Seahawks Whip Jets, Head into the Bye 3-1
By Ben Renner
The Seahawks beat the Jets 27-17 on the road yesterday to head into the much-needed bye week 3-1.
Four games into this Seahawks season, we have already seen some ups and downs. The first two games were marred by offensive ineptitude, highlighted by terrible offensive line play against above-average defensive lines. They suffered their annual letdown game against the LA Rams, got their quarterback injured twice, and lost their starting running back for multiple weeks. Yet, they head to their early bye week 3-1, tied with the surprising Rams at the top of the NFC West division.
The Seahawks allowed only two touchdowns to Ryan Fitzpatrick, Matt Forte, and the Jets on the road. One was a fumble recovery and return by the Jets’ offense with the game already in hand. Quarterback Russell Wilson didn’t appear injured at all after suffering a knee sprain in Week 3’s blowout win over the San Francisco 49ers. He looked impressive Sunday, showing mobility while still hanging in the pocket and delivering dimes to a resurgent Jimmy Graham and a bevy of open receivers.
Graham looked like vintage Graham yesterday, which could be the scariest part of the Seahawks’ domination of the Jets. He jumped over defenders, caught balls with one hand, and generally made the grown men of the Jets defense look like small boys.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
| All NFL | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Seahawks | 0 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 27 |
Cornerback Richard Sherman was losing a battle with star wide receiver Brandon Marshall in the first half, allowing a few big gains and a touchdown to the likely Hall of Fame receiver. Then, just as I predicted to all my friends watching the game with me, (I have to tweet more of these predictions. You would think I’m some kind of sports seer. If only there was a way to make money off of this ability…) Sherman evened the matchup in the second half. Sherm picked off two Fitzpatrick passes aimed at Marshall and didn’t allow that monster of a man to rip off any more big gains against him.
The defense once again was a disruptive, game-altering force, as it has been all season. The success of the Legion of Boom and company has been overshadowed by glaringly awful offensive line play, but look no further than the defense as the reason for the Seahawks’ 3-1 start.
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But this was Russell’s game. The Jets’ excellent defensive line found a few mismatches to clobber Wilson on a few plays, as we all expected, but the offensive line, bolstered by the NFL debut of first-round pick Germain Ifedi, protected well for the most part.
Russell Wilson has an extra week to heal his knee and ankle. If yesterday is Wilson playing hurt in 2016, I can’t wait to see him play healthy this year.