As expected, the struggling Seattle Seahawks traveled to Georgia to face the surging Atlanta Falcons and a blowout ensued.

Oh wait, the Seahawks won?!

Damn right the Seahawks won. They never fell behind and shut down a team that wasn’t behind on multiple possessions the whole season. What makes Seattle such a superior away team to the home team (especially in indoor stadiums) is a mystery, but it felt like a Seahawks home game with all the “SEA!” FALCONS!” chants heard all afternoon could.

Let’s get to the winners and losers from the Seahawks’ great 34-14 win in the South.

winner

Boye Mafe and Derick Hall

This is the tandem that we hope will wreak havoc on opposing quarterbacks for years to come, and they had the play of the game and perhaps the season. Kirk Cousins ​​held onto the ball too long to make a play, and Mafe’s elite finishing speed got to him, resulting in a forced fumble. Hall, whose pressure resulted in a sack for Dre’Mont Jones, was there for the scoop and score and his first NFL touchdown.

Order is restored and it’s another week where one of Hall or Mafe records a sack. I also liked that Hall made a stop in run defense, which is a significant area of ​​improvement.

Dre’Mont Jones

This was the Dre’Mont Jones the Seahawks were hoping for when they signed him to that big contract. Jones had a sack, a pass defended and a tackle for a loss against the run in one of his best games (if not his best) in a Seattle uniform.

Julian Love

Love had the game-winning interception, which came with a solid day of open-field tackles and limiting big plays deep down the field. That’s what you love about your best (and only healthy) starting security. It wasn’t a great week for Love against the San Francisco 49ers, but he was great today.

Coby Bryant

Bryant finally has an interception that counts! He had two picks withdrawn in his rookie season because he punished other players, but the third time was the charm. Bryant will have a lot more responsibility on his shoulders in the coming weeks with Rayshawn Jenkins out, but I’m excited to see what he can do in a hybrid corner/safety role under Mike Macdonald.

Leonard Williams

“Big Cat” had a sack, two QB hits and was the focal point of several of Seattle’s better moments in run defense. He is as healthy as he can be and continues to be a force on the defensive line.

Josh Jobe

Guess who blocked two passes today? Josh Jobe, who did well on the practice squad, did well in coverage and his only “minus” was a pass interference which I’m not sure was a good call. We don’t know if Jobe will be called up again any time soon until Riq Woolen and Tre Brown are healthy, but this is a good job in an emergency situation.

Kenneth Walker III

It’s Ken Walker’s flu game. He had a touchdown taken away from him early, but he made up for it by rushing and receiving a touchdown later in the day. Walker finished the day with 93 yards from scrimmage on a wonderful 24th birthday for Seattle’s best running back. He has scored seven touchdowns this season, putting him on pace for the most touchdowns of his young career.

Geno Smith

Did Smith throw for over 300 yards? No. Did he have eye-catching stats in terms of pass completions and attempts? No. Did he play very well? You can bet, and that’s with another powerful day behind this offensive line. His 18/28 day for 209 yards and 2 touchdowns could have been better if not for a few drops, and he made some great throws and improvised plays to keep drives alive.

Smith doesn’t have to throw the ball 40-45 times due to the state of the game/hangs/can’t run the ball is exactly what you want. It protects him and maximizes his efficiency.

DK Metcalf

Hopefully this knee injury is as minor as the one he suffered against the Los Angeles Chargers two seasons ago. Once again Metcalf destroyed the Atlanta Falcons with 4 catches for 99 yards and a touchdown. He had a near-touchdown that was easily off his fingertips and a semi-drop on an underthrown ball, but the catch on the Jaxon Smith-Njigba pass went so smoothly. This was a very good game from Metcalf and is what makes him both brilliant and frustrating.

And you better believe Metcalf owns the Falcons.

Noah Fant

Besides Metcalf, Fant was the team’s next leading receiver with 4 catches for 65 yards. His play was to perform an impromptu geno-flip during a scramble drill and rumble 28 yards, eventually setting up a touchdown. He was great as a receiver and now the only thing left to do is get him back in the end zone.

Michael Jerrell

Congratulations to the newbie. Well done. He allowed just one sack, had just one penalty, and although a few “rookie moment” pressures were allowed, Jerrell looked like an NFL right tackle in his debut. His highlight was working with Christian Haynes to open up the expressway to the end zone for Kenneth Walker. George Fant could return next week, but if not, I’d like to see Jerrell ahead of Stone Forsythe on the depth chart.

I think All-22 will confirm the pros and cons of Jerrell’s debut, but I was encouraged by the former Division II player. Findlay University, stand up!

Special teams

The Seahawks didn’t have a good special teams unit this season, perhaps unusual given the success under former ST coach Larry Izzo. Jay Harbaugh’s group had too many errors to count, but they were error-free today. Dee Williams had a nice punt return before halftime and a good kick return in the second half, Michael Dickson had three of his four punts inside the 20, Jason Myers drilled a 59-yard field goal and Laviska Shenault Jr provided the scoring the boom a tackler.

Aside from the New England Patriots win, which was the only time the Seahawks’ special teams were positive this season, this was easily the best performance of the year.

loser

Devon Witherspoon

Not one of “Spoon’s better days.” He continues to be ineffective as a blitz cornerback, which I didn’t expect after his success as a rookie. Witherspoon also had several missed tackles while defending the run and was lucky to have Kirk Cousins ​​throw a big play to Ray-Ray McCloud that turned it over deep down the field.

But even as a “loser,” there is one play that stands out because of Witherspoon’s embodiment, namely the Hall touchdown. He jerked his butt up to try to block an offensive lineman, clearing the way for the big guy. Witherspoon is like a missile that needs a little better aim. I will never question his performance and enthusiasm and am confident he will do well as the season progresses.

Jake Bobo

That was a long way short of his only goal of the day. It would have been a first down and the normally confident Bobo missed his only chance.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the receiver

Only 3 catches for 8 yards for JSN, and he was a bit unlucky not to receive a defensive pass interference penalty when his arm was obviously held. I have to admit that I wonder if Smith-Njigba’s target depth will continue to remain low because he isn’t creating consistent downward separation. He’s a short-area and intermediate option, but so far he doesn’t look like another receiver who can take the top spot off a defense – which, by the way, is why they’re not trading DK Metcalf.

At least he can say he averages 35 yards per pass attempt. MVP numbers!

Jerome Baker

Baker’s run defense remains a problem. Bijan Robinson rushed for over 100 yards and Baker (and to a lesser extent Tyrel Dodson) failed to close the gaps. It looks like the second layer is the root cause of the successful runs and needs to be cleaned up sooner rather than later.

Final remarks

• Byron Murphy II had a tackle for loss and I think he was the one who applied late pressure on Kirk Cousins’ INT on Julian Love. He definitely makes a difference on this defensive line.
• Speaking of difference makers, some good defensive players for new Seahawk Roy Robertson-Harris, who had a tumultuous week after being traded in London by the Jacksonville Jaguars, which resulted in a flight from the UK to Seattle and then from Seattle to Atlanta.
• Tyler Lockett remains in third place and as safe as can be. He had 4 catches for 45 yards.
• Mike Macdonald tried again on 4th down and it led to a conversion and eventual touchdown. Play to win. Also a great 22-man playcall from Ryan Grubb that gave Zach Charbonnet the inside handoff for a first down.
• After a three-game losing streak, the Seahawks are back at the top of the NFC West following the San Francisco 49ers’ most recent loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The next two weeks before saying goodbye are as important as possible. The Buffalo Bills are an elite team with Josh Allen playing at an MVP level, while the Los Angeles Rams are getting healthier and perhaps have one last run. Even a split going into the bye week and staying over .500 would be great. If the Seahawks can build on this win and play the kind of clean football that sees few penalties (just five accepted against Atlanta) and doesn’t convert them (zero!), optimism is back on the menu.
• Do you know what else is on the menu? Hostile response, with additional collapse of Niners Nation.