxes, which, in my view, is a mistake. Returning to the play, the team essentially puts eight in the box, sending Nick Emmanwori in the QB hunt and dropping Uchenna Nwosu. The point is that Nwosu’s drop defends the same zone as Drake Thomas; one of them missed, and this gave the pass a chance to connect.

Seahawks are in Quarters and Ty Okada are poaching the post from the other side. pic.twitter.com/pXRHk9nGQP

— Alexandre Castro (@alexcastrofilho) October 8, 2025

I’ve watched this play many times, seen and read many analysts talking about it, and still, I’m not entirely convinced by the call here. What I think happened is that it was a Quarters with Jobe defending the deep field (1/4)(which I don’t think is a good idea; he’ll always need the help of a safety) and being easily burned by Egbuka’s route. The one who could have helped would have been Okada, but the safety was in Poach coverage.

Poach is a defensive strategy where the weak-side safety reads the number 3 receiver and gets involved in coverage, either by taking the receiver’s vertical route or taking the post route if the number 3 receiver doesn’t go vertical. That’s exactly what happens here, with the big catch being given up.

The Good​

Signs of improvement on the Offensive Line​

The Seahawks’ offensive line has been featured heavily in the “Bad” section of this article, but against the Bucs, I saw some improvement. Pass protection was still quite inconsistent, with nine pressures conceded and three of the five starters receiving a PFF grade below 50 in Pass Block.

Olha o pé do Bradford no final da jogada kkkkkk.

Maluco perdeu o snap feio e tentou derrubar o cara hahahaha.

É muito bagre, obrigado, John Schneider. pic.twitter.com/GLJKlr1Dlc

— Alexandre Castro (@alexcastrofilho) October 6, 2025

We still had some pretty poor plays like the one above, where Anthony Bradford loses easily and seems to use his foot to trip the defender in a bizarre move.

Seahawks OL against stunt pic.twitter.com/iEIXf10Zcx

— Alexandre Castro (@alexcastrofilho) October 8, 2025

But there were improvements, mainly with the offensive line working as a unit, rather than “every man for himself.” The Bucs called two stunts on their defensive line, and the Seahawks blocked masterfully. On the left side, Gray Zabel passes the defender to Charles Cross and moves very well to catch the looper, making excellent contact. On the other side, Braford is aggressive against Vita Vea, which helps Abe Lucas, but could open up space for the looper (#5). However, center Jalen Sundell diagnoses the play and is already waiting to help the right tackle.

The main improvement was in the running game. Until then, it seemed like 80% of the Seahawks’ rushing production came from miracles and big plays made by Ken Walker. In this game, the starting lineup took significant strides, executing better and imposing themselves more physically. As a result, Walker didn’t have any runs for lost yards.

Seahawks Duo Run pic.twitter.com/2HPM7FE1G1

— Alexandre Castro (@alexcastrofilho) October 8, 2025

A sign of the physical imposition. The Seahawks call it the Duo run here, which consists of using double blocks to open up space, and the RB has to read MIKE and “run away” from him. The team had tried this type of run without much success because the double blocks didn’t create gaps and made it easier for the linebackers to get to the RB in the backfield. The Seahawks create two gaps in the play above. Lavonte David (#54) attacks one of them, but this time Zach Charbonnet has another option and manages to advance with the run.

Anthony Bradford run block pic.twitter.com/tP38z01eZd

— Alexandre Castro (@alexcastrofilho) October 8, 2025

Nothing too fancy here, nor a huge improvement. However, Sundell manages a good block to open the gap, along with Bradford, who shows off his strength by blocking the DL with just one hand.

Cooper Kupp amazing blocks pic.twitter.com/RE1KrDcuaF

— Alexandre Castro (@alexcastrofilho) October 8, 2025

The team rightly used Walker more in the outside zone and reaped the rewards. Excellent blocking by Abe Lucas, who is recovering from a poor game against the Cards, will be crucial for the development of the rest of the OL, especially Bradford. Furthermore, AJ Barner and especially Cooper Kupp provide key blocks to secure more yards for the RB.

Ken Walker Run pic.twitter.com/OMxugC7l46

— Alexandre Castro (@alexcastrofilho) October 8, 2025

Once again, good teamwork in this Duo run. The gap is opened for the RB’s advance with blocks from Eric Saubert and Cooper Kupp, demonstrating why he is one of the best WRs blocking for the run game.

Sam Darnold kept the Seahawks alive in the game​

Darnold’s interception late in the game cost us the victory. However, the Seahawks only reached that point with a chance of winning thanks to the five TD drives he led.

Darnold numbers were 28 of 34, 341 yards, 4 TDs, and the interception. Speaking about the play after the game, Darnold took responsibility, saying he should have called a different protection and that he tried to throw the ball away. This last point is the only thing that I’m concerned about.

Yes, he was under pressure, but the decision to throw the ball away like he did is highly questionable because it could have resulted in a deflection in both the Seahawks’ OL or the Bucs’ DL, as it did. Darnold tried to throw the ball away this way on other plays and continues to be risky.

Sam Darnold int pic.twitter.com/0x5H3fUiKQ

— Alexandre Castro (@alexcastrofilho) October 8, 2025

I believe Darnold thought Lavonte David (#54) would come on the blitz, which is why the protection call was zone to the right side and man to the left side (despite Zabel’s signal before the play pointing to #8). The blitz actually comes from the other side, and the OL executes its assignment correctly. The blitzer is left to the RB who blocks well, but there’s also a DB on the blitz (something the Bucs often do is send a CB on the blitz in condensed formations on the opposing offense), and it’s the QB’s responsibility to recognize this. Under pressure, Darnold tries to throw the ball away, but hits the DL’s helmet, resulting in the interception.

Sam Darnold misses the TD and was almost picked here pic.twitter.com/0FosXPjCmq

— Alexandre Castro (@alexcastrofilho) October 8, 2025

Of the four incomplete passes thrown by Darnold, this is the most concerning. The QB was very lucky on this play. Horton makes the quick cut, and it should have been a TD if the ball went closer to the pylon. Darnold’s pass is poor and gives the CB a chance to not only deflect the pass, but also turn it into a 99-yard pick-six. The Seahawks scored the TD on the next play, but the game could have been different if it had been 20-0 instead of 13-7.

Sam Darnold choose to be conservative and not risk the pass to Horton by going to the checkdown with Barner. pic.twitter.com/3BBmzneIhf

— Alexandre Castro (@alexcastrofilho) October 8, 2025

One trend I’ve noticed with Darnold is that he’s been very conservative on most of his passes. On this play, he looks to Horton, who would have been free as the play progressed. I believe Darnold has made other, more difficult passes than this one, but the QB prefers to go to the next read, and AJ Barner, who had a great game, gets the first down.

Sam Darnold dot. pic.twitter.com/jJ8F6PRtfB

— Alexandre Castro (@alexcastrofilho) October 8, 2025

Play action, there’s a bit of confusion in Barner and Kupp’s routes, and Darnold throws a nice pass even without a good base, moving to the left, flipping his hips and, under pressure, he completes a good pass for JSN. He’s been doing very well in these situations, throwing against the body’s movement.

Great call and execution in redzone pic.twitter.com/EZ4yMFWTDz

— Alexandre Castro (@alexcastrofilho) October 8, 2025

Another example of his good arm. It’s worth noting that the play starts with Kupp on the left and JSN in the backfield. Kubiak does a good job keeping the defense guessing until very close to the snap. JSN wins the slant, and Barner and Kupp’s routes open up space for the pass, which lands in the middle of four defenders. Great TD!

Sam Darnold awesome TD pic.twitter.com/oYAO8CsZS7

— Alexandre Castro (@alexcastrofilho) October 8, 2025

4th & 2, the Seahawks call play-action, and Kupp appears to be the QB’s first target, but he’s well covered. Barner was essentially on the first down line, and I think he would have been Darnold’s option, but the pressure came with Charbonnet’s blocking error. Darnold stood firm in the pocket, keeping his eyes downfield. The Bucs defense stopped on the play, waiting for the sack, leaving Horton free to score his third receiving TD of the season.

AJ Barner TD created by awesome Kupp's work on his route. pic.twitter.com/5FRijHCH5X

— Alexandre Castro (@alexcastrofilho) October 8, 2025

Once again, the Seahawks called a Rub Route in the red zone. This was an excellent way to attack the Bucs’ man coverage, which was frequently used in this area of the field. A Rub concept or pick play is a play in which a receiver intentionally runs a route that creates contact or is intended to delay the defender guarding another receiver, hindering the defender’s ability to cover the designated player and leaving the second receiver open. Kupp is fantastic in this play. Note that he stops just as the defenders cross, creating more separation for Barner, who has excellent control to stay in the field, break the tackle, and score the TD, which could have been the game-winning TD.

Cooper Kupp on 3rd downs pic.twitter.com/TGS8H6XfjE

— Alexandre Castro (@alexcastrofilho) October 8, 2025

Finally, I’d like to commend Kupp’s work. We’ve struggled so often against him on third downs when he was with the Rams. It seems we’re now using that to our advantage. Kupp appears to be Darnold’s first read. The WR beats rookie Jacob Parrish’s good coverage at the line of scrimmage. However, he stumbles and loses his balance. Darnold stands firm, waiting for him to recover, and throws the ball away from the defender, where Kupp has to stretch his arms and get the first down. Darnold’s stellar performance was that he remained calm in the pocket and had the patience to connect with the WR.

Final Thoughts​

The most important thing from this game is that lessons were learned. Macdonald’s defense needs to perform better, and the quarterback needs to be able to make adjustments during the game. The injuries exposed the lack of depth in many areas of the defense. This was something overlooked by John Schneider, who will need to work his magic to adjust the roster with the season underway and no surplus draft capital to do so (the Seahawks will not have compensatory picks in the upcoming draft).

Much of what was done worked, but there is still room for improvement. The NFC playoff spots will be highly contested, and any detail could determine whether the team misses the postseason. The time to fix things is now.

Go Hawks!

Source: https://www.fieldgulls.com/seattle-...e-good-and-bad-from-loss-tampa-bay-buccaneers

 

[Seattle Seahawks]

Seahawks Week 6 Thursday injury report: DeMarcus Lawrence, Nick Emmanwori practice fully

Let’s start out with the positive injury news for a change. DeMarcus Lawrence practiced fully and looks like he’ll return against the Jacksonville Jaguars after hurting his thigh early in the Thursday Night Football contest against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4. His possible presence will be even more welcome considering Derick Hall’s oblique injury suffered against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers which will keep the third-year EDGE out against Jacksonville.

Safety Nick Emmanwori was also a full participant after being limited on Wednesday. Emmanwori returned against the Buccaneers and was a large part of the defensive game plan. He tweaked his ankle during the game, so it’s good to see him back fully.

Ernest Jones and Jarran Reed both sat out Wednesday’s practice. Jones was limited on Thursday while Reed was a full participant. The other potential good news is Riq Woolen as a limited participant for two days in a row while he looks to clear concussion protocol.

On the less optimistic side of the injury news are the aforementioned Derick Hall, Josh Jones, Julian Love, and Devon Witherspoon, all of whom missed practice on Thursday. It’s trending towards another week without Love and Witherspoon, and we all saw how that played out last week.

Check out the full injury report below.

Seahawks with a better injury report than Wednesday. But Love and Witherspoon are each still a DNP. Seahawks will release a game status report Friday before leaving for Jacksonville: pic.twitter.com/w6zwt44X4v

— Bob Condotta (@bcondotta) October 9, 2025

Maybe Tank’s return on the defensive line will spur more pressure on Trevor Lawrence to help out the back end of the defense. If not, this could be another long week.

Game designations will be announced on Friday.

Source: https://www.fieldgulls.com/seattle-...emarcus-lawrence-nick-emmanwori-practice-full

 

[Seattle Seahawks]

Dareke Young stepping up for Seahawks as NFL’s leading kick returner

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Dareke Young is entering his fourth season in the league, and so far he’s making the most of his increased role.

While Young has sparingly played on offense throughout his Seahawks career (and still isn’t playing a whole lot now), he’s carved out a fairly important role as one of Seattle’s primary kick returners. This may seem minor, but with kick return rates way up thanks to new rule changes, there’s a renewed emphasis on fielding competent returners, and Young has gone from exclusively a gunner to someone who’s proven he’s dangerous with the ball in his hands.

Having never returned any kicks or punts in the NFL, Young’s eight returns have totaled 275 yards, good for a 34.4 yard average, which leads the entire league among qualified players. Half of his runbacks have gained at least 30 yards, and his three longest returns (60, 50-, and 43 yards) all led to eventual touchdowns on offense. Not coincidentally, Seattle’s average starting field position ranking is much improved from last season, when they were near the bottom.

Young did have some kick return experience at Lenoir-Rhyne, but this is his first year getting a crack at that role in the pros. After the ill-fated Dee Williams and Laviska Shenault Jr experience, there was uncertainty over who would be handling kick return duties for Seattle in 2025. Kenny McIntosh’s training camp ACL tear took him out of the running, partially leading the way for Young and George Holani to assume those spots.

To a lesser extent, Young has gotten involved as a receiver, catching this 36-yard pass against the Buccaneers on what was more or less a free play following a Buccaneers penalty. With two catches and 48 yards on the season, he’s doubled his career receptions total and tripled his receiving yards, building on his impressive preseason.

when you're hot you're hot pic.twitter.com/SDXAcnb9Jb

— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) October 7, 2025

Will Young get more targets in this offense? Probably not, but that is less to do with him and more to do with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, Tory Horton, and A.J. Barner taking the bulk of the targets. Seattle runs 12 personnel at the 10th highest rate in the league, so there’s not much of a path to be paved for more looks in the passing game. Jake Bobo has still outsnapped him this year, so Young is the WR5. Even if you accounted for his frame and willingness to be a blocker, Seattle already has two fullbacks on the roster. Nevertheless, he is still finding ways to contribute through his enhanced special teams role, and that holds way more value than you think now that the kick return has been rescued from extinction.

Source: https://www.fieldgulls.com/seattle-...stepping-up-seattle-seahawks-as-kick-returner

 

[Seattle Seahawks]

Leonard Williams fined again for unnecessary roughness

For the fourth time dating back to 2024, Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman Leonard Williams has seen his pockets lightened for an on-field infraction.

The NFL docked Williams $46,371 for his headbutting personal foul penalty in the third quarter of Seattle’s 38-35 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Presumably the reason for the severity of this fine is tied to his previous personal foul penalty and subsequent fine against the New Orleans Saints.

The NFL fined #Seahawks DE Leonard Williams $46,371 for this headbutt that got flagged in last week’s loss to Tampa Bay. pic.twitter.com/n8Zb1fZbjN

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 11, 2025

This penalty turned a run stop by Ernest Jones IV into a new set of downs and an eventual touchdown for the Buccaneers.

Williams was twice fined last year for face mask penalties, and now he’s got two fines this year for unnecessary roughness. The only other Seahawk fined this season were Devon Witherspoon, who taunted Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride but wasn’t penalized at the time, and Kenneth Walker III, who frustratedly threw the ball in the direction of Cardinals corner Kei’Trel Clark and was subsequently flagged.

No one on the Buccaneers was fined, even though one of their penalties was a roughing the passer call. Seahawks DT Byron Murphy II was also not flagged for his roughing call.

Source: https://www.fieldgulls.com/seattle-...ms-fined-again-unnecessary-roughness-nfl-news

 

[Seattle Seahawks]

Seahawks elevate Shaq Griffin, downgrade Riq Woolen to out

As expected, a banged up secondary has the Seattle Seahawks looking to their practice squad for a pair of game day call-ups for Sunday’s showdown with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Veteran cornerback Shaquill Griffin has been elevated to the active roster, giving Seattle much needed help with Devon Witherspoon listed as doubtful and Riq Woolen downgraded to out with a concussion. Griffin’s only game time this season consisted of three defensive snaps against the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’ll be interesting to see if Griffin gets any more playing time than Nehemiah Pritchett, who had a tough time stepping in for Woolen against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The other elevation is safety Jerrick Reed II, which is not surprising given Julian Love is unlikely to play with a hamstring injury. Reed, Ty Okada, and D’Anthony Bell will be among those providing deep safety support in Love’s absence. Perhaps Nick Emmanwori could do more deep safety work than down at the line of scrimmage…

Question: Can Nick Emmanwori play deep safety (in addition to big nickel)?

Mike Macdonald: "He can…he can."

Question: Does he get reps there in practice?

Macdonald: "He can play deep safety." pic.twitter.com/8dIwNkQPI8

— Dugar, Michael-Shawn (@MikeDugar) October 7, 2025

Barring something miraculous regarding either Love or Witherspoon, we can rule out those two, Woolen, and Josh Jones for Sunday. That will leave the Seahawks with only three healthy scratches to make, and we’ll find those out about 90 minutes before kickoff.

Source: https://www.fieldgulls.com/seattle-...haq-griffin-downgrade-riq-woolen-out-nfl-news

 

[Seattle Seahawks]

49ers star Fred Warner suffers season-ending ankle fracture

The San Francisco 49ers lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but that is secondary to their long-term loss of their defensive leader.

Fred Warner, the star middle linebacker and one of the NFL’s premier players regardless of position, was the victim of his own teammate falling into him. The end result was a graphic ankle injury and a cast on his right foot. The worst fears were confirmed after he was carted to the locker room, and Warner is done for the year.

Fred Warner dislocated and broke his right ankle. He will need surgery and miss the rest of the season.

— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) October 12, 2025

The 49ers already are without Nick Bosa for the remainder of the year with an ACL tear, so their two best defensive players are not going to be back any time soon. Warner’s absence was immediately felt, as the 49ers pass defense was unable to cope with Baker Mayfield and had several coverage busts in the second-level and the secondary. It’s a devastating way for Warner’s season to end; he’d missed only one start in his entire career up until now.

San Francisco may be 4-2, but you can only overcome so many injuries before it falls apart. Offensively, the 49ers will likely get Brock Purdy and George Kittle back as soon as next week. Brandon Aiyuk should return sooner rather than later, likewise Ricky Pearsall, although Jauan Jennings is also on the banged up list. The defense has been ravaged and now the worst case scenario has materialized.

All the best to Warner in his recovery. As for the 49ers, their road back to the playoffs and the NFC West title just took another massive blow.

Source: https://www.fieldgulls.com/seattle-...suffers-season-ending-ankle-fracture-nfl-news

 

[Seattle Seahawks]

Tracking Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s record-chasing season

Jaxon Smith-Njigba is inevitable.

The Seattle Seahawks took down the Jacksonville Jaguars on the strength of the defense plus their explosive passing game. The connection between Sam Darnold and Smith-Njigba is otherworldly at the moment, and has propelled Seattle back into first in their division.

Yes, Smith-Njigba now leads the NFL with 696 receiving yards, having passed the now injured Puka Nacua in Week 6. But there are many more metrics that Smith-Njigba leads, and it’s worth asking just exactly how good could JSN’s 2025 campaign be?

I want to look at the pace for his total volume stats, the specific pairing between he and Darnold, and some of the all-time Seahawk receiving seasons.

JSN versus the history books​

Smith-Njigba has 3 touchdowns and 696 yards in just six games. He’s done that on a relatively low 42 catches out of 56 targets.

#Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba this season:

Week 1: 9 catches, 124 yds
Week 2: 8 catches, 103 yds
Week 3: 5 catches, 96 yds, 1 TD
Week 4: 4 catches, 79 yds
Week 5: 8 catches, 132 yds, 1 TD
Week 6: 8 catches, 162 yds, 1 TD

Superstar. pic.twitter.com/P13lhEDnKU

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 13, 2025

That means JSN’s Yards per Catch is 16.6, and his Yards per Attempt is 12.4. By contrast, Puka Nacua’s YPC is 11.3 and his YPA is 9.5.

Smith-Njigba has been balling, while being far more explosive than even the typically good WR1. Extrapolating out for the 17-game season, JSN is on pace for:

• 1,972 yards. The NFL record is 1,964 yards set by Calvin Johnson
• 9 touchdowns
• 119 catches
• 133.9 Passer Rating when targeted
• 4.43 Yards per Route Run, the only player over 4 this year
• 48 explosive plays (15+ yards)

That last bit – it’s a little hard to quantify is how good JSN is at explosive plays. He has a 35+ yard reception in every game this season, the only such player.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught 4 of his 5 downfield targets of 10+ air yards for 131 yards and a touchdown in Week 6 against the Jaguars.

Smith-Njigba now has a league-high 550 yards on downfield targets this season entering the rest of the Week 6 slate.#SEAvsJAX | #Seahawks pic.twitter.com/zgskVsSMBW

— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) October 12, 2025

According to the new SumerBrain – objectively awesome – Smith-Njigba had an explosive play 38% of the time the ball comes his way. That’s absurd. He’s fourth in the NFL at that metric, but the only player in the top-5 with over 30 receptions.

By the way that graphic only contains stats up to Week 5, and he had four explosives this week. It just jumped over 40%.

here’s one more for the history nerds. 40+ yard receptions is not a stat that has been diligently tracked throughout time, so take the following with a grain of salt. But the current known record for receptions of 40 or more yards in a single season is nine, by Tyreek Hill.

Smith-Njigba has five – well before the halfway point of the season.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba has 5 catches of 40+ yards. Nobody else has more than 2.

— Seaside Joe: Daily Seahawks Newsletter (@seasidejoenews) October 13, 2025

JSN versus the Seahawks​

Doug Baldwin. Tyler Lockett. DK Metcalf. Brian Blades. Steve Largent. Seattle’s had some high quality receivers in its day, and JSN has begun outpacing all of them. He just beat Lockett by 100 yards for the best six-game start to begin a season.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba is a top ___ wide receiver in the NFL pic.twitter.com/1XyfxPPtNp

— ESPN Fantasy Sports (@ESPNFantasy) October 12, 2025

He’s still on his rookie contract and is already 12th in Seattle franchise history for receiving yards. At his current pace – of his entire career, mind you, not this breakout season – if he plays 161 games, the number Tyler Lockett played here, he will have 9,877 receiving yards. That would be second in Seahawks history and would beat Lockett by over a thousand.

Eyeball emoji.

JSN and Sam Darnold​

Admittedly, there are still some other phenomenal QB/WR pairs across the NFL. While near the top in a slew of categories, the two haven’t run away with the award for most dynamic connection just yet. However, they might be the most dangerous in terms of how balanced they are. Take a look.

Together they have:

• 75% completion rate, 4th in the NFL
• 16.6 YPC, 2nd in NFL
• 0.72 EPA (expected points added) per play, 7th in the NFL

George Pickens, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Stefon Diggs, and – hmm – DK Metcalf are a few of the receivers that would top our guys in terms of the EPA per play.

What makes the Darnold/JSN connection special is the combination of efficiency at high volume plus the explosive plays. Metcalf, for example, has more touchdowns and a higher EPA but the dude’s only got 23 catches this year. That’s half the volume, and his catch rate is 61% while Smith-Njigba’s at 75%.

In short, that means Darnold to JSN has both the ability to influence the game consistently, and tilt the game through big plays. Not a whole lot of that going on in the same package this year.

So how good?​

It’s tough to be conservative here, because if anything their momentum is growing. But let’s try. Say the NFL receiving record is a bit ambitious. Let’s say things scale back 5-10% per game. That’s a 1,785 yard season with 7 touchdowns and 78 first downs converted.

Justin Jefferson was first team All Pro with 1809 yards, 8 TD and 80 first downs converted.

And that’s if JSN slows down. Right now, don’t you think that’s less likely than holding pace?

Source: https://www.fieldgulls.com/seattle-...gbas-record-chasing-season-seahawks-nfl-stats

 

[Seattle Seahawks]

Monday Night Football live discussion: Bills-Falcons and Bears-Commanders

Why yes, we have a few more Monday Night Football doubleheaders to get through, including the one involving the Seattle Seahawks and Houston Texans next week. As far as this week, we actually have a palatable twin-bill. The early game is the 4-1 Buffalo Bills at the 2-2 Atlanta Falcons, who will host the Seahawks in December in a potentially important showdown. Meanwhile, the 2-2 Chicago Bears are back from their bye week and face the 3-2 Washington Commanders, aka Seattle’s first opponent after its bye.

I think you all remember what happened the last time the Bears played the Commanders. Maybe it’s possible that Matt Eberflus would’ve nosedived the Bears anyway, but this game certainly expedited his demise and upped Jayden Daniels as a new NFL superstar. Tyriwue Stevenson may never live this one down.

Crazy video I got of #Commanders vs #bears walk off pic.twitter.com/mXFkR5wOGW

— Joe Abdo (@joe_abdo) October 27, 2024

Noah Brown isn’t active tonight and neither is Terry McLaurin. Maybe the Bears can exact revenge.

Bills vs. Falcons in Atlanta is at 4:15 pm PT on ESPN, while Bears and Commanders kick off at 5:15 pm PT on ABC from Landover.

Source: https://www.fieldgulls.com/general/...ive-discussion-bills-falcons-bears-commanders

 

[Seattle Seahawks]

Seahawks national power rankings roundup, Week 7: Seattle back on the road to the top

Last week, after losing a heartbreaker to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Seattle Seahawks saw their first drop in the national media power rankings in over three weeks. However, how will this change after the Seahawks impressive ninth consecutive road win in Week 6 against the Jacksonville Jaguars?

Once again, it is not surprising to see the five national media sites viewed (NFL.com, Pro Football Talk, Bleacher Report, ESPN, and Yahoo) move the Seahawks up again. This is usually the tune of power rankings. You win? You move up. You lose? You move down. The question that remains is how far did Seattle move up?

Let’s start with the lower rankings and move up. Bleacher Report and Yahoo both had the Seahawks out of the top ten last week. And despite an impressive win against the Jaguars, it still was not enough for either of these sites to move Seattle into the top ten. Bleacher Report, who moved the Seahawks from 14th to 11 on this week’s power rankings, noted the Seahawks impressive seven-sack, 17 quarterback hit performance against the Jaguars. Yahoo meanwhile moved the Seahawks up two spots, from 12th to 10th on their list.

The next tier of rankings come from Pro Football Talk (PFT) and ESPN. Both sites last week had the Seahawks just out of the top ten, but both them into the top ten after the victory in Jacksonville. In moving the Seahawks up from 11th to 8th in their rankings, ESPN highlighted an incredibly impressive performance by Byron Murphy II. “Along with seven pressures, Murphy had two sacks Sunday to give him a team-high 4.5 through six games.” PFT, who moved Seattle up four spots from 13th to 9th, referenced the recent dominance on the road by the Seahawks, joking that they should start wearing their road white jerseys at home.

The highest power ranking by the national media sites remains with NFL.com. Over the last two weeks, they have ranked Seattle 5th, even after the loss to the Buccaneers in Week 5. Well, after winning this past week, NFL.com continues loving Seattle, moving them into 3rd. The only teams higher than the Seahawks are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (first) and the Detroit Lions (second). In this notable ranking, NFL.com sung the praises of Mike Macdonald (who is 10-1 as Seahawks head coach on the road), the defense (who came roaring back after a rough performance against Tampa Bay), Sam Darnold (who has played clean, efficient football), and Jaxon Smith-Njigba (who is “becoming one of the best at his craft.”)

Overall, most national media sites firmly believe the Seahawks are a playoff team, with NFL.com showing love to Seattle that is akin to that of a contender. After week five, the average power ranking between the five sites (NFL.com, PFT, Bleacher Report, ESPN, and Yahoo) was 11.0. After Week 6, the average power ranking between these same five sites is 8.2, the same average as before the Tampa Bay loss. Seahawks fans surely hope that the team’s performance in the next few weeks will make other national media sites move their rankings up and prove NFL.com right. Their next opportunity to do so will be on Monday Night Football against the Houston Texans in week seven.

Source: https://www.fieldgulls.com/seattle-...ional-power-rankings-roundup-week-7-nfl-top-3

 

[Seattle Seahawks]

Seahawks bring in trio of rookie corners for tryouts

The Seattle Seahawks haven’t added anyone to either the practice squad or active roster this week, but they have had tryouts.

Per the NFL transaction wire, three defensive backs and a linebacker were brought in for tryouts:

• DB Clarence Lewis
• DB B.J. Mayes
• DB Doneiko Slaughter
• LB Jesse Luketa

Lewis is a UDFA rookie who played at Notre Dame before a final season transfer to Syracuse, where he was third-team All-ACC. He was on the Tennessee Titans preseason squad but did not make it past roster cutdown day. Slaughter similarly is a UDFA rookie who didn’t get past the Jacksonville Jaguars’ final roster cuts. He spent four years at Tennessee and transferred to Arkansas in 2024. Mayes, you guessed it, is a rookie UDFA who ended his career with four interceptions as a senior at Texas A&M. He was let go by the Indianapolis Colts.

The one veteran of this group is Canada’s Jesse Luketa, whose previous three seasons were with the Arizona Caridnals as a reserve outside linebacker. Seattle worked out Luketa back in July, so clearly he’s someone on potential standby.

Three cornerbacks visiting underscores the Seahawks’ current situation with Riq Woolen and Devon Witherspoon both injured. Both men missed last week’s win over the Jacksonville Jaguars and are uncertain to be available for Week 7. Seattle currently has Shaquill Griffin and Shemar Jean-Charles as practice squad options. On the OLB front, Derick Hall remains out with a hip injury and is most likely going to return after the Week 8 bye.

With the Seahawks playing on Monday night against the Houston Texans, their first injury report will not come until Thursday, with game designations set to be announced on Saturday.

Source: https://www.fieldgulls.com/seattle-...seahawks-bring-in-trio-rookie-corners-tryouts

 

[Seattle Seahawks]

Seahawks swap out receivers on the practice squad, release training camp standout

The Seattle Seahawks added a wideout on Wednesday, signing Tyler Scott to the practice squad.

The 24-year-old third-year man from the University of Cincinnati was most recently on the practice squad for the Indianapolis Colts, having played for the Chicago Bears in preseason action. He was originally selected in the 4th Round of the 2023 NFL Draft out by the Bears.

Scott brings deep speed and kick return experience (315 yards of it) into the fold. He has recorded 18 career passes for 173 receiving yards, 41 rushing yards and zero touchdowns. Most of those stats were recorded in his rookie year with Chicago, not seeing much game action on offense since.

Wide receiver Tyrone Broden was released to make room for Scott. Broden is a 24-year-old rookie undrafted free agent who has been with the team since the spring. He has not appeared on a gameday roster yet but could well be back with the team in the future, as the Seahawks tend to churn the practice squad regularly. Broden was one of the better training camp performers, particularly his chemistry with Jalen Milroe.

Seattle Seahawks practice squad (as of Oct. 15)​

Offense​

Offense​

• RB Myles Gaskin
• WR Tyler Scott
• WR Ricky White III
• WR Cody White
• WR Courtney Jackson
• OL Amari Kight
• OL Logan Brown
• OL Federico Maranges

Defense​

• DL Quinton Bohanna
• DL J.R. Singleton
• LB Jamie Sheriff
• ILB Patrick O’Connell
• ILB Chris ‘Pooh’ Paul Jr
• CB Shemar Jean-Charles
• CB Shaquill Griffin
• S Jerrick Reed II
• S Maxen Hook

Source: https://www.fieldgulls.com/seattle-...vers-practice-squad-tyler-scott-tyrone-broden

 

[Seattle Seahawks]

The Laken Tomlinson revenge game won’t be happening

The Seattle Seahawks had a golden opportunity to tee off against one of their biggest weaknesses from a year ago. That opportunity – barring an injury – has passed.

Laken Tomlinson, Seattle’s starting left guard from the 2024 season, was curiously signed by the Houston Texans in the offseason. He has performed….about the same as what we saw in Seattle.

Hello, Leonard Williams. Let’s get them seven sacks again.

But alas, the Texans have learned what Geno Smith and others realized in ‘24, and as of a week ago Tomlinson has been benched.

What I learned today:

1) Titans are REALLY bad
2) Laken Tomlinson should be benched permanently
3) Woody Marks needs the ball in his hands 20 times per game (rushing & receiving)

Hopefully playing the Ravens don’t kill any growth/momentum headed in the bye. #Texans

— Mike Muad'Dib (@Zepp1978) September 28, 2025

You got your wish, Mike Muad’Dib.

Tomlinson started the game in Week 4, but was eventually pulled for Juice Scruggs, who played the remainder of the game to the tune of 80% of the total snaps. In Week 5 against the Ravens, Tomlinson didn’t play at all on offense and was reduced to special teams.

There remains another former Seattle star on Houston, one Darrell Taylor who may be coming off the edge.

The Houston offensive line now consists of Aireontae Ersery, Scruggs, Jake Andrews, Ed Ingram, and Tytus Howard. The unit was ranked 31st in the NFL heading into the season, and have lived up to the billing.

The Texans had quite possibly the worst offensive line rep in football history..

– Two offensive linemen immediately start blocking each other

– Six guys start blocking one defender
as C.J. Stroud is getting mauled behind them pic.twitter.com/xBzEKrEEZj

— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) October 1, 2025

Likely no chance to see the pass rush against Tomlinson, but there’s going to be plenty of opportunity to see a QB hit day similar to the 17 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Source: https://www.fieldgulls.com/seattle-...inson-revenge-game-wont-be-happening-seahawks

 

[Seattle Seahawks]

Seahawks Week 7 Thursday injury report: Great news in the secondary

The first injury report is out for the Seattle Seahawks’ Week 7 showdown with the Houston Texans, and it’s very encouraging.

Cornerback Riq Woolen appears to be near to a return after being a full participant in practice. He missed last week as a limited participant due to a concussion, so fully practicing to start the week should put him on track to return to the starting lineup.

Meanwhile, cornerback Devon Witherspoon and safety Julian Love were limited participants, which is better than the DNPs they had when they missed the Jacksonville Jaguars game. Having the three most important members of the secondary all practicing in some capacity is terrific news; it’d be even better if they’re all full participants on Friday or Saturday.

For bad news: Derick Hall still is being held out of practice with a hip/oblique injury. It’s very possible that he’ll be held out until after the bye week. He’s ultimately the only non-participant on the injury report, with reserve tackle Josh Jones elevated to a limited participant for the first time since picking up a Week 3 ankle injury.

Here’s the full injury report:

Source: https://www.fieldgulls.com/seattle-...ay-injury-report-secondary-healthier-nfl-news

 

[Seattle Seahawks]

Seahawks Film Breakdown: Nick Emmanwori takes on the Jaguars

(Editor’s note: This is a special guest column by Griff Sturgeon, better known as cmikesspinmove on social media and co-host of the Seattle Overload podcast with Field Gulls alum Matty F. Brown)

In his second entry of real NFL action, Seattle Seahawks rookie safety Nick Emmanwori found himself involved in all phases of the game, collecting nine tackles and one tackle-for-loss. He was organized exclusively as the Nickel in Mike Macdonald’s 4-2-5 packages, and mostly aligned to the field, regardless if it was the pass-strength or not. From there he was assigned in coverage the cover-3 curl-flat zone, the curl of cover-2, seam-match responsibilities in both, as well as dropping deep to a cover-2 half shell in disguised calls. Macdonald was sure to feature him heavily as a blitzer in a variety of pressure designs as well. As dictated by the offense, he was also formationed or motioned into the box functioning as a de facto linebacker on the frontside and backside of runs. To this point, that encompasses the scope of responsibilities Macdonald will place on him this season.

As is well understood, he tested unprecedentedly well at the combine which followed cleanly from the many eye-popping splash plays he made in college. Much of the draft community though, myself among it, had reservations about some details of his play – from diagnosis to technique (although severity of criticism ranged) that also manifested in concerning negative plays (but what prospect doesn’t have negative plays, especially as a true junior?).

Nonetheless, he possesses extraordinary strengths ,so the purpose of this exercise is to evaluate the nitty-gritty of his process snap in, snap out, even when he is not involved in the result of the play, so that developments in either direction may be tracked throughout the season as said process and results eventually align – for better or worse.

I will preface this attempt of a deep dive by saying I was not as impressed with his week 6 performance as say PFF was, and will disclose now my pessimism of his draft selection back in April, but I still believe there were many positives from this game that project forward optimistically – so much for my pessimism.

---

Keying fast and getting downhill on the perimeter​

Laced throughout his college film were examples of poor angles leading to poor tackling attempts in space. An immediate litmus test of whether or not a back-7 player belongs on an NFL field is how they travel from point A to B when the reads are fairly clear, as well as how physical they are along the way. Mike Macdonald also volunteered during the early stages of the off-season that getting Emmanwori’s angles right will go a long way for his overall game.

For the most part this game quelled fears about his physical will.

In the first play in the clip below the Seahawks rotate late into cover-3 buzz white the Jaguars motion into a trips formation. Emmanwori’s task is to fit any screen or run with outside leverage on the “new” number-2 WR (counted from outside-in) post motion. His key squares to the quarterback and so his wide aiming point and explosive downhill mindset makes it difficult for the number-3 slot to block him and facilitates Coby Bryant’s triggering from his hook zone to make a play on the ball unabated.

Emmanwori screens – 2 plays pic.twitter.com/L0TrWQg6Pa

— Ethically Sourced All-22 (@OrganicAll22) October 16, 2025

In the second play, as he reads his number-2 WR sit for the swing pass, his eyes immediately transition to the number-3 aligned TE who he plays head up and tosses him aside with authority to make a play on the ball. This use of his size and block control is very encouraging.

In this next clip, he reads his initial key, the TE, block down and gets lost, failing to transition to the strongside backfield flow. The defense is blitzing into a bear-spaced front so as drawn up this would be Emmanwori’s play to make but fortunately it is of no consequence to the defense as DeMarcus Lawrence is all over it and Drake Thomas corrects him as well. Emmanwori’s inconsistent concept recognition does rear its head at times in this game.

Emmanwori screen pic.twitter.com/po46fmL0D9

— Ethically Sourced All-22 (@OrganicAll22) October 16, 2025

Next the Seahawks play a disguised inverted Tampa-2 with Emmanwori bailing into a cover-2 half. The defensive line does a decent job to slow and bounce this weakside zone run, but they lose the edge and Emmanwori does a good job of pacing the back out to make a play in the alley, saving both Lawrence and Ernest Jones.

Emmanwori tackle pic.twitter.com/O9FGBYabTO

— Ethically Sourced All-22 (@OrganicAll22) October 16, 2025

In the below video, Emmanwori is playing a cover-2 curl zone. He misses the tackle on this play because he has a difficult time dropping his hips to breakdown while still closing vertical distance. He ends up overrunning Travis Hunter as a result and loses his inside leverage that he is supposed to play with given that Shaquill Griffin would have outside leverage from the high-flat. I personally do not think there is a lot Emmanwori can do about this at the tackle point itself because its stems directly from his deficient short area movement skills. However, what he can do is be more efficient in his zone drop before he breaks on the checkdown altogether. With the running back motioning to the flat fast, Emmanwori would have been better off expanding to his initial landmark in his drop diagonally. He would have gotten there faster and would thus be able to trigger downhill sooner giving the running back less time to square him up at the tackle point, making for an easier tackle attempt.

Emmanwori tackle 2 pic.twitter.com/iqU7tCsIAf

— Ethically Sourced All-22 (@OrganicAll22) October 16, 2025

What’s cool about this game is that when he makes a mistake, we see him learn and adapt in real time. In this next play, he caps his depth quickly in his cover-3 curl-flat drop, and is able to trigger downhill earlier. He is then able to stay leveraged and square at the tackle point and the RB’s attempt at a spin move proves fruitless and unable to escape Nick’s enveloping wingspan.

Emmanwori tackle 3 pic.twitter.com/PCfQtlVVLw

— Ethically Sourced All-22 (@OrganicAll22) October 16, 2025

Box Fundamentals: Diagnosis and Technique​

Here Emmanwori is motioned into the run fit once the slot goes away on the backside of split-zone. He holds for a beat to clear the possibility of play-action, and then uses his speed to fill the C-gap which is formed by the split-action of the TE.

Emmanwori run fit 1 pic.twitter.com/ZmS226sXIl

— Ethically Sourced All-22 (@OrganicAll22) October 16, 2025

Where it gets tricky for him is when the offense creates wrinkles. His initial key here is the TE. The TE blocks backside on the edge which Emmanwori mistakenly bites on, missing the WR folding into the blocking scheme. Emmanwori is tasked with transitioning his eyes to the WR and maintaining inside leverage on him. He fails to do so and is the cause of a successful run but Shaquill Griffin is able to overlap and stop the bleeding.

Emmanwori run fit 2 pic.twitter.com/u9s3BCNlZ6

— Ethically Sourced All-22 (@OrganicAll22) October 16, 2025

Once again though, we see him improve in real time in the next clip below. The Jaguars run a very similar concept. He keys the WR-fold and does try to work inside of him and makes a diving tackle attempt. He is a step late however (notice how Ernest Jones’ playside left foot is up and down before Nick even lifts his) which prevents his own playside hip getting square to the block. By being late to the block, he is late to get off it, and then late to the ball. As a result the RB falls forward for a seven yard gain. Keying this in time is the difference between a glancing blow on the back and a firm tackle right at the line of scrimmage which manifests in a clear yardage difference. Regardless, this is still him playing the same concept in the same game better on take two.

Emmanwori run fit 3 pic.twitter.com/S57EmR5hH0

— Ethically Sourced All-22 (@OrganicAll22) October 16, 2025

The next video is another case of wrinkles in the run game slowing Emmanwori’s processing speed in the box. The Jaguars motion the WR away pulling Nick into the fit (and Thomas out) and then run a zone concept with a pulled guard to kickout the edge. The Seahawks are playing a two-high shell which means they are fitting seven gaps with six players. To accommodate being down a man, Emmanwori has to be able to be available for two gaps, and needs to work over the top of this TE first before thinking about falling back inside him, but he does not let the guard pull inform the technique and ends up getting blocked into the ground surrendering the defense’s contain. Griffin makes a good play to save them however and the run only goes for four yards.

Emmanwori run fit 4 pic.twitter.com/p4OjsGqkc3

— Ethically Sourced All-22 (@OrganicAll22) October 16, 2025

He also has a propensity to backdoor on the frontside of outside stretch plays. It’s 2nd and 1 and the Seahawks are once again out-gapped with two deep safeties. Emmanwori has to play laterally and outside-in: from the edge to the next open interior gap (D-gap to B-gap). He shoots the B gap instead and Jones has to overlap to the outside to correct him. The play goes for a measly two yards because it’s well defended by the rest of the defense but still converts a first down because of Emmanwori getting aggressive at the wrong time. There were other examples of him backdooring similar run plays this game and that will have to be corrected.

Emmanwori run fit 5, backdoors when ball fitting pic.twitter.com/Gxzu7m8c2h

— Ethically Sourced All-22 (@OrganicAll22) October 17, 2025

Zone coverage – Spot dropping​

Good versus bad spot dropping is what determines if intermediate routes turn into completions. While the ball did not go Nick’s way a lot in this game in coverage due to a combination of the quarterback’s progression and pass rush, his spot dropping was poor and if it does not improve the other shoe will eventually drop with digs, outs, comebacks, and curls getting completed on him overhead.

Below the Seahawks are in quarters. Emmanwori is at the bottom of screen. With the Jaguars’ tendency to run three level flood concepts, Ernest Jones is taking “#3 through to the flat” from his middle-hook zone so that Emmanwori, as the quarter-flat player, is free to get depth and width on an out breaker. He initially gains depth, but then freezes as the quarterback climbs the pocket, and fails to feel the out wrap over the top of him. Ideally, Nick recognizes how the offense is attacking his side and pushes for width. I hesitated to include this play because it was a penalty and Trevor Lawrence doesn’t read Emmanwori’s side anyway, but every other Seahawk defender plays their rule correctly, so I think Emmanwori’s rep is still illustrative of his greenness here.

Emmanwori zone drop 2 pic.twitter.com/CPMfbCLGmN

— Ethically Sourced All-22 (@OrganicAll22) October 16, 2025

It’s a 3rd and 15 and Liam Coen presses the dagger button from a trips formation. The Seahawks are playing quarter-quarter-half and Emmanwori is again the flat defender to the quarters side. Nick is the defender being attacked by this concept: the outside dig and the TE’s underneath route creates a “high-low” on his zone. He ends up taking the cheese when he should have held depth to protect the sticks. Fortunately, Ernest Jones diagnoses the concept readily and pushes to the field hash from his middle hook, which kills the dig window.

Emmanwori zone drop 3 pic.twitter.com/E7fbNJQHsb

— Ethically Sourced All-22 (@OrganicAll22) October 16, 2025

This is another penalty so the outcome does not hurt the defense, but it is again a clip that isolates Emmanwori’s process. He is the curl defender of cover-2 so he is right to drop to his curl initially, but with the running back releasing to the flat fast, he needs to push for width quickly with the near flat defender, Shaq Griffin, expanding deep for cover-2 hole shots that had been hurting them all game. He ends up recognizing and arriving late to it, leading to a tough angle leading to a tough tackle opportunity. Ideally he reads backfield action sooner so he is able to stay leveraged with the collective underneath coverage being horizontally stretched.

Emmanwori zone drop 1 pic.twitter.com/nSEC5mwEVY

— Ethically Sourced All-22 (@OrganicAll22) October 16, 2025

This is another example of him not using the offensive formation and the initial route releases to inform his spot drop. The Seahawks rotate late into cover-3 weak buzz. Emmanwori becomes the curl-flat defender. With Jacksonville in trips, he needs to help flood the coverage and push from his curl to the flat to get underneath any perimeter outbreakers or comebacks–especially when the quarterback looks his way. Instead he holds too long in the curl yielding a first down conversion in the high flat.

Emmanwori zone drop 4 pic.twitter.com/6jk4sA9Fmu

— Ethically Sourced All-22 (@OrganicAll22) October 16, 2025

One-on-one coverage​

His day against the pass was hardly defined by his clunky pure zone coverage though. In man or seam carry assignments within zone-match calls, he looked great. In the clip below there are three plays.

Emmanwori Match. 3 plays. pic.twitter.com/1HOImYF8mo

— Ethically Sourced All-22 (@OrganicAll22) October 16, 2025

In the first, he has a seam carry on the number-2 slot. He weaves with the release of the route to maintain his outside leverage and sits down as the WR sits taking out the air of this curl route.

The second play is my favorite snap of his in the entire game because of his initial footwork. When he’s off in an 1-on-1 situation, he has a tendency to step wrong off the snap, letting the WR out of his frame, which puts him in the hole at the break. Here he steps laterally, playing on a cliff, with the WR’s outside release. This allows him to stay square on his target which then helps him open and break in sync with the WR. He finishes with a fun tackle too. A lot of quick outs from the slot in short yardage go for first down conversations every Sunday. Not here.

In the third play, he’s playing a trail technique in cover-2 man. His initial key releases flat and he transitions to his new number-2 seamlessly. His WR runs a bender over the middle and he does a good job pacing the route out and not letting it climb over the top of him making it untargetable.

Getting after the quarterback​

His blitzing opportunities were fun as well. No clips here, but of the three times he was sent he affected Lawrence on two of them. One affected the flight of the ball enough making it difficult for the TE to track, and on the second he flushed Lawrence out to his left forcing a tough throw that was too high to the open WR in the flat.

Kangaroo Court reads its verdict​

In my view, it was a mixed day overall from Emmanwori. He was the cause of handful of first downs and successful offensive plays that led to converted series soon after, yet this was counterbalanced by the prevention of harmful plays from happening too. Plainly I think the fundamentals of his box work right now are poor, and his understanding of how route combinations attack his zone needs to be developed when spot dropping. Simultaneously his physicality and effort was impactful and encouraging given pre-draft concerns, and his technique when matching routes (one of the pillars of Kyle Hamilton’s game) appears greatly improved over college and even pre-season.

Personally, I find it intriguing that if a player is to have a “mixed” game that it manifests so with clear themes — he did well across the board in categories A and B, and needs works in C and D. It’s easier to digest than if he were to simply be half-decent and half-bad in each respective area.

Ultimately, there was enough meat on the bone from this game to get hyped about his trajectory, but there was just as much reason to be cautious depending on how you feel about an eight ounce glass with four ounces of water in it. Either way, he will continue to grow as he experiences more football and the data will continue to unfurl itself to us as it will. On to Houston!

Source: https://www.fieldgulls.com/seattle-...akdown-nick-emmanwori-vs-jacksonville-jaguars

 

[Seattle Seahawks]

Seahawks Week 7 Friday injury report: Devon Witherspoon takes big step toward return

Seattle Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon looks set to return for the primetime Monday Night Football matchup with the Houston Texans after practicing fully on Friday, one day after being a limited participant. Maybe Spoon just doesn’t want to miss a game in front of a national audience? The last time he played was the contest against the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday Night Football in Week 4 after he was injured in the season opener against the San Francisco 49ers. Unfortunately for him (and the Seahawks), Spoon re-aggravated his knee injury against Arizona and has been out ever since. Let’s hope this time he can make it through the game healthy, and be ready to roll after the bye week.

The rest of the good news includes Nehemiah Pritchett upgrading from a limited participant to a full participant and the resting vets Leonard Williams and DeMarcus Lawrence also practicing full-go.

Derick Hall still isn’t practicing, and it’s a question of whether he’ll be ready to go following the bye week. Julian Love continues to be limited, casting doubt on his ability to play on Monday night. Add in the fact that Riq Woolen went from a full participant on Thursday to a limited participant on Friday as he looks to return from a concussion he sustained in Week 5 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Not the most promising sign.

See the full injury report below.

We’re still a few days out, so keep refreshing Field Gulls for the latest injury news on who will be ready to suit up in front of a nationwide audience on Monday night.

Source: https://www.fieldgulls.com/seattle-...friday-injury-report-devon-witherspoon-return

 

[Seattle Seahawks]

SBNation Reacts results: Seahawks fans see an NFC West title coming soon

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Each week we ask questions of the most plugged-in Seattle Seahawks fans and fans across the country.

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Happy Saturday, Seattle Seahawks fans! It’s time to see how you voted in this week’s SB Nations Reacts survey.

Last week’s win over the Jacksonville Jaguars has predictably risen confidence in the direction of the franchise. Surveyed Seahawks fans sit at 97 percent, up from an already high 90 percent. It’d take a lot at this point to tank this below the 90s at this rate.

Next up for the Seahawks is a Monday night matchup with the Houston Texans, who may be better than their 2-3 record suggests and are getting healthier following their bye week. Even with Seattle’s repeated home struggles, a whopping 94 percent of respondents see the Seahawks coming away with a W.

Our question of the week is centered around the playoff picture. Seattle currently has the top spot in the wild card but could lead the NFC West entering the bye week with a win over the Texans plus losses by the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers. It figures to be a three-team race for the division, and the lack of a truly dominant NFC means the possibility of the Seahawks winning the No. 1 seed is (at least at the moment) not far fetched.

Most fans surveyed see the Seahawks winning the NFC West, although few see the No. 1 seed happening. Only two percent see Seattle missing the playoffs.

Is it too early for this playoff question? Maybe. But we’re going to check in again before the Los Angeles Rams game in Week 11 to see how everyone feels then.

Thanks for participating and we’ll see you next week for a special bye week survey.

Source: https://www.fieldgulls.com/seattle-...acts-results-seahawks-fans-see-nfc-west-title